Print the value of index0
AdBrite Ad Brite Adbrite.com ripoff fradulent traffic charged for bad clicks ppc fraud bad ppc advertising San Fransico California
I have been advertising with AdBrite for ~6 months and have not really had any problems. Since the traffic was small (I was on PPC service) I just let it run.
Then on Jan 25, 2007 my debit card was charged $204.00 and the money taken from my bank account. This was a huge increase over the $20 - $30 per month I was getting charged from them in the past so I thought I would check the site for their stats. What I saw was appauling...
FALSE clicks that did not show up in my http logs AT ALL and ALSO are obviously fradulent because the click thru rate is outrageous. Here are some examples from my AdBrite login:
yy soft 596 15.268%
findeway 253 19.368%
The site listed as "yy soft" is actually http://www.phah.cn/ - a CHINESE site! Look at the click-thru rate of 15% the "596" is the number of "clicks" sent.
The site listed as findeway has a 19% CTR (yeah, right) but if you visit the site you will see it is a fake shell site.
ALSO, my #1 site in terms of clicks and $$ is ANOTHER CHINESE site:
"online Si Hui jade article shop"
It has sent me the MOST clicks and is entirely CHINESE.
Another TOP site is:
0tyy8 - www.0tyy8.com
Check it out -- it is NOT A REAL SITE.
Although AdBrite says they will investigate my claim it is UNACCEPTABLE that this should be allowed to happen in the first place. I will at the LEAST have to wait 1+ week to recover my over $400 waisted on this garbage.
I will update this ripoff report listing once they follow up. The traffic is outrageous and until they fix these problems AdBrite is a place NOT to advertise. Wait for my follow-up as things might change but for now -- STAY AWAY. With current technology there is NO EXCUSE for these fake traffic sources to get by their system and allow me and others to be charged.
That is all. Will follow up the second I have a resolution. The bottom line is unless AdBrite refunds 100% of my PPC spending with them it will not be good. As an advertiser YOU should not be responsible for policing the ad company you use - THEY should have fraud protection measures in place.
UNACCEPTABLE.
Chris
Bryan, Ohio
U.S.A.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Chris
Bryan,Ohio,
U.S.A.
Yep, It is official - AVOID ADBRITE
#5Author of original report
Tue, February 13, 2007
After waiting and waiting with no response, on Feb 12, 2007 I get Athony on the phone who tells me they will take care of it today (the 12th) and get back to me by the end of the day. Well, the end of the day comes near so I contact him again and he says "they are refunding you now and have sent an email". It is the NEXT DAY and guess what - NO EMAIL, NO REFUND.
But, when I look in my account - $186 credit. Of the $400 in bad clicks they have given me $186 IN CREDIT. WHY would I want credit to advertise on their terrible platform which I have already had to police. I will contact them again today and try once again to get my $ back. Otherwise it will be CHARGED BACK. Folks, it is official - STAY AWAY FROM ADBRITE, THEY WON'T BE AROUND LONG.
Chris
Bryan,Ohio,
U.S.A.
Yep, It is official - AVOID ADBRITE
#5Author of original report
Tue, February 13, 2007
After waiting and waiting with no response, on Feb 12, 2007 I get Athony on the phone who tells me they will take care of it today (the 12th) and get back to me by the end of the day. Well, the end of the day comes near so I contact him again and he says "they are refunding you now and have sent an email". It is the NEXT DAY and guess what - NO EMAIL, NO REFUND.
But, when I look in my account - $186 credit. Of the $400 in bad clicks they have given me $186 IN CREDIT. WHY would I want credit to advertise on their terrible platform which I have already had to police. I will contact them again today and try once again to get my $ back. Otherwise it will be CHARGED BACK. Folks, it is official - STAY AWAY FROM ADBRITE, THEY WON'T BE AROUND LONG.
Chris
Bryan,Ohio,
U.S.A.
Yep, It is official - AVOID ADBRITE
#5Author of original report
Tue, February 13, 2007
After waiting and waiting with no response, on Feb 12, 2007 I get Athony on the phone who tells me they will take care of it today (the 12th) and get back to me by the end of the day. Well, the end of the day comes near so I contact him again and he says "they are refunding you now and have sent an email". It is the NEXT DAY and guess what - NO EMAIL, NO REFUND.
But, when I look in my account - $186 credit. Of the $400 in bad clicks they have given me $186 IN CREDIT. WHY would I want credit to advertise on their terrible platform which I have already had to police. I will contact them again today and try once again to get my $ back. Otherwise it will be CHARGED BACK. Folks, it is official - STAY AWAY FROM ADBRITE, THEY WON'T BE AROUND LONG.
Chris
Bryan,Ohio,
U.S.A.
UPDATE from AdBrite
#5Author of original report
Fri, February 02, 2007
So far all I have recieved is this message:
Greetings,
We apologize for the delay in our response; we have experienced an unusually high call and email volume over the past week.
With respect to your recent emails, I have forwarded your complaint to our Community Standards Department. A representative within that department will personally review the traffic received by your ad and will contact you shortly with an update and any potential compensation. Due to the highly personalized and thorough nature of their investigations, we do advise that you allow 5-7 business days for a response. Again we apologize for any delay or inconvenience and we appreciate your patience.
Best Regards,
Katie H.
AdBrite, Inc.
(877) 232-5200