A Google review from a former business partner

Google's content policy prohibits “Content that is based on a conflict of interest.” It says a conflict of interest may include current or former employment, a contractual or consultory relationship, “or other professional or personal affiliations that demonstrate a conflict of interest (such as industry competitors, familial relationships, etc.).” Google's page on biased reviews describes reviews “biased by a personal or professional conflict of interest.” A former co-owner's view of your business is shaped by the split, not by a visit.

• It talks about ownership, money, the split or how decisions were made.
• It uses “we” about the past, or knows staff, suppliers or numbers a customer would not.
• It went up close to the date of a buyout, a dissolution or a falling out.
• The account name or photo matches the person, or a relative of theirs.
• Several low reviews from new accounts arrived at the same time. Google lists content “posted from multiple accounts by or at the request of one person” as fake engagement.

None of these proves the case alone. Two or three together, read next to the partnership record, are what the case is built on.

A former partner who opened a rival business adds a second ground. Google's policy bars posting “on a competitor's place or business to undermine that business' or product's reputation,” and names industry competitors among its examples of a conflict of interest. Save their new business's listing, its address and its opening date. The overlap in trade and area is part of the record. If staff left with them, a run of low reviews from those former employees after the split meets the same clause, current or former employment.

• The partnership or operating agreement that names them
• The buyout, sale or dissolution document, with amounts blacked out
• A state business filing that lists them as a member or officer
• Emails or messages about the split, if they show the relationship
• A search of your customer records showing no purchase under their name
• Their new business listing, if they compete with you
• The date the partnership ended, next to the date the review was posted

Share only what shows the relationship. The terms of your split are not part of a review case.

Report it from your Business Profile or the Reviews Management Tool, choosing the reason that matches conflict of interest. If the first decision is no policy violation, you have a one-time appeal, and the appeal guides cover what happens next. In public, do not tell your side of the split. A reply like “This review was written by a former co-owner, not a customer, and we have reported it to Google” is accurate and short. Anything longer invites a second round. While you are in the profile, open the list of owners and managers. A former partner who still has access can reply as your business, so remove that access first.

The case sheet shows the review as posted, the conflict of interest clause, the reasoning, and the partnership record. The fee class is set by a fixed rubric: a review that states the relationship in its own words needs less than one where the proof sits outside the review, and several linked reviewers in one case is the heaviest class. You see the class and the fee before anything is filed.

Google decides. A fee is billed only after Google removes the review, and a declined case is filed a second time at the same fee. The free audit reads every low review on your listing, which is how a group of reviews from one circle is spotted.