If you search for "bphonebook: intuit ma" you will see a phone number
which was one of Intuit's three years ago, but which is now my
personal phone number. (Yes, I get lots of calls asking for TurboTax
support etc.)

The phone company who "owns" this number, Verizon, obviously knows it
changed three years ago, so why does it still appear on the web in a
bunch of places, and how to really stamp it out from Google and
elsewhere?

It appears that the Google Phone Book Removal form
(://www.google.com/help/pbremoval.html) is only for residential
listings, and it is not linked from the bphonebook pages.

Hi there,

To get that errant number out of Google, and gain yourself a little
peace, it's going to require a bit of three-way cooperation between
you, Intuit, and Google.

First, write a letter to Google explaining the problem in detail.  Let
them know exactly which number no longer belongs to Intuit, and
include your full contact information so they may verify that it is
now your number.  Send it to:

Google Phonebook Removal
2400 Bayshore Parkway
Mountain View, CA 94043

Next, write a letter to Intuit.  Explain to them that you are now the
owner of one of their old phone numbers and have been getting calls
for them.  Ask them for their cooperation in getting the Google
listing corrected, and explain that you would like them to submit a
request to Google to remove that listing, referring them to the
address above.  They'll need to include the full listing that needs to
be removed.  Send your letter to:

Intuit
890 Winter St. Suite 200
Waltham, Massachusetts 02451

If you're more comfortable sending the letter to a specific person at
Intuit, give them a call during regular business hours
(1-781-839-1500) to find out who best to send your letter to.

To answer the rest of your question:

<<The phone company who "owns" this number, Verizon, obviously knows
it
changed three years ago, so why does it still appear on the web in a
bunch of places, and how to really stamp it out from Google and
elsewhere?>>

...well, you probably *can't* completely stamp it out, unless you
resort to changing your telephone number.

The reason your phone number is still showing up online as Intuit's
number is because Google (and every other online telephone directory)
receives their information from third party providers.  These third
party providers get their information by mining old (outdated!) phone
books.

Some of these third party providers update their information every six
months, some only once a year, and some never at all.  It's hit or
miss, and neither Google nor any other online directory has control
over when or if these providers ever update.  Though it is entirely
likely that Verizon has long since corrected their records, there is
no specified "refresh period" for online directories.

In any case, writing to both Intuit and Google ought to get the Google
listing corrected.  It will, unfortunately, not correct listings in
any of the other 600,000 online directories out there, I'm afraid.

I'm sorry there isn't a simpler solution for you!

--Missy

Search terms: [ Google Phone Book ]

---

Request for Answer Clarification by englishpaulm-ga on 23 Jun 2003 02:56 PDT

Hi Missy, thanks for your response.

I was looking for someone to actually get me removed, not just tell me
how to get myself removed. :) See my initial subject line. I should
have been more clear, sorry. And maybe that is too much to ask....

There is no way to do this via the web? We have to write a paper
letter? Are you sure that address will handle business listing
removals? How do you know?

FYI I'm friends with Intuit and they are willing to help but are as
puzzled as me.

Thanks!

---

Clarification of Answer by missy-ga on 23 Jun 2003 07:56 PDT

Hello again,

I'm afraid no one but the people who handle the Google Phone Book can
remove the listing for you.

Google (and every other online directory) has specific policies to
adhere to and procedures which must be followed to ensure that they
are dealing with the owner of the phone number, and will not accept
requests from third parties to alter a listing.

You *must* write a paper letter, and the Phone Book Removal address is
the *only* address that handles issues dealing with the Google Phone
Book:

" *  To remove your business listing information from the Google
phonebook, please send a signed request on your company letterhead to
the address below. Include a phone number at which you can be reached
so that we may verify your phonebook removal request."

Google Phonebook Name Removal
://www.google.com/help/pbremoval.html

--Missy

missy-ga was very helpful; however, i wanted to pay $20 to make this
problem go away, having someone do the change for me. Maybe my
original subject was not clear enough about this?

Given that Google Answers does not allow me to select a partial
payment (sigh), I'm paying the whole $20.