I did the same on MSNLive Local, however, I got a little irritated when they said they would send me a letter to verify my business listing.  My irritation was more due to the lack of immediacy that I had experienced on Google.

BUT…Logic prevailed.

ROUND 1 TO MSN: The appropriate way is MSN’s way as they are verifying the location by actually sending a piece of mail to this address in which I gratefully appreciate.

ROUND 2 TO MSN: If Google had done this, I would not still be trying to remedy my mistake upon submission with them as the company I mistakenly associated myself with would not have verified my location.  Which by the way, I am receiving terrific organic traffic from, not to mention resumes and my company is completely unrelated. Missed the goal on relevant results for this one Google.

ROUND 3 TO MSN: Google’s inappropriate business listing submission seriously lacks security. Who is to say that one couldn’t just create a local business listing using one of their competitors names and simply create another listing that directed them to their phone number? Since all that Google verifies is the phone number. A simple mistake if phone calls ever came in or is it? A savvy and slightly devious business development professional could easily turn these mistaken phone calls into a leads, thus creating a new lead generation tool for themselves.

And while I realize that this same savvy and devious business professional could also have MSN Local letters sent to their own address, there is a bit more work involved than just merely a 5 second verification phone call from Google.

Am I missing something? I welcome all comments on this topic.