Photo: NIKOLAS KOKOVLIS / AFP
Tech giant Meta is under fire from a New Zealand-based businesswoman who has been locked out of Facebook's support function for a year.
Adding insult to injury, when she paid for the platform's new verified product - which should have included the support function - that did not work either.
The Tauranga resident - who RNZ has agreed not to identify - runs an online marketing business with clients around the world.
Her speciality is helping advertisers get the best out of their presence on social media platforms such as Facebook.
For her, the support function - available free to anyone who advertises on Facebook - was a vital tool.
"When you run ads there's a little question mark button that you can click and can start a chat with a Facebook rep and that's how you are normally able to launch any appeals, potentially resolve any issues, ask any questions about what ever problems you might be having and get some kind of reply their support team," she said.
That all came to a halt, overnight, when that button no longer redirected to the support team - and no explanation was offered.
"I've launched multiple tickets asking about that why I am denied a feature without any reason and the reply from Facebook was like 'tough luck'."
With the launch of Meta Verified about two months ago, the woman saw an opportunity to access the support function again, as it came as part of the package.
But it was not to be.
"So, sure enough I paid and then I'm clicking on it and I have like 'Oh great, you're verified here's how you can access support' and there's a big get support button and I'm happily clicking on it thinking all my troubles are now gone and that button airs out and redirects to a blank screen and I'm thinking oh well that doesn't work."
She said Meta appeared happy to take her money without being able to indicate whether the support feature would ever be activated on her verified account.
Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons often fields complaints about Meta and other online platforms.
"You know about the inability to kind of interact directly with anybody to provide that kind of support and when you've got whatever complicated issue for you and you understand the background behind it you want somebody to hear out that complexity and context because you think that will get it fixed quicker."
But Lyons said it was not possible to have such an individualised response for Meta's millions of users.
He said, however, if Meta was charging for verified accounts - which promised to include a support feature - it should deliver.
"If someone had advertised a service we had paid for that service and we weren't getting that service then we would take action whatever that was I imagine.
"And I think she's got some recourse there in terms of that money that she's paid and whatever service level agreement that she has entered into as a result of that payment."
Lyons said it was not good enough to say the feature was new and still being rolled out.
Meta confirmed that the woman should be getting the support she had paid for as a verified account holder, but did not address why she got bumped from the support feature in the first place or why she was not getting it now.
