Facebook Finally Corrects My Disabled Account

Two weeks ago I went to log into my Facebook account and was denied access because it was disabled by an administrator. They offered no reason for the suspended account other than pointing me to a list of a few common reasons accounts are abruptly closed, the main no-no being using a fake name. I agree my name is unusual but it’s no reason to close an account especially when the friends, activities, and related correspondence are all authentic. Needless to say I found this highly annoying because I use my Facebook and LinkedIn accounts for job hunting / networking, more so now than ever.

They provided an e-mail address (appeals@facebook.com) to appeal the decision so I quickly wrote them and attached a scan of my NY State ID and SS card clearly showing that my name is as real as I am. A week went by and I heard nothing back so being the determined Scorpio that I am, I found a few more contact email addresses for them (disabled@facebook.com, info@facebook.com) and began to e-mail them all once a day.

I went online and found this article “Facebook Stirring Up Anger For Disabling Accounts,” which combined a lot of similar grievances from GetSatisfaction.com. Apparently this happens all of the time and it’s annoying a lot of people.

Finally I got an e-mail from them apologizing though giving no explanation for inconveniencing me:

—–Original Message—–
From: appeals+ntjvqr1@facebook.com [mailto:appeals+ntjvqr1@facebook.com]
Sent: Thursday, February 26, 2009 6:57 PM
To: Liberation Iannillo
Subject: Re: Liberation Iannillo

Hi Liberation,

Thank you for providing this information. Your account has been reactivated and you should be able to access it now. Sorry for the inconvenience. Please let me know if you need further assistance.

Thanks for contacting Facebook,

Fred
User Operations
Facebook

So as I sit here writing this post I get another email from Facebook explaining that it’s my unusual name that was the problem.

From: appeals+ntjvqr1@facebook.com [mailto:appeals+ntjvqr1@facebook.com]
Sent: Friday, February 27, 2009 9:50 PM
To: Liberation Iannillo
Subject: Re: Liberation Iannillo

Hi Liberation,

Facebook does not allow users to sign up with or display certain names that may be fake or associated with fake accounts. While we realize this verification method may prevent some users with legitimate names from initially registering, we feel this policy is currently the best method to prevent against malicious and fake accounts on the site.

Sorry for any inconvenience. Let me know if you have any further questions.

Thanks for contacting Facebook,

Fred
User Operations
Facebook

Related articles:

Customer Service & Support
at Facebook

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