FIVE major companies are under investigation as part of a crackdown on fake online reviews.
Autotrader, Just Eat, Feefo, Dignity and Pasta Evangelists are being investigated by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The CMA said it’s looking into whether food delivery platform Just Eat’s rating system inflated certain restaurants‘ and grocers’ star ratings.
Autotrader and Feefo are being probed over whether a number of one-star reviews – which were moderated by Feefo – were not published on Autotrader’s platform and were not counted towards star ratings.
Pasta restaurant Pasta Evangelists is being investigated over whether customers were offered discounts on future orders in exchange for leaving five-star reviews on delivery apps.
The CMA is also looking into funeral company Dignity to determine whether it asked staff to write positive reviews about its crematoria services.
No conclusions have been reached yet about whether consumer law has been broken by any of these companies.
The investigations are part of a major probe by the CMA making sure reviews are genuine and transparent.
Research from Which? found 89% of people use reviews when researching a product or service.
However, research by Truth Engine suggests up to 50% of online reviews are fake.
Last April, it became illegal to obtain and post fake reviews or promote paid-for reviews without clearly marking them as incentivised.
The new laws also aimed to stop companies hiding negative reviews or using star ratings to present an inaccurate picture.
Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, said: “Fake reviews strike at the heart of consumer trust – with many of us worrying about misleading content when looking at reviews online…
“We’ve given businesses the time to get things right. Now we’re deploying our new powers to tackle some of the most harmful practices head on.”
How to spot a fake review
THE CMA has given its top tips to make sure you’re not caught out…
- Read the reviews: It sounds obvious, but too often shoppers get taken in by 5-star ratings without actually reading what people have to say about a product or service. You’ll be surprised at how many reviews sound dubious, overly vague or even totally unrelated to the item they’re supposedly endorsing.
- Be alert to AI generated reviews: Advances in artificial intelligence mean fake reviews can now sound fluent, polished and highly convincing. If a review feels a bit too slick, reads like it’s been perfectly crafted, or uses very similar wording to others, it may not reflect a real customer’s experience. Trust your instincts – if something feels off, look for more detail elsewhere before deciding.
- Take a look at the other ratings: It’s unlikely that a 3 or 4-star review is fake, so they can be particularly useful. Someone might knock off a star because delivery was a day late or the packaging wasn’t perfect, but still be very happy overall. If their minor gripe doesn’t matter to you, you can be more confident the rest of their review is genuine.
- Check out multiple sites: We all have our go-to platform when it comes to reading reviews, but it’s always worth seeing what people are saying elsewhere. Looking across several sites helps you spot patterns – and ensures you’re getting a consistent picture.
