A one-star review appears complaining about the plumber who never turned up. You're a hairdresser. Or it describes your branch in a city you don't operate in. Or it details an argument at the counter on a Sunday when you were closed.

This is uniquely infuriating because it's not even unfair criticism — it's criticism of somebody else, attached to your name. The instinct is to reply with all the evidence and set the record straight loudly.

Don't. There's a better sequence.

Step 1: Slow down and check properly

Before anything else, rule out the possibilities that would make you look foolish:

Was it a different member of staff or shift? Ask before you assert. Owners have publicly denied incidents that turned out to have happened.
Do you have a second location, a franchise, or a former trading name?
Did a subcontractor or delivery partner act in your name? To the customer, that was you.
Is there a business with a similar name nearby? Check Maps.
Did you take over these premises from someone else? Old reviews stay on a listing.

Only once you're certain should you treat it as a wrong-business review.

Step 2: Report it — this one has a real chance

Most removal requests fail because "this review is unfair" isn't a policy category. This case is different. A review about a different business is genuinely off-topic and not based on a real experience of your business, which is squarely within Google's content policies.

Find the review on Google Maps or in your Business Profile.
Use the three-dot menu to report it.
Choose the category that fits — off-topic, or not based on a real experience.
In any free-text box, be factual and specific: "This review describes [service] which we do not offer. We are a [your business type] and have never traded as [what they described]."
If it's rejected and you're confident, escalate through Google Business Profile support with the same facts.

The full escalation process is in how to remove a fake Google review.

Step 3: Reply anyway, while you wait

Removal takes days or weeks, and often doesn't happen. Meanwhile every visitor sees an unanswered accusation.

The reply has one job: make it obvious to any reader that this review isn't about you, without calling anyone a liar. Facts, no heat.

Wrong business type

Thank you for the feedback, though I think this may have been left for another business — we're a [your business] and don't offer [the service described]. If we have got something wrong for you, please do email me at [email] and I'll look into it straight away.

Wrong location

Thanks for taking the time to write this. We only have the one site, here in [town], so I think this may relate to a different business with a similar name. If you did visit us and we let you down, I'd genuinely like to know: [email].

Event that didn't happen

Thank you for the review. We don't have any record of the situation described and we were closed on the date mentioned, so this may be meant for another business. If I've got that wrong, please contact me at [email] — I'd rather look into it than leave it.

A subcontractor or third party acted in your name

I'm sorry — that work was carried out by a contractor on our behalf, which makes it our responsibility regardless. Thank you for telling us. Please email [email] and I'll deal with it personally.

Why the softening matters

Notice that every example ends by leaving the door open. That isn't weakness — it's the most persuasive part.

A reply that only says "this isn't us" can read as a brush-off, and the occasional reader will assume you're dodging. A reply that says "this doesn't appear to be us, but if I'm wrong I want to know" is unarguable. Whichever way the reader leans, you look reasonable.

You are never trying to win the argument in the reply box. You are trying to be the more reasonable voice on the page.

What not to write

"This review is fake." Even when true, it reads defensively and invites a reply from the reviewer.
"We have reported this to Google." Nobody reading benefits from knowing, and it looks like an attempt to intimidate.
Evidence dumps. Booking numbers, CCTV, staff rotas. Long defensive replies always look worse than the accusation — here's why length works against you.
Sarcasm. Tempting, permanent, screenshotted.
Naming the other business you think they meant. Not your job, and occasionally defamatory.

If it's not a mistake

Sometimes a review describing things that never happened isn't confusion — it's deliberate. The signs: several similar reviews in a short window, accounts with no history, or content matching a dispute you're already in.

That needs a different approach, covered in what to do when a competitor buys fake reviews. The reply advice stays identical: calm, factual, door open. The difference is in how hard you push on the reporting side.

Reploi drafts these neutral, factual replies automatically, so a review that makes your blood boil gets answered in the tone you'd want rather than the one you feel. Start free — 5 replies/month →

How to Respond to a Review for Something You Didn't Do