Google Reviews

Fake reviews could soon be made illegal in the UK and websites which host them could face huge fines as part of a new government crackdown.

The government has unveiled new proposals to make it illegal to write, pay for, or host fake online reviews in the UK Under the new proposals the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) would be given powers to fine an online retailer up to 10 per cent of their annual revenues for featuring false reviews which encourage a consumer to spend more than they want to.

Fake Google reviews can be left by anyone, but typically it is simply a troll with too much time on their hands. Regardless of who created the fake review, it’s important to act quickly and deal with it.

The user also has used what looks like a genuine name. In this case, the best option is to respond.

At Satnav Specialist we take these matters very seriously but we have found it practically impossible to remove these reviews because, in Google’s eyes, the user is registering their genuine feedback using their star rating.