UK Small Businesses Denied Google Registration
I have crafted a formal letter of complaint to GoogleUK. I don't expect any response or action. However, I need to take action to highlight this issue to satisfy my brain.
In essence, they insist on a "Business Registration" as part of the validation process; no sole trader in the UK (of which there are over 4 million) has one. They will not take any other evidence, as their policy (which I have not been able to find) states this is a mandatory requirement.
This is discriminatory against small businesses in the UK, and they are favouring larger businesses with a limited company structure (registered at Companies House), and overseas companies. This completely goes against their image of supporting small businesses.
I'll also not mention here the process of validation, which is almost completely inaccessible to neurodivergent individuals, due to the complexity, language differences, poor communication and poor technology. It has taken 4 months to get even to this point!
It's also interesting to note that they are also prepared to turn down advertising revenue for the 4 million sole traders in the UK, this must be small change for them!
I decided (for other reasons) to register as a limited company, so for me (hopefully, the problem will go away). However, my ADHD sense of justice will not let this lie.
As I am sure this will be ignored, I am posting as an article here, in the hope that someone at Google read it. I would also like to raise awareness of this important issue.
Please share, and let me know below what your experiences are. 