[M.Acorn]

What can I do,they are using my name and address,but not my number ?
Going to call it in the morning and ask what the hell is going on !!


http://www.mgdprofessionalcleaningpe28.co.uk/domesticcarpetcleaninghuntingdon.html

This is just so wrong ,I am fuming !! How can I get it shut down ?

[Jim_77]

Call him round a friend's house for a quote, lock the door as you close it behind him, then hand him your business card.  would make for an interesting conversation!!

But seriously what's the website address?!

[M.Acorn]

In the post jim,Can't believe the stuff they have put up there,especially about flea control !!

[Jim_77]

The phone number must be brand new, google throws up no results apart from on that website.

Sh*t, I would be fuming as well if I found this!!

I'd suggest a call to your local trading standards tomorrow morning mate, and then probably a solicitor after that.

I'd be seriously tempted to go down the "surprise customer" route but probably not advisable unless legal methods are too slow.

Good luck mate.

Oh and why does this s**t always happen to you?!!

[Jim_77]

You might be able to use the WHOIS database, all websites must by international law be registered to a person.  I can't remember how it works

[Jim_77]

The registrant is YELL Ltd !!!

http://www.whois-search.com/whois/mgdprofessionalcleaningpe28.co.uk

Domain name:
        mgdprofessionalcleaningpe28.co.uk

    Registrant:
        Yell Limited

    Registrant type:
        UK Limited Company, (Company number: 4205228)

    Registrant's address:
        Queens Walk
        Oxford Road
        Reading
        Berkshire
        RG1 7PT
        United Kingdom

    Registrar:
        Yell Limited [Tag = YELL]

    Relevant dates:
        Registered on: 30-Oct-2009
        Renewal date:  30-Oct-2011
        Last updated:  01-Nov-2009

    Registration status:
        Registered until renewal date.

    Name servers:
        nsa.yell.com
        nsb.yell.com

    WHOIS lookup made at 23:46:41 13-Sep-2011

[M.Acorn]

Tell me about it mate !! Must have stepped on someone's toes ? It's just hijacking my company name,and reputation,it's 1 result below my site,some of the stuff written on there is just stupid !!

[M.Acorn]

Oh my god !!! This must be their attempt at designing a website for my business,with out me giving the go ahead,they were trying to sell me something like this earlier in the year,I said no,can I sue them ?

[Jim_77]

I don't know exactly what's going on mate, I suggest you ring them first thing in the morning and have a stern word!!

Look at the registration date, 2 years ago

[M.Acorn]

Yeah I just don't understand why the have done it without my permission,and made it live,will call them first thing,I have a good mind to cancel them entirely for this

[Jim_77]

Dont cut off your nose to spite your face... you could turn it round to get a big discount on your next year's advertising

Don't lose your head, would be my advice

[Ian Rochester]

When I first clicked on the website I thought it might be a Yell one.

I'll be surprised if they have gone to this much work without some form of discussion with you, however I've found with Yell that they "twist" what you agreed to at the meetings to maximise their revenue, that's why I have stopped the sales reps coming round now and I do it all online.

You'll probably find that the number is a yell bespoke number that does or will come directly to your phone, they create these fake numbers so that they can track how many people are coming to you through this avenue of advertising.

Ring the number and see if it comes to your phone.

[Jamie Pearson]

Yell did this (with our permission) a few years back.
They basically copied our listing but diverted the calls to us so that they could play with keywords etc and we got the business. Not sure if it was built prior to them suggesting it to us.

[Jamie Pearson]

The site reads like one we had set up with customer street, which works very well, it's written to be keyword rich and great for google to read.

When you call the number does it divert to you?

[M.Acorn]

Not called the number yet,I never agreed to it,I point blank refused when he told me how much it was,the rep did say he would contact me in 6 months or so,and see if I had changed my mind about the website deal.
But there has been no contact with them either way,I had cut down my advertising with them,to just Yell.com.
I just think some of the stuff on the site is untrue,especially where they mention flea control,I am not a licensed pest controller !

Will speak to them calmly this morning

And the bit about some carpet cleaners using soap and water to clean carpets !!

[davep]

The number will ring your phone. It's yell trying to offer you more so you stay with them.

[Clare.w]

OMG, this is so funny!! This happened to me last year.
I was sooooo angry I called my I.T man at about 11pm at night. He was out with freinds but still checked it out -can you imagine how imbarassed I was was when he told me it was my website that Yell had made for me!!
Worst thing was they had put services that we didn't offer!!
I got them to take it down and got a bit of a discount on last years yellow pages add because of it.

A few monthes ago a customer told me when he googled us he came across another website with all our content in it! someone in Whales had just copied and cut everything from our website -including the testimonials -and just pasted it on theirs!!
She had only changed her name address and tel number, thing was though she hadn't even read it properly and just copied the testimonials when they said Clarick Cleaning in them, so when people googled us  -HER WEBSITE WAS 5TH in the listings!!!

Took lots of phonecalls from me and my I.T man to get her to take it down -cheeky cow!!!

[Clare.w]

Yell use a different number, its sposed to be so you can count the amount of calls you get from it, It will go to your phone though!. My so called website looked exactly the same as this!

They never asked me about content, I didn't even know they were doing it! Just a way of making thier stupid prices sound less stupid when thier giving you the hard sell,

[M.Acorn]

Worst thing was they had put services that we didn't offer!!

Yes like removing stains from garments !!
So very underhand

[Clare.w]

It is so out of order, stupid website does nothing but make you look un professional.
I think it could actually be harmfull to your business if anyone actually came across it!
Yell need to sort this out!

When you call them be really MAD!! get them to discount your next add