Policy & process

Reviews from people who were never customers

The most common removable review is also the most misunderstood: one from someone you never served.

A review is meant to describe an experience with your business. Where the reviewer was never a customer, the content is describing something that did not happen, and that is where the policy argument starts.

The difficulty is proof. You cannot show that something never happened, so the case is built from what your records do not contain, combined with how the account behaves.

Send us the review and get an honest answer.

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  • Most cases decided in 24 to 72 hours
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How to establish it

Search systematically, then record the result. A documented absence is evidence.

  • Search every system you have: bookings, orders, invoices, client files, messaging history
  • Search for variations: maiden names, trading names, business names, telephone numbers, email addresses
  • Record the date of the search and what was searched, so the result is auditable
  • Check the account: brand-new profiles, single-review histories and clusters with other local businesses

Which policy it falls under

Depending on the wording, these cases are usually filed under one of two headings.

  • Fake engagement, where the review appears to have been written without any transaction
  • Off-topic content, where the review is about something other than a real experience with you
  • Conflict of interest, where the reviewer turns out to have a stake such as a rival or ex-employee

When you keep no records

Walk-in businesses, market traders and self-employed trades often have nothing to search. That is a real limitation, and it changes the strategy.

  • Pattern evidence becomes the whole case: arrivals, accounts, wording and timing
  • A review that contradicts something you can prove, such as being closed on the date described, is stronger than an absence
  • Where nothing supports a report, we will tell you so instead of filing a case that will fail

Official Google documentation

Questions we get asked

It can be, because a review must reflect a genuine experience. It is not automatic: the wording and the surrounding pattern are what let Google conclude the reviewer had no relationship with your business.

You work the other way around: search your records for the name and details on the account, and combine the absence of any match with how the account behaves.

There is, but it rests on pattern and wording rather than records. Send us the review and the accounts involved, and we will tell you honestly whether there is enough to file.

Related pages

Tell us about the review

Send the review or your Google Maps link on WhatsApp. We will tell you whether it breaks Google's rules, what a removal costs, and whether it is worth filing at all. The decision is always Google's, and the eligibility check is free.

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