How to dispute a Google Ads charge (original) (raw)

Notice a charge you don't recognize?

There are different types of charges you may see from Google Ads:

• A charge for an outstanding balance in your account
• A charge when your account spend reaches your payment threshold (this only applies to accounts that are on automatic payments)
• An adjustment charge

Review your Billing Activityand campaign history to understand the charges. If you find a charge that you can’t reconcile with your account details, use the Unidentified Google Ads Charges Troubleshooter to identify where the charge may be coming from. Then, if further investigation is needed into the charge, or if you think there might be unauthorized activity, contact Google Ads support.

You should also review user access in your Google Ads account and remove any suspicious or unauthorized users. Learn more about access levels and how to change them in About Access levels in your Google Ads account.

In this article

• Reaching out to Google
• About chargebacks
• Outcomes

Reaching out to Google

When you contact support, you’ll need to provide the following information about the charge you want to dispute:

• Reason for disputing the charge
• Date of the charge
• Amount of the charge
• Transaction ID

To find this information in your Google Ads account:

1. In your Google Ads account, click the Billing icon .
2. Click Summary.
3. Open the month card and under Payments locate the charge you wish to dispute and note the date, amount, and transaction ID. If possible, take a screenshot of the charge to provide Google Ads support.

About chargebacks

If you've contacted your bank or credit card company to dispute a Google Ads charge, this process is called a chargeback. This is often the recommended first step if you suspect unauthorized activity and don't recognize the Google Ads account associated with the charges in your bank or credit card statements.

After you initiate a chargeback, your financial institution will investigate the claim. They'll contact Google to gather any required information regarding the disputed charge. Google will then:

1. Alert you that your dispute was received (this alert may also come from your bank).
2. Review the details of the dispute, including any internal account activity related to the charge and any documentation you provided to your bank.
3. Submit its findings and a decision (agreeing or disagreeing with the dispute) back to your financial institution.

Your bank or credit card company makes the final determination on the chargeback. If the chargeback is for unauthorized activity on an account you don't recognize, Google will typically suspend the fraudulent account upon notification from the bank.

Important: If you instruct your bank or credit card company to reverse a charge that was paid against a legitimate Google Ads balance, your account may be suspended. Learn more about Billing and payment suspensions.

Outcomes

• If Google agrees with your disputed charge, then the charge will be corrected. You’ll notice that on your “Summary” page under Billing and you don’t need to do anything further.
• If Google doesn’t agree with your disputed charge, and the card-issuing bank doesn't resolve the chargeback in your favor, the charge won’t be returned to you. Your account will remain active.
• If Google doesn’t agree with your disputed charge, and the card-issuing bank resolves the dispute in your favor, your account will have an overdue balance. To continue running ads on your account, you'll need to make a payment.

Related links

• Google Ads account suspensions overview
• Billing and payment suspensions
• Chargeback: Definition

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