Busted! Google Places (GMB) Scam Company Shut Down for Lying & Intimidation

[Linda Buquet]

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A UK company that not only pretended to be Google, but also allegedly threatened, intimidated and harassed customers has been sanctioned by the UK government and has been put out of business pending investigation.

The company is Online Platform Management Consultants Ltd. but also allegedly went by other names such as Mygoogleuk and Social Network Promotions.

Here is a 6 page thread at the Google My Business forum with TONS of complaints about lies, threats and intimidation. Folks have been complaining about and reporting this company for 2 years. Sounds like a really bad bunch! Long lists of additional complaints can be found at TrustPilot and Scambook.

Wow how could I not have heard of this company before? I've never seen a company with more complaints and more deserving of being shutdown.

<a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/news/provisional-liquidator-appointed-to-on-line-platform-management-consultants-limited">Provisional liquidator appointed to OnLine Platform Management Consultants Limited - Press releases - GOV.UK</a>

A Manchester based company which offered to manage the 'Google My Business' (formerly 'Google Places') listings of its customers, was placed into provisional liquidation on 10 February 2015, following an investigation by Company Investigations, part of the Insolvency Service.

OPMC had been the subject of a significant volume of complaints during its two-and-a-half year trading history, including from Google itself, which included allegations that it was misrepresenting itself as Google or an affiliate of Google and that it subjected its customers to threats and intimidation in order to collect funds it claimed were owed to it. The company operated out of trading premises at 23 New Mount Street, Manchester, from where it cold called prospective customers...

The case is now subject to High Court action and no further information will be made available until the petition to wind up the company is heard in the High Court in Manchester on 13 April 2015.

Click over to read the rest. I don't really understand how the UK government works, but lots of folks reported OPMC to "Trading Standards" and "Company Investigations" which seemingly resulted in the current legal actions. (It sounds like forced bankruptcy or something - don't really understand.)

All I know is I wish some of the shady US companies would get shut down like this.

Has anyone here run into this company or had clients that were scammed by them?
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