Duplicate GBP Owned by Someone Else — Reclaimed and Merged

Client Background

An Australian digital agency brought me this one for their client, a pipe relining company in Sydney. The business had two Google Business Profiles with the same address, phone number and website. The client managed one of them. The other held most of the reviews, and nobody at the business knew who controlled it. Customers kept leaving reviews on the profile the owner couldn't touch or reply from.

Then the reviews turned. Someone overseas started posting 1-star reviews on the main profile and texting the owner demands for payment to make them stop. The agency had already raised an ownership request with Google a week earlier and heard nothing back.

The Problem

A Sydney pipe relining business had two Google Business Profiles. The one holding the review history was owned by an unknown Gmail account, and an ownership request had gone unanswered for a week.

At the same time, someone overseas was posting fake 1-star reviews on that profile and texting the owner for payment to remove them.

Challenges

• Main profile owned by an unknown Gmail account, with no reply to the ownership request
• Google refused to merge until both profiles sat under the same account
• The first ownership request had gone in at manager level, which can't transfer ownership
• Hidden-address service area business, so the profile didn't appear in Google's ownership search
• Fake 1-star reviews tied to an extortion attempt
• After Google reported the merge complete, the duplicate was still live on Maps

Diagnosis & Investigation

Two problems arrived together, and they needed different answers. The fake reviews looked urgent but weren't the main job. I had seen the same pattern across several businesses that month: a burst of 1-star reviews from overseas accounts, then a payment demand. Those bursts tend to get caught by Google's own spam filters within days. So I asked the owner not to reply or pay, and gave Google a week before raising a manual removal.

The real problem was control. Google won't merge two profiles unless both sit under the same account, and the profile with the reviews belonged to a Gmail account nobody could identify. Until the owner controlled it, there was nothing to merge into.

The ownership request had stalled for two reasons. It had gone in at manager level, which Google can't use to transfer ownership. And because the business was a service area business with a hidden address, the profile didn't show up in Google's ownership search, so the owner couldn't refile it the normal way. The case had to run through Google Support, with the business proving itself from its own domain email.

The Solution

1. 1Told the owner not to reply to or pay the person posting the fake reviews, and gave Google a week before escalating them
2. 2Got manager access to the profile the client controlled, then asked for the documents Google wants in ownership disputes: business name registration, ABN, plumbing licence, insurance, a recent utility bill and invoices, all matching the profile's name, address and phone
3. 3Refiled the ownership request at owner level through Google Support and consented to Google sharing my contact details with the current owner
4. 4Waited out the 3-day window for the current owner to respond, then followed up as soon as it closed
5. 5Wrote the owner's reply to Google's confirmation email, sent from the business-domain inbox on the same thread so the case kept its history
6. 6Re-escalated when the 'completed' merge left the duplicate live on Maps, until it was removed and its reviews moved across

Day-by-Day Timeline

1. Day 1 (10 Sep)

   Agency brings the case: two profiles, the one with the reviews owned by an unknown account, and fake 1-star reviews tied to payment demands. Owner told not to reply or pay.

2. Day 2 (11 Sep)

   Manager access granted on the client's profile. Document list sent. Google declines the merge because the two profiles aren't under the same account.

3. Day 7 (16 Sep)

   Ownership request refiled at owner level through Google Support. The profile has a hidden address, so it doesn't appear in the normal ownership search.

4. Day 8 (17 Sep)

   Consent given for Google to share my details with the current owner. The main profile drops from 56 to 43 reviews as Google removes the fake ones on its own.

5. Day 9 (18 Sep)

   Google forwards the request to the current owner and starts a 3-day response window.

6. Day 13 (22 Sep)

   No response from the current owner. Followed up with Google Support.

7. Day 14 (23 Sep)

   Google confirms it has emailed the business-domain inbox to confirm the business and is waiting on a reply.

8. Day 15 (24 Sep)

   Owner replies to Google from the business-domain inbox using the wording I sent. Google escalates to its specialist team.

9. Day 19 (28 Sep)

   Main profile verified. The client now controls the profile with the review history.

10. Day 20 (29 Sep)

    Google reports the merge done, but the duplicate is still on Maps, now unmanaged. Re-escalated.

11. Day 22 (1 Oct)

    Duplicate removed from Search and Maps. Google confirms its reviews moved to the main profile.

Key Lessons

• 1An ownership request filed at manager level can't transfer ownership. File it at owner level.
• 2A service area business with a hidden address may not show in Google's ownership search. Google Support can take the request instead.
• 3A reply from the business's own domain email is what moved the case. It had to be a reply on Google's thread, not a new email, or the case history would have been lost.
• 4Fake review bursts tied to payment demands are often removed by Google's filters within days. Don't reply, don't pay, and give it a week before escalating.
• 5'Merge complete' from Support isn't the finish line. Check Maps yourself and escalate again if the duplicate is still showing.

Prevention Checklist

• Keep every Google Business Profile under an owner account the business controls, not a staff member's or a former agency's personal Gmail.
• Search Maps for your business name, phone number and address once a year to catch duplicates early.
• Use email on your own domain and check it. Google uses it to confirm who the business is.
• During an ownership dispute or merge, send customers to the profile you control, screenshot the existing reviews, and make no edits until it's done.
• Never reply to or pay someone who demands money to remove reviews. Flag the reviews and let Google's process run.

Frequently Asked Questions