⭐⚖️ Can You Still Trust Online Reviews? The Law Has Changed...

James Easson

5d • ⚖️ General discussion

Before buying a product or service, what do most of us do?

👉 We check the reviews....

Whether it's a restaurant, tradesperson, online retailer or holiday, reviews can have a huge influence on our decision.

But...

⚠️ What if those reviews aren't genuine?

🚨 The UK Is Cracking Down on this as may unscrupulous companies pay for fake reviews.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is now taking a much tougher approach to fake and misleading reviews.

In fact, several well-known businesses are currently under investigation as part of a wider crackdown on review practices. The investigations include concerns about whether consumers may have been given a misleading impression through ratings or review systems. Importantly, an investigation does not mean that any business has broken the law.

📱 What Could Be Unlawful?

Examples include:

❌ Posting fake positive reviews.

❌ Paying people to leave reviews without making that clear.

❌ Asking staff or friends to pretend they're genuine customers.

❌ Cherry-picking only positive reviews while hiding genuine negative ones.

❌ Operating a review system that gives consumers a misleading impression.

💡 What About Businesses?

This isn't just about people writing fake reviews.

Businesses are increasingly expected to take reasonable steps to:

✔️ detect fake reviews

✔️ remove misleading content

✔️ ensure incentivised reviews are clearly disclosed

✔️ operate fair and transparent review systems

🛍️ Subscription Traps Are Also Under The Spotlight

The regulator is also focusing on businesses that make it:

👉 easy to sign up...

...but unnecessarily difficult to cancel.

Examples include:

📅 "Free trials" that quietly become paid subscriptions (hidden costs).

🔄 Automatic renewals that aren't clearly explained.

📩 Complicated cancellation procedures (near impossible to find a way to cancel).

💳 Continuing to take payments after consumers believed they had cancelled....

Consumers should be given clear information before entering into recurring payment arrangements.

💬 What Should Consumers Do?

Before relying on reviews:

⭐ Read a mixture of positive and negative feedback.

📅 Check when the reviews were posted.

🧐 Be cautious if dozens of reviews appear almost identical.

🔍 Look beyond the star rating and read the comments themselves.

And before signing up to any subscription:

📄 Read the renewal terms.

📆 Make a note of any trial end date.

💳 Check your bank statements regularly for recurring payments.

⚖️ The Bigger Picture

The internet has made shopping easier than ever...

...but it's also made it easier for dishonest businesses to manipulate consumer confidence.

The good news?

UK consumer protection law is evolving, and regulators now have stronger powers to investigate and take enforcement action where businesses fail to comply.

💬 Over to you...

Have you ever:

⭐ discovered that online reviews were misleading?

🔄 struggled to cancel a subscription?

💷 been caught out by a "free trial" that wasn't quite as free as you expected?

Feel free to share your experience below 👇

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⭐⚖️ Can You Still Trust Online Reviews? The Law Has Changed...