In monitoring consumer complaint sites, I saw a report in which a company allegedly misrepresented themselves to be Stanley Steemer® by redirecting internet phone traffic. When a customer Googled carpet cleaning, Stanley Steemer showed up on the first page. According to the complaining consumer, the phone number associated with Stanley Steemer on the Google map was somehow replaced by the phone number of the imposter.
When called, the company answered, "Carpet Cleaning." When asked the name of the company they said "where did you see our ad?" The consumer said, "under Stanley Steemer on the internet." The bogus operator then said they were "Stanley Steemer" and made the appointment. Redirecting traffic by hijacking Google search phone numbers and replacing them with counterfeit numbers is not nice. Who's responsible? If this story is true, I'd like to know and I'm sure Stanley Steemer would like to know.
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