The story begins in September 2024. Overnight, the restaurant's usual telephone number The Butchery from Langon, in Gironde, disappears from Google, replaced by a mysterious 0 893 02 55 10. Customers who try to call to reserve a table then fall into a formidable trap: an artificial voice keeps them on the line, repeating tirelessly “Please do not leave, we strive to shorten your wait”. Meanwhile, the counter is ticking and the euros are soaring.
“One customer told us they had an additional cost of 9 euros, another 5 euros”testifies Aurélie Lacampagne, the restaurant director, to the Republican South-Gironde. Even more worrying, the complaints have multiplied over the weeks. “At the beginning, we only had a few comments. From now on, there is not a day when we are not told about it” she said at the end of 2024.
A Kafkaesque situation facing the web giant
The most frustrating thing about this story? The inability to regain control of the situation. Despite repeated attempts by staff to change the number via their personal accounts, nothing worked. However, Google specifies in its conditions that “premium rate telephone numbers are not permitted”.
The Langon establishment found itself particularly isolated in this misadventure. Of the approximately 130 restaurants in the network The Boucherie in France, only that of Langon was targeted by this scam. Stranger still, the scam was only visible on Googleother search engines displaying the correct number.
The situation was all the more worrying as the end-of-year holidays approached, a crucial period for catering. To get around the problem, the establishment had to set up an online reservation system via ZenChef from November 21.
-Fortunately, this incredible story had a happy ending. On November 13, 2024, after the media coverage of the case, the correct number was finally restored to the restaurant's Google page..
This case is unfortunately not isolated. Premium rate number scams are increasing in various forms. Scammers buy premium rate numbers from operators and earn commissions on each call. The bill can quickly add up, with rates reaching €2.99 per call plus €2.99 per minute.
- A Gironde restaurant had its telephone number replaced by a premium rate number on Google for two months
- Customers who called to book were artificially kept in line, generating significant additional costs
- After media coverage of the affair, the situation returned to normal on November 13, 2024
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By: Opera
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