Facebook - a further rant

 

A couple of months back, I griped about Facebook having randomly locked me out of my account around Christmas time - this time, seemingly permanently. I am still locked out, and now fear this latest 'interruption of service' is going to prove irreversible. 

Hance, this blog's companion Facebook page remains inactive - and, indeed, it is 'blocked' from view altogether (I have no idea why...).  I don't suppose anyone's going to miss it, but.... My apologies, anyway.

I still remember my last password; but it is only intermittently 'recognised' and accepted by the site. And whether I am able to log in with the password or not, I am always required to go through additional 'authentication' steps.

I am usually challenged to retrieve a verfication code from my linked email account. Fair enough. You'd think that would be sufficient to confirm my identity and restore access to the Facebook account. But NO: I've done this countless times now, but further steps are also demanded.

I'm usually asked to try logging in from another device. But when I tried that, they still weren't satisfied, and demanded again that I log in from another device,... and another.... and another. I suspect they in fact mean 'another device recognised as having been previously used to log in to this account' - but they don't say so. I've only ever used one other device - an old, now rarely used 'back-up' laptop - to access the account; but that didn't work. Then I wondered if perhaps they meant a mobile device (smartphone, tablet....?), since that's what most people use for accessing Facebook these days. But I tried borrowing a friend's phone to retreive the additional verification codes and that didn't work either.

Then they started telling me they would send a verification code to my Whatsapp number. Even though I don't have one!

Only after much floundering around through various obstructive screens in the log-in process did I finally manage to stumble upon an option to send an additional verification code to my phone by SMS. Unfortunately, the phone number I have linked to the account is an old Cambodian one, which I now rarely use, and which I only top up intermittently to avoid having the number deleted; it isn't actually 'active' most of the time. I topped it up again to reactivate it, but.... for some reason SMS often fails to work on SMART Cambodia's roaming service (this is why I've actually switched my contact phone number to my Lao one for my bank accounts in Cambodia and Vietnam). However, I did try this again recently, and this time was able to receive the SMS verification code. Facebook still wouldn't accept it, still wanted to insist on yet further verification steps - that were impossible. What is this INSANITY?!

So, to recap,... Facebook doesn't want to recognise my password; it won't recognise the only two devices I have ever used to log into my account; and it won't recognise verification codes sent to my linked email or my linked phone number. And there is no other recourse available, no means of contacting them to complain or appeal against the suspension of access.

Why does anyone bother with this awful, awful, stupid, obstructive, perverse, evil service???   I am really quite glad to be rid of it.