Jim Buckmaster CraigsList CEO
“Craigslist locked me out for no apparent reason, with absolutely no warning, absolutely no possible way to get back in and no way to know what I did wrong. At the most, I had placed six ads for very different things – advertising a room for rent and some furniture.”
“Once your craigslist account is placed on hold it is gone forever.”
Now that Craigslist has eliminated paid classified ads in local newspapers it has become the vital, in fact the only, way for ordinary people to look for rentals, to advertise rooms for rent or to sell a few household items.
But apparently you can get permanently locked out of Craigslist – for no apparent reason, with no warning and absolutely no possible way to get back in.
“No, that can’t happen to me – right?”
Well, think again. I was skeptical when a friend (a light computer user and casual Craigslist poster) reported that he was locked out of Craigslist – cut off as harshly as if he was a Corporate Spam Business – and there was no way to use his account again – apparently ever.
This was not a single specific ad that was removed – he had never even had an ad flagged — he was totally locked out of a phone verified account.
False Hope
What’s worse, when Craigslist locks you or another legitimate user out they falsely tell you that your account is merely placed on “hold.” This implies that someday you will get access back. In reality there is no possible way to reactivate the account. Several blogs have articles reporting that they have tried every imaginable way and finally given up. (See references below)
“No Help” Desk
He had sent in a request to the “help desk” and received a canned response to look at their FAQs. The problem is Craigslist FAQs do not have an answer for this question. In fact, the word “hold” is not even mentioned in any of the FAQs; let alone any way to have it removed.
So he sent another request – and got back another identical copy of the canned response to look at their FAQs – that had no entry for this problem.
Perhaps most frustrating, there is no way for a Craigslist user to find out why he/she was put on “hold.”
Of course you knew CraigsList has no support – telephone, email or any other way . . .
A week ago I wrote to Craigslist’s press office outlining this article and asking if they disputed anything here – and have received no response whatsoever.
My suggestion for Craigslist’s CEO Jim Buckmaster is —
You were purportedly making tens of millions of dollars in recent press accounts – so spend a few dollars to help your users who don’t have much, if any, money to spare at all.
1. Start with a FAQ telling the truth about what it really means that your account is put on “hold” – that your account is gone forever AND that you can’t ever use the same telephone number to start another account.
2. Provide a easy way for legitimate casual users to get an account unlocked.
References:
1. Best Answer – Chosen by Voters (Yahoo Answers)
“Once your craigslist account is placed on hold it is gone forever.”
2. Craigslist PVA – Are Your Posting Habits Killing Your Verified Accounts?
“How long will craigslist accounts be placed on hold?”
“The simple answer to anyone looking to revive suspended PVA on Craigslist is that it can’t be done.”
3. Craigslist Proxy – Why Were My Accounts Put on Hold?
“Accounts that are put on hold can never be used again”
