Shoppers 'duped' by millions of fake online reviews
Half of the the population use online review websites such as Amazon, Tripadvisor, Expedia and Checkatrade - but can you trust everything you read?
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12:01AM BST 19 Jun 2015
Shoppers who use the internet to research hotels, books, electronics and other purchases are being misled by millions of "fake" reviews orchestrated by companies to trick potential customers, the consumer watchdog warns today as it begins an inquiry.
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More than half of the adults in Britain, around 25 million people, use online review websites such as Amazon, Tripadvisor, Expedia and Checkatradeto find the best deals.
But their impressions are "distorted" by the growth of a "clandestine" market for fake reviews, the Competition and Market Authority has discovered.
It found some companies were breaking the law by writing flattering posts about themselves to boost their rankings.
Others were offering money, free product samples or other "rewards" to people who write positive reviews or give five-star ratings.
In some cases, rival firms were posting disparaging remarks each other to cloud the judgement of by potential customers. And some review websites were hiding negative reviews because they had commercial arrangements with the companies facing criticism.
The scale of the issue is unknown because fake reviews are difficult to spot, the CMA said. However, it expressed concern that abuse could be widespread. Although some websites told the regulator just 2 per cent of their reviews were spurious, other sources claimed the proportion was "much higher", the watchdog said.
"Given the clandestine nature of the fake reviews, it would almost impossible to arrive at a credible figure," its report said.
An investigation will now commence and firms found to be acting illegally will be fined and their bosses may face prison.
Consumer groups welcomed the move. Which? said the inquiry was "critical" because research showed around £23 billion of purchases a year were influenced by online reviews.
Guy Anker, a director of consumer advice experts MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "It is utterly appalling that companies are engaging in practices where they are duping potential customers who just want an honest appraisal of their services."
"Review websites are a vital part of people's research, whether that's booking a hotel or buying a product, and so visitors need to be able to trust them."
Online reviews have grown into big and influential businesses in Britain. Nisha Arora, consumer director of the CMA, said they were "important information tools" that customers found "valuable".
One of the best-known specialist sites is Tripadvisor, which hosts hundreds of millions of reviews written by and for holidaymakers. Booking agents such as Expedia and retailers such as Amazon also provide reviews aloongside their primary function of selling a product or service. Checkatrade has 1.8 million reviews of electricians, plumbers, builders and other tradesmen, while Reevoo and Feefo collect and manage reviews on behalf of clients.
Many of these are free to use with revenues coming advertising, paid-for links, payments or commissions from the companies listed or the provision of "reputation management" services to these firms.
Some sites have developed systems to detect and verify fake reviews, but others had not, the CMA said.
It warned that websites were in some cases "selectively ordering" reviews so that positive ones came to the front. "Hiding" negative reviews is against the law, it said.
The different commercial arrangements that might influence the reviews and the way they were obtained was not always clear to users.
Customers were also trying to abuse the system by "blackmailing" companies by threatening to leave a negative review.
dan.hyde@telegraph.co.uk
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