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Large companies definitely aren't immune from litigation over stuff like this. I sent Google a demand letter for breach of contract for wrongfully terminating m

by jelled 4y ago

Large companies definitely aren't immune from litigation over stuff like this. I sent Google a demand letter for breach of contract for wrongfully terminating my Adsense account. In the letter I gave them 30 days to restore my account and pay the money they had wrongfully withheld. On the 30th day the account was restored and the money was paid. Though I wrote the letter myself, I'd imagine anyone similarly situated could hire an attorney who practices contract law to write a similar letter for relatively low cost.

throwaway2037 4y ago
Wow, great story. Please write a blog post about this and share on HN. It would be great to have template letters. Then people can fill, print, and post!
- jelled 4y ago
  I wrote up a couple blog posts as it was happening. Here's the most recent one. https://benbjurstrom.com/youtube-remonetized https://benbjurstrom.com/youtube-remonetized
- jelled 4y ago
  Regarding the template letter idea, I would advise anyone thinking of doing this to consult with an attorney. The facts and applicable law may be different in your situation and the letter will undoubtably carry more weight if it's backed the the threat of actual litigation.
PaywallBuster 4y ago
Interested! Could you please share why did they close the account and what argument did you make to have them open it back? I have the same issue for another Google service
- jelled 4y ago
  The reason given was "Our specialists have found that your account is related to an account that was disabled for violations of AdSense policies." Since it was impossible for there to be such a relation I argued that under the terms of service governing the Adsense program my account was at all times in good standing and that by withholding payment Google had breached the agreement.
  - anakaine 4y ago
    How did you identify where to mail it to?
    - Animats 4y ago
      Nolo Press's guide to Small Claims court is useful for that. What you need is the "address for service of process" for the company. You get that from state corporation records. California lookup is here.[1] "GOOGLE LLC (201727810678)" seems to be the main entry. Google uses Corporation Service Company, which is a company that exists to receive and forward legal paperwork, and has an office in every state to receive mail for that purpose. Some kinds of legal documents have to be served by a process server, and there are companies which do that for you, for a fee. You get a report back from the process server on the delivery. (Some years ago, I sued a retailer, and the process server's return read "person in charge threw papers out front door". It didn't help them. I got a default judgement in small claims court against them. They refused to pay that. I paid for a "till tap and 8 hour keeper", which meant that armed sheriff's deputies went to the store and took the money to pay the judgement. If there wasn't enough money on hand, they'd stay there for a day, behind the counter, collecting any money that came in, and explaining to customers why they were doing that. I had to pay a deposit to the sheriff's office for that, but the cost of that was added to the judgement, so that ended up costing me nothing. This is why businesses rarely ignore lawsuits. Eventually, cops with guns show up.) [1] https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business
      - anakaine 4y ago
        That was an outstanding reply. Thank you! Great work on the till and 8 hour keeper.
pjc50 4y ago
Yes, more people should try this. Also research your local "small claims court" system. People in GDPR countries should also file a request for all data relating to the decision. They'll probably refuse it, in which case you should forward it to your Information Commissioner.

by jelled 4y ago

throwaway2037 4y ago

Wow, great story. Please write a blog post about this and share on HN. It would be great to have template letters. Then people can fill, print, and post!

jelled 4y ago
I wrote up a couple blog posts as it was happening. Here's the most recent one. https://benbjurstrom.com/youtube-remonetized https://benbjurstrom.com/youtube-remonetized
jelled 4y ago
Regarding the template letter idea, I would advise anyone thinking of doing this to consult with an attorney. The facts and applicable law may be different in your situation and the letter will undoubtably carry more weight if it's backed the the threat of actual litigation.

PaywallBuster 4y ago

Interested! Could you please share why did they close the account and what argument did you make to have them open it back? I have the same issue for another Google service

jelled 4y ago
The reason given was "Our specialists have found that your account is related to an account that was disabled for violations of AdSense policies." Since it was impossible for there to be such a relation I argued that under the terms of service governing the Adsense program my account was at all times in good standing and that by withholding payment Google had breached the agreement.
- anakaine 4y ago
  How did you identify where to mail it to?
  - Animats 4y ago
    Nolo Press's guide to Small Claims court is useful for that. What you need is the "address for service of process" for the company. You get that from state corporation records. California lookup is here.[1] "GOOGLE LLC (201727810678)" seems to be the main entry. Google uses Corporation Service Company, which is a company that exists to receive and forward legal paperwork, and has an office in every state to receive mail for that purpose. Some kinds of legal documents have to be served by a process server, and there are companies which do that for you, for a fee. You get a report back from the process server on the delivery. (Some years ago, I sued a retailer, and the process server's return read "person in charge threw papers out front door". It didn't help them. I got a default judgement in small claims court against them. They refused to pay that. I paid for a "till tap and 8 hour keeper", which meant that armed sheriff's deputies went to the store and took the money to pay the judgement. If there wasn't enough money on hand, they'd stay there for a day, behind the counter, collecting any money that came in, and explaining to customers why they were doing that. I had to pay a deposit to the sheriff's office for that, but the cost of that was added to the judgement, so that ended up costing me nothing. This is why businesses rarely ignore lawsuits. Eventually, cops with guns show up.) [1] https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business https://bizfileonline.sos.ca.gov/search/business
    - anakaine 4y ago
      That was an outstanding reply. Thank you! Great work on the till and 8 hour keeper.

pjc50 4y ago

Yes, more people should try this. Also research your local "small claims court" system. People in GDPR countries should also file a request for all data relating to the decision. They'll probably refuse it, in which case you should forward it to your Information Commissioner.