I hate it, and I am sure hate it also, when someone calls you and claims they are Google. It happens fairly often, espesially around Google My Business local listings. It is nothing new and it seems like Google can't do anything to stop it. These companies call unsuspecting businesses, claim they are from Google, and threaten that their local listing will be removed if they don't pay up.
Well, the UK's Insolvency Service, a government agency in the UK, shut down one such firm doing this practice in the UK. The BBC reports the government agency said this specific firm they shut down did the following:
- falsely implied that it represented or was affiliated to Google when speaking to clients
- falsely implied they would lose their listings if they failed to pay it
- failed to make clear its contracts auto-renewed after a 12-month period
- used "offensive and threatening" debt collection methods
Sound familiar?
I just wish there was a faster way to close down these firms.
Forum discussion at WebmasterWorld.
