Why Google's Adwords Express isn't for everybody - even worse news

Prayga, my ever friendly, though largely useless, Google contact has an even more annoyed customer on her hands today. As I reported last week, I wasted a lot of money on Adwords Express targeting a vast expanse of the English Channel. When I asked to change this I was told I couldn't. I got a very polite response from Google which basically boiled down to 'Tough Luck, Mate - Caveat Emptor'.

Eventually, this morning I got fed up with watching Google extract money from my account for posting adverts to fish. I went into my Google account and clicked the 'Campaign Pause' button for the Express ads. You can imagine my delight when the standard response I received was "This campaign and its content cannot be modified in Adwords'. I don't think this means that it can be modified elsewhere. It just means you cannot modify it at all.

Basically, once Google has tempted you into taking up their offer, you can't get out of it. You are straight-jacketed into paying out the money until the end date of the campaign - no exceptions, no common sense. If your campaign is useless and Google is happily charging you over £5 a click (which they are in this case), you're stuffed. You can't get out of it.

I despise this kind of marketing trickery. It's basically criminality masquerading as business and should be outlawed. However, as there is little I can do to stop Google draining my account, I can at least warn other users of the risks of setting up an Adwords Express account or taking up Google on one of their 'less than honest' special offers.

Sorry, Pragya, your company is not playing fair - and that reflects on you and everyone who works for google - no matter how friendly your explanations.