Use case: Ad delivery interruptions
Know when billing issues or platform outages disrupt your ads.
A failed payment, spend limit, restriction, or platform incident can disrupt ads. AdFence records the delivery and account status a connected platform exposes. Your team can compare it with published platform status where available.
Which checks run depends on the platform, permissions, and plan. A stalled report is not proof the ads stopped, and a restriction is not a sign of compromise on its own.
This account
- Delivery
- Normalchanged to Zero since 09:10
- Billing
- Paidchanged to Payment failed
- Account status
- Active
Platform context
- Published status
- No incident reported
- Other connected accounts
- Delivering
- Reporting
- Current
Read together
A billing failure on this account, not a platform incident.
Sample. Accounts, times, and figures are invented.
Example
Two accounts, two different problems.
In this sample, one stops delivering, the other stops reporting. Checks show a failed payment on the first account. The platform’s status page reports an incident affecting the other account’s reporting.
Sample scenario. Accounts, times, and figures are invented.
01Observed disruption
Both accounts show stalled numbers, but only one has stopped delivery.
Account AAdvertiser billing failure
Delivery
Normalchanged to Zero since 09:10
Account BPlatform incident
Delivery reporting
Hourlychanged to Stalled since 08:50
02Account checks
Compare the billing and account status each connected platform exposes.
Account AAdvertiser billing failure
Billing
Paidchanged to Payment failed, card ending 4412
Account status
NewActive
Account BPlatform incident
Billing
NewPaid
Account status
NewActive
03Platform status
Check the platform’s published status at the same time, where available.
Account AAdvertiser billing failure
Platform status page
NewNo incident reported
Account BPlatform incident
Platform status page
NewIncident: delivery reporting delays, since 08:45
04Next action
Your team chooses the next step for each account.
Account AAdvertiser billing failure
Appropriate next step
NewUpdate the payment method in the platform
Account BPlatform incident
Appropriate next step
NewWait for the platform; the ads may still be delivering
AdFence reads the billing and account status the platform exposes, plus its status page where available. It cannot see inside platform systems. Platform incident times come from the platform.
Your team updates the payment method, waits for the platform, or appeals a restriction through the platform’s process. AdFence does not take these steps on its own.
Impact
Different problems need different fixes.
Finance can resolve a billing problem. Restrictions need the platform’s review process, while platform incidents need the platform’s fix. Compare the available checks before deciding what to do.
Billing and payment
The platform could not charge you.
- Payment failed or card expired
- Spend limit reached
- Payment method removed or changed
Account status
The platform changed what the account may do.
- Account restricted or under review
- Advertising access disabled
- Business verification pending
Platform incidents
A platform service is disrupted.
- The platform is having trouble delivering ads
- Reporting delayed or missing
- Management tools or the API unavailable
Read carefully
What a signal does not prove.
An alert shows what changed. Check the available account and platform records before deciding what caused it.
Signal
A reporting delay
Does not prove
That your ads stopped
Read instead
Ads may keep running while reports are delayed. Compare available platform status with the account’s reported delivery state before making changes.
Signal
A restriction
Does not prove
That the account was hacked
Read instead
Restrictions can follow policy reviews, verification, or payment problems; a restriction alone does not establish compromise. Check the access record for other warning signs.
Signal
An advertiser billing failure
Does not prove
That customers cannot pay you
Read instead
Advertiser billing is the platform charging you. Checkout is your store charging customers. Checkout checks need their own connected, mapped source.
Signal
A failed payment
Does not prove
That spend is being wasted
Read instead
If delivery stops, the cost is missed reach rather than ongoing spend. Some accounts keep delivering up to a billing threshold. Review the available account checks.
Review and response
What AdFence shows and what you decide.
Compare account status with the platform’s published status and timestamps. Your team decides whether finance or the platform needs to act.
What AdFence shows
- Delivery changes and timestamps reported by connected platforms
- The billing and account status the platform exposes
- The platform’s status report, where published
- An alert to the channels your team chose
What stays with your team
- Whether it is billing, a restriction, or a platform incident
- Updating a payment method, or raising it with finance
- Appeals and verification, which run through the platform's own process
- Any automatic response, which runs only if your team explicitly configured and pre-approved it
How AdFence behaves
- Product availability checks start after connection. Other supported checks start after connection and run every 15 minutes.
- Read-only by default. Monitoring never edits an ad account on its own.
- Coverage varies by platform, permissions, integrations, configuration, and plan.
- Product availability is alert only. Other automatic actions run only when they are explicitly configured and pre-approved.
- No guarantee of prevention, recovery, refund, or reinstatement.
Keep the record
Know how long the disruption lasted, and why.
AdFence records when delivery or reporting changed, what the checks showed, and when it recovered. Use the timeline to explain gaps in client reports.
How to use the record
- Finance handoffs
- Client updates
- Platform support cases
- Internal reviews
The record covers activity recorded after the account was connected. It documents delivery and reporting changes; your team investigates the cause. AdFence does not guarantee reinstatement. Incident times come from the platform's own status page.
Disruption timeline
Sample scenario. Accounts, times, and figures are invented.
- 08:50Reporting stalledAccount B
- 09:10Delivery stoppedAccount A
- 09:12Billing checkAccount A: payment failed
- 09:12Platform statusIncident reported at 08:45
- 09:13Alert sentEmail, Slack
- 10:30Payment updatedAccount A delivering
Questions, answered
What teams ask before connecting.
If reporting stops, did our ads stop?
Not necessarily. Ads may keep running while reports are delayed. AdFence shows available platform status alongside the account’s reported delivery state for your team to compare.
Is a restriction a sign the account was hacked?
No. Restrictions can follow policy reviews, verification, or payment problems; a restriction alone does not establish compromise. If access changes also look unfamiliar, see the ad account security use case.
Does AdFence watch our customers' checkout too?
This page covers advertiser billing: the platform charging you. Customer payment checks belong to the ad spend leaks use case and need a connected, mapped checkout source.
Does a failed payment mean we are wasting money?
Not necessarily. If billing failure stops delivery, the cost is missed reach rather than ongoing spend. Some accounts keep delivering up to a billing threshold. Review the available account checks.
Can AdFence fix billing or lift a restriction?
No. Your team updates payment methods in the platform. Appeals and verification follow the platform’s process. AdFence alerts you and keeps the record; it does not guarantee reinstatement.
Start protecting
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