Reporting a client's competitor's GBP listing for taking over an old/closed shop (different industry), inheriting all its (off-topic) reviews

[steviephil]

Hi all. A client's competitor has done something veeery dodgy (IMO anyway) and I'd appreciate some guidance on the best way to sort this / bring it to Google's attention.

The competitor has opened up a new location close to my client (they're a small but national chain), and rather than creating a new listing, it looks like they've overtaken an old listing - by the looks of it, I'm guessing it was a previous tenant of the building they've taken over.

Despite only opening in August 2022, they already have 61 reviews, all dated 4+ years ago, with some of the later ones saying something along the lines of: "This was a good shop but it's now closed."

The description also references that it's a pet food/suppliers store (my client and their competitor operate in a completely different industry).

Trying to suggest an edit doesn't let me edit/flag the description, and I can't seem to flag the reviews as a whole (unless I do them all individually). None of the remove/close options seem to fit, either (except for 'Other'). I considered the redressal form, but that only seems to pertain to NAP data, website or 'this business doesn't exist' issues.

What's my best bet here?

The ideas I have so far:

• Use the Suggest an Edit > Close/Remove > Other option and use annotated screenshots to explain what's going on? (But would the photos appear on my Google Map profile though?)
• Flag all the reviews individually as off-topic? (I'm worried that if Google takes an automated approach that ignores the date discrepancy, they won't all get removed - plus it'd be time-consuming.)
• Use the redressal form and state my case in the details box, even though it doesn't really fit any of the redressal options?
• Get in touch with Google Maps / GBP support another way?

Many thanks in advance for your help. Cheers!

 

[Claire Carlile]

Hey Steve - I'd probably go for the redressal option but interested to see what gets recommended! Good luck!

 

[ElizabethRule]

I agree with Claire. Try the redressal forms a few times, if you do not hear back form Google, head over to the GBP Community forum and ask a Product Expert to take a look. Include the details here as well as the Case IDs from your redressal forms.

 

[dgrunited]

Hi all. A client's competitor has done something veeery dodgy (IMO anyway) and I'd appreciate some guidance on the best way to sort this / bring it to Google's attention.

The competitor has opened up a new location close to my client (they're a small but national chain), and rather than creating a new listing, it looks like they've overtaken an old listing - by the looks of it, I'm guessing it was a previous tenant of the building they've taken over.

Despite only opening in August 2022, they already have 61 reviews, all dated 4+ years ago, with some of the later ones saying something along the lines of: "This was a good shop but it's now closed."

The description also references that it's a pet food/suppliers store (my client and their competitor operate in a completely different industry).

Trying to suggest an edit doesn't let me edit/flag the description, and I can't seem to flag the reviews as a whole (unless I do them all individually). None of the remove/close options seem to fit, either (except for 'Other'). I considered the redressal form, but that only seems to pertain to NAP data, website or 'this business doesn't exist' issues.

What's my best bet here?

The ideas I have so far:

• Use the Suggest an Edit > Close/Remove > Other option and use annotated screenshots to explain what's going on? (But would the photos appear on my Google Map profile though?)
• Flag all the reviews individually as off-topic? (I'm worried that if Google takes an automated approach that ignores the date discrepancy, they won't all get removed - plus it'd be time-consuming.)
• Use the redressal form and state my case in the details box, even though it doesn't really fit any of the redressal options?
• Get in touch with Google Maps / GBP support another way?

Many thanks in advance for your help. Cheers!

I don't see anything wrong in what they've done. They've legally acquired the assets of an old business & renamed it to the new business. What's wrong with that?

 

[steviephil]

I don't see anything wrong in what they've done. They've legally acquired the assets of an old business & renamed it to the new business. What's wrong with that?

Sorry if I wasn't clear. They haven't legally acquired the business - they're just in the same premises as a business that operated there years ago, and have (seemingly) acquired their GBP listing, which (presumably) has been "marked as permanently closed" for the last 4+ years. It's a completely different business in a completely different industry that went out of business 4+ years ago. It's not like they bought/took over another company (I'd agree that that'd be different).