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Microsoft PPC Ad Fraud Class Action Lawsuit
By Mike Holter
Microsoft overcharges marketers for pay-per-click ads served on “parked domain” and “error” pages, according to a federal class action lawsuit filed in Seattle.
The Microsoft pay-per-click (PPC) ad class action lawsuit was filed by online retailer Lane’s Gifts and Collectibles, which claims it agreed to pay up to 30 cents per click when the company appeared in search results but only a maximum of 5 cents per click when ads appeared on sites within the “content network” – where Microsoft serves ads that match keywords in a page’s content.
However, Microsoft charged Lane’s Gifts the higher search-results price for ads that were served on parked domains and error pages, where web users tend to reach by accident, after mistyping the addresses of sites they’re trying to visit. The company says it should have been charged the content-network PPC rate, and that Microsoft misrepresented content-network ads as search ads.
The Microsoft PPC ad class action lawsuit is brought on behalf of all search marketers who were “charged an amount higher than the advertiser’s maximum bid.”
This isn’t the first PPC battle Lane’s Gifts has picked with a search engine. The company settled a PPC fraud class action lawsuit against Google for $90 million in 2006.
The Microsoft PPC Fraud Class Action Lawsuit case is Lane’s Gifts & Collectibles, LLC v. Microsoft Online, LLC, Case No. 12-cv-1181, Washington Western District Court, Seattle.
Updated July 23rd, 2012
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4 thoughts onMicrosoft PPC Ad Fraud Class Action Lawsuit
Years ago, with the help of a Microsoft Advertising agent, I set up an ad profile through a labyrinth of confusing online screens, to pay X amount per hit on my website generated by a Microsoft ad. The ads were an effort to sell my book through my website. For years the monthly bills, which Microsoft charged to my credit card, were insignificant, or even zero. Although I was selling virtually no books, I ignored the bills because they were so small. For example, from May through December 2021, the average was $6.03 per month. Then, in September and October 2022, Microsoft hit my credit card for $583.98. They refused to specify who the hits came from and my web host said the hits were bogus. I sold no books. Microsoft has stonewalled me since. Never give your credit card number to this corporate tyrant. I would rather be donating my money to a charity such as Tunnel to Towers than to crooked Microsoft. I also wonder whether internet users realize that the search results they get are influenced by advertisers paying Microsoft.
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I worked for Alorica (who Microsoft outsources to in Tampa, FL) for two years. We dealt with customers who called in regarding adCenter accounts. AdCenter houses the customers account for Bing and Yahoo search advertising. The customer has full control over their own keyword bid amounts and ad setup. Should they call, we were required to obtain a release to change account information. (Via voice recording or email) Also, located within employee adCenter accounts is a history of every change on the account and who made the change. If the employee did, their login info is listed. In order to win this class action, the company must will have to prove they did not make the bid amount changes. Microsoft is very through and keeps long records of information.