More than a dozen users have taken to the MAS Facebook page to complain about the ‘spamming’, which puts posts directly into the newsfeed of users’ own pages.
One comment said: “I object to being sent random adverts from organisations like this. If I wanted advice, I’d go to an actual specialist.”
Another said it found a post onto his page by MAS about divorce “deeply offensive” and that it “crosses a line” of taste.
Martin Lewis, a paraplanner at Prism Independent Financial Management posted on MAS’ Facebook page: “The consensus from posts on your wall is that your promotion is a pest.
“Simply realise that you are not providing a service that people want, despite the wonderful website ‘hit’ figures that you publish in the press about your ‘success’ and cancel your promotion. Facebook tells you all you need to know about what the average person in the street thinks of your service on the whole.”
However, a spokesperson for the MAS said the posts are a result of a change in Facebook’s advertising policy, and is not the fault of the service.
The spokesperson said she was “absolutely mortified” at seeing the angry posts and has set about apologising to every Facebook user who contacts the service to complain via the social networking site.
She added she waw talking to the MAS social media team to get the problem resolved.
Facebook did not respond to a request for comment.
MAS is paid for by the financial services industry and has a £46.3m budget for 2012/13. Its aim is to provide free, impartial, basic information about money matters to consumers.
Last month the government gave its backing to the service despite calls for it to be wound up after a number of MPs probed the government about the effectiveness of the service,
