What can I do to claim ownership of a verified GMB listing when that business has since been acquired by another company?

[pmaurer]

We have a client who recently expanded their business and asked us to set up a new GMB location for them. Their new office is located within a building that contains more than one business (e.g., Suite 101, 102, 103, etc.) When trying to verify their new listing, we realized that the location has already been claimed. The company that previously resided at this location still owns the GMB listing. However, that company was recently acquired by another business and no longer serves customers from the listed address.

We’re having trouble getting access to the GMB listing so we submitted a formal request to verify their business address. The request was made over 5 weeks ago and they still haven’t received a postcard in the mail.

Here are the steps we’ve taken so far to verify their new business listing:

• Requested business address verification via postcard after setting up a new GMB listing on March 26, 2021. (Postcard was never received.)

• Requested access from the current business owner, but our request was denied. (Business verification email was set up with a Gmail account, rather than a business account. We were told by the company that acquired the business that they weren’t sure whose email our GMB ownership request was being sent to or if that person was still employed by the company.)

• Suggested an edit on Google Maps to inform Google that the business has moved to a new location. (Business edits and profile suggestions have been made several times.)

• Called the phone number provided on the current GMB listing to request a transfer of ownership. However, we were told that the business had been acquired and that they no longer have access to their old listing. (The lady we spoke with told us that she had reached out to Google to request that the old business listing be removed and was waiting to hear back from support.)

• Submitted a support ticket explaining the situation and requesting further information regarding verification for the business listing.

• Resubmitted business verification request via postcard after several weeks had gone by and the business still hadn’t received a postcard in the mail.

After trying multiple verification methods and requesting ownership several times, we’re not sure how to proceed from here. Please provide any advice and/or next steps we should take to gain access to this GMB listing. I’ve provided a support ticket number below and am happy to provide any further details if necessary. Thank you!

Support Ticket #: 2-4266000031418

 

[Colan Nielsen]

@pmaurer I would post this over at the GMB Forum - Google My Business Community

For the GMB that you are trying to get ownership of, is it the same business name, website and phone number as yours? Just want to make sure that is the case. Just trying to understand why the GMB already exists at that location if this is a new, second location for your client.