🔍 Overview
If you notice a credit charge for a Foursquare citation that shows an incomplete or unresolved status, this article explains why that charge occurred and what you can expect going forward.
📋 What Happened with Foursquare Citations
Foursquare discontinued support for direct business listing management through third-party citation tools, including the integration previously available in Search Atlas. This means that citations submitted to Foursquare through our platform may display an incomplete status because the submission pathway is no longer supported on Foursquare's end — not because of an error in how the citation was processed by Search Atlas.
The credits associated with these submissions were charged at the time the citation job was initiated and submitted. Our system records the credit deduction when the task is dispatched, which is standard practice across all citation submissions regardless of the destination directory's response.
💳 Why Credits Were Still Charged
Credits are consumed when a citation submission is actively processed and sent — not only when a listing is confirmed live. Here is a breakdown of how this works:
- Credit deduction timing: Credits are deducted the moment a citation task is queued and dispatched to the target directory.
- Third-party dependency: Whether a directory accepts, rejects, or discontinues support for submissions is outside Search Atlas's control.
- Processing costs: The underlying infrastructure and data processing required to attempt the submission still incur operational costs, which the credit system reflects.
Because the credits were used to initiate a real submission attempt — and not held speculatively — the charge stands even when the directory is no longer able to complete the listing.
🚫 Why Refunds Are Not Issued in This Case
Search Atlas does not issue credit refunds for Foursquare citation charges in this scenario for the following reasons:
- The submission was attempted in good faith using a feature that was active and functional at the time of the order.
- The discontinuation was a decision made by Foursquare, not Search Atlas.
- Credits reflect the cost of the submission attempt, which was completed by our system.
- Issuing refunds for all third-party directory changes would be operationally unsustainable and is not covered under our standard credit usage policy.
✅ What You Should Do Next
While a refund is not available for these charges, here are the recommended next steps to make the most of your citation strategy:
- Review your citation targets: In your Search Atlas dashboard, audit any pending or incomplete citation listings and identify directories that may be inactive or discontinued.
- Redirect your citation budget: Replace Foursquare with other high-authority directories that are currently active and accepting submissions. Our platform regularly updates the available directory list.
- Check your citation report: Use the Citations tool to filter by status. Any listing marked incomplete due to a discontinued directory will be clearly labeled so you can plan accordingly.
- Avoid resubmitting to Foursquare: Resubmitting will result in another credit deduction with the same outcome. Save those credits for active directories.
🛠️ How Search Atlas Handles Discontinued Directories
When a directory partner discontinues third-party listing support, Search Atlas works to remove or flag that directory from the active submission list as quickly as possible. Foursquare has been flagged accordingly, and new citation orders will no longer include Foursquare as an available target. This prevents future credit charges for a submission that cannot be fulfilled.
We understand this situation is frustrating, and we are committed to keeping our directory network current and transparent so your credits are always used effectively.
💬 Still Have Questions?
If you need further assistance, open the chat widget in the bottom-right corner of the platform and type human teammate to be connected with a member of our team.