Google Review Accused Our Business of Theft. We Had No Way to Respond

We are a small construction business operating in Poland. Recently, a former worker — pretending to be a customer — left a public review on our Google Business profile accusing us of stealing building materials.

This is a false and defamatory claim. The person was never our client. We have legal documentation, internal records, and evidence to prove that this accusation is fabricated and malicious.

We filed a formal complaint with Google, submitted a detailed explanation via the official Legal Complaint Form, and even attempted to reach out through various feedback channels.

We received no meaningful response. There is no option to upload evidence. There is no human contact. There is no process for appeal or verification.

Despite the fact that this is a serious criminal accusation (theft), Google’s review system does not require the reviewer to submit any proof, and there is no due process for the accused party.

This situation is not about a bad review — it’s about how a global platform allows anyone to publish criminal allegations that may damage small businesses, while refusing to review actual documentation or even acknowledge appeals.

The core issue here is that there is no verification mechanism for potentially harmful content in reviews — and no channel for resolution when reputational harm is inflicted without basis.

We’re sharing this case not for sympathy, but to raise a question:

How can small businesses defend themselves when platforms like Google make them vulnerable to fake, unverified, and potentially criminally defamatory reviews — and then simply ignore all efforts to respond?

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If needed, we can provide documentation. We’re open to suggestions, legal insight, and real-world stories from others who’ve been in similar situations.