Family business 'loses £10,000' after Meta blocks their accounts for 12 weeks

Metro

2 days ago

A family photography business feel like 'nobody cares' after Meta locked them out of their social media accounts for more than three months.
Couple Gavin and Jenni Rolph estimate their business has lost £10,000 because their crucial Instagram account have been down since March 6.
They have attempted to contact Meta three times a week but have hit a brick wall, with even legal letters going unanswered.
The nightmare began on March 6 when the pair, who planned their Rolph and Co Photography business while on their honeymoon, claim they received an email that someone from Vietnam was trying to access their account.
Half an hour later, they say eight of their accounts were disabled for supposedly 'breaching community guidelines'.
'I appealed straight away, but as far as I can tell it has been 12 weeks and no human has looked at it,' Gavin told Metro.
The bans have stopped the pair accessing personal accounts, work account and even a Facebook page called Totally Locally Macclesfield, which supports small businesses in the area.
One account survived the cull, Jenni's work Facebook account, which allows them to post on Rolph and Co Photography's Facebook page.
But its their Instagram that drives people to their site the most and that access to that app remains shut off.
Their customers have begun thinking their business has closed down, as a simple 'page not found' message appears when you try visiting their Instagram.
Gavin added: 'We rely on Instagram a lot more. It's costing us money, people can no longer find us on there.
'For a small business their turnover's only around £100,000, losing £10,000 is a big chunk for a small business with only 2 employees.
'I feel ignored. We know we have done nothing wrong.
'It is a very personal impact from a very big company who really don't care.'
The pair have been battling daily to try restore their accounts, which remained down when Metro checked on June 3.
They appealed the decision immediately and have been continuing to appeal it three times a week in the last three months.
The photographers, who have been running their business since March 2018, even had to pay £10 for Meta verified to talk to a real human at Meta support, but they say that hasn't helped.
Instead, Gavin says they are constantly told a 'specialist team' is working on their case, but nothing has changed since.
'It really brings me down when I'm dealing with it,' Gavin said.
'You literally just click appeal. There is no chance to explain it.
'On chats I get someone pasting an automated response teling me it is with the appropriate team.'
'For the first few weeks, it was like, 'Oh, it'll be next week. It'll be next week.'
'We cannot set up new accounts because they will recognise where it is from. More Trending
'We both quit our jobs to do this. If something were to go wrong it is both of our jobs on the line.'
Gavin says he has submitted requests for personal information to Meta under GDPR rules, but the tech giant have not responded within the legal 30 day limit.
He and Jenni also sent a legal notice to Meta, accusing the company of 'breach of contract and gross negligence', but have not had any response.
Meta did not respond to Metro's request for comment.
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