Fine them enough to put these tramp dens out of business
A BBC investigation found that some positive Google reviews for UK-based medical clinics may be fake:^1
>Consumer groups say fake reviews are a “significant and persistent problem” and have called on internet firms to do more to remove them and fine companies.
>Which? has warned it could be a serious issue if someone chooses a treatment clinic based on reading a fake review.
>The government said it was toughening the law to protect consumers, while Google said it removed fake reviews.
>Fake reviews can be bought online and have been known to appear on Amazon, Trustpilot and the App Store.
One business owner contacted by the BBC said that he had outsourced his marketing to a company in India, and was unaware of the reviews posted on Google.
Trading Standards should have closed both Google Reviews and ban them from the UK if they can’t police their reviews and the clinics using those tactics.
If you want to get business from people using false representation, there is a name for it.
Why do they beat around the bush rather than just save everyone’s time and tackle it head on?
>”may be fake”
lmao. Google reviews aren’t verified and Google themselves don’t even police them. I’ve reported several fake reviews from business competitors and they’re still there years later.
If you want verified reviews, use TrustPilot or Reviews.co.uk. They both have a ‘verified’ section which means the user has bought a product.
Also, my business never gets bad reviews because we vet who we said review emails to. A customer who’s had a bad experience and a delay? He won’t get sent one. A customer who’s had a great experience? He will get sent an email asking him to leave a review. So the reviews for a business end up looking amazing even though there are loads of customers that had a bad experience.
Anything you see on the internet is fake asf.
The entire practice of online reviews with no vetting and verification is nonsense and should be banned anyway. Businesses live and die on their reputation, and these platforms provide easy free access for bad actors to either spam positive reviews, or to run down businesses with negative ones. It’s not an accurate reflection of anything any more, and companies like Google should stop posting things they have no idea if they’re true next to the names of companies that rely on their reputation for their business.
5 comments
Fine them enough to put these tramp dens out of business
A BBC investigation found that some positive Google reviews for UK-based medical clinics may be fake:^1
>Consumer groups say fake reviews are a “significant and persistent problem” and have called on internet firms to do more to remove them and fine companies.
>Which? has warned it could be a serious issue if someone chooses a treatment clinic based on reading a fake review.
>The government said it was toughening the law to protect consumers, while Google said it removed fake reviews.
>Fake reviews can be bought online and have been known to appear on Amazon, Trustpilot and the App Store.
One business owner contacted by the BBC said that he had outsourced his marketing to a company in India, and was unaware of the reviews posted on Google.
^1 Emma Vardy (1 Aug. 2023), “Warning over medical clinics using fake Google reviews”, https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-66329833
Trading Standards should have closed both Google Reviews and ban them from the UK if they can’t police their reviews and the clinics using those tactics.
If you want to get business from people using false representation, there is a name for it.
Why do they beat around the bush rather than just save everyone’s time and tackle it head on?
>”may be fake”
lmao. Google reviews aren’t verified and Google themselves don’t even police them. I’ve reported several fake reviews from business competitors and they’re still there years later.
If you want verified reviews, use TrustPilot or Reviews.co.uk. They both have a ‘verified’ section which means the user has bought a product.
Also, my business never gets bad reviews because we vet who we said review emails to. A customer who’s had a bad experience and a delay? He won’t get sent one. A customer who’s had a great experience? He will get sent an email asking him to leave a review. So the reviews for a business end up looking amazing even though there are loads of customers that had a bad experience.
Anything you see on the internet is fake asf.
The entire practice of online reviews with no vetting and verification is nonsense and should be banned anyway. Businesses live and die on their reputation, and these platforms provide easy free access for bad actors to either spam positive reviews, or to run down businesses with negative ones. It’s not an accurate reflection of anything any more, and companies like Google should stop posting things they have no idea if they’re true next to the names of companies that rely on their reputation for their business.