More threads by Tim Colling

Tim Colling

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This is a weird one...

I?m writing to describe an odd and fairly unpleasant phone call that I received last week or the week before.

One of my businesses moved from one location to another eighteen months ago. At that time, I edited the GMB settings for the business to indicate the new location. Note: it moved literally around the block, 500 feet away.

The URL for that mapmaker record is:
Google Map Maker

Not long after that, a new Google maps listing mysteriously appeared for the OLD address. I will refer to it here as the duplicate record. The URL for that duplicate record is:
Google Map Maker

In mapmaker I tried to claim it and indicate that it was a duplicate and that the business had moved.

Some time later someone took it upon themselves to mark the duplicate record as ?permanently closed?. I posted an objection, pointing out that it was a move.

Now, many months later, I received a phone call last week. The caller, who spoke English with a U.S. accent, asked whether the company was still located at the old address. He said that he worked for Google. I questioned him about this and explained that I was doing so because I get many, many calls from wannabe SEOs claiming to ?work with Google? but not really Google employees.

The caller got very huffy with me and insisted that he worked for Google. After he said that, I explained that the office had moved to the new location. At that, he said, ?You could have told me that to begin with? and hung up.

I checked Google maps today and found that the ?real? record, reflecting the current address, still exists and is active. I found that the ?duplicate record? also exists and is marked ?permanently closed?.

I have a couple of questions about this:

1) Is it likely that the caller really was a Google employee?

2) What can I do to get that duplicate record either deleted or at least marked as ?moved? instead of ?permanently closed??

Thanks!
 
1) Is it likely that the caller really was a Google employee?

2) What can I do to get that duplicate record either deleted or at least marked as ?moved? instead of ?permanently closed??

Thanks!

1) It's hard to say for sure. Did they happen to send any kind of follow-up e-mail?
2) GMB support can normally do this. I would try the twitter support option first.

Let us know if it works!
 
Always try to check caller ID Tim. Google usually calls from 650 area code.
 
Thanks James, will do. Back when the move took place, the "moved" status was not available.
 
Yeah it only existed that I'm aware of in the last 6 months, but frankly nowhere other than my article even mentions it so I don't see how any user would even know about it! Kind of crazy that the Help Center makes absolutely no mention of it.
 

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