Four years ago, Google mistakenly published my restaurant business’s details, including the phone number and address, in the search results for “how to contact Google in the UK”.
At first I got just a few calls from people trying to get through to it but now I receive up to 300 a week, including on my personal mobile, as well as messages and letters. I have more than 130 voice messages.
I feel obliged to answer each call because it might be a potential customer. This situation is leaving me tired and anxious and has turned running my business into a nightmare. I have made numerous attempts to contact Google but no one ever gets back to me.
DI, London
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You want customers to be able to find your restaurant on Google not instead of Google, and this listing error has resulted in several years of unnecessary harassment.
When I first contacted Google, it advised that you use the “feedback” button, which appears at the bottom of search results. When I suggested this, you wearily replied that you had done that many times over and got precisely nowhere. So I went back to Google, and this time it investigated.
Google says: “We’ve analysed the issue in line with our search policies and taken action, and can confirm that this telephone number will no longer appear for this query.”
You are relieved that the Google calls have finally stopped, and grateful for my help, but feel it could have at least offered an apology for the bother you have suffered.
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