Big tech companies not playing ball when small business owners are locked out of accounts, hacked or waiting for payments is prompting calls for them to do better.
Wellness speaker John Toomey thought he would have to walk away from his business when he was locked out of his Facebook account and went around in circles on the company's website trying to find a resolution.
"I had built up a really strong following on Facebook and there was that moment of, my god, all that work I've done, is it all gone," he told AAP.
"There was no one to listen to me to say I can't do all these things because I am locked out."
He said he was quick to act once he received an email saying he had changed his password when he hadn't, but ended up going around in circles on Facebook's help page before a friend told him about a small business ombudsman.
Facebook reinstated access to his account within a few days of contacting the Australian Small Business and Family Enterprise Ombudsman.
Hearing multiple horror stories about people locked out of accounts, Kristen Zotti - who heads up PR agency Zotts and Co - says social media access is vital for her clients' businesses.
"Changes to the algorithm or platform policies can drastically impact your reach overnight. We recommend that clients spread their efforts across multiple channels," she said.
"Over the past two years, the number of small businesses experiencing some form of disruption has doubled, costing thousands of dollars in some instances."
Small business disputes with big tech are up a whopping 86 per cent compared to a year ago.
"Often businesses came to us out of exasperation. They tried all that had been advised to them by the tech platforms and had no resolutions," ombudsman Bruce Billson told AAP.
Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram accounted for 73 per cent of disputes, with nearly two-thirds of those cases involving hacked accounts.
The company declined to comment, but pointed to password recovery methods if a user thought their account had been hacked, as well as methods such as two-factor authentication to prevent accounts being taken over.
Businesses losing control of accounts could damage their bottom line and reputation, with hackers even taking over payment methods, Mr Billson said.
Big tech companies had told users to log into their frozen accounts to tell them about the frozen account, "which is the ultimate run around", he said.
While the ombudsman can't force tech giants to do anything, having established lines of communication and it being in everyone's interest to resolve issues with customers means "in many cases we can get an early resolution".
"The best outcome for everybody is to have efficient, really nimble problem-solving arrangements in place," Mr Billson said.
The option to speak to a real person was key, he said.
People not being paid was a problem as well, including Uber drivers whose payments were delayed and retail sites imposing what operators consider unnecessary chargebacks, Mr Billson said.
Uber accounted for 17 per cent of disputes, most of which were about not being paid. The company was contacted for comment.
Companies receiving a flood "of hostile and really problematic comments on an industrial scale" to tank their ratings online, which can be used to lay the groundwork for another player to enter the market, had also been reported, Mr Billson said.
