UK regulators punished the service, placing fake reviews about the products or services of its customers

Photo: Engadget

Reviews about a product or service of a particular company on Amazon or any other online marketplace are a great way to find a responsible and honest seller or choose a quality product that will serve faithfully for many years. Such information is one of the main indicators of the reputation of the retailer, and the overwhelming number of customers pay attention to the reviews.

And since they affect the popularity of the company among customers, many organizations are ready for anything, just to get a positive review. Next is the usual situation: if there is a demand for such reviews, then there is a supply. We are talking about services that write fake positive (or negative - about competitors) reviews for their clients. Such services are flourishing in many countries, but in the UK they may soon come to an end.

The Office for the Protection of Competition and Markets of Great Britain decided to restore order in this area. To this end, the Office began exploring the Total SEO & Marketing Ltd service (Total SEO), which places fake customer reviews on various internet markets. From 2014 to 2015, the company posted more than 800 such reviews. Management found that Total SEO worked for the benefit of 86 small companies on 26 different sites. Companies include car dealers, landscape designers, gadget dealers and businesses operating in other areas.
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After a detailed study of the situation, Total SEO was decided to punish. The company has avoided fines, but it will have to remove all the fake reviews that were posted on 26 different sites. In addition, the Office for the Protection of Competition and Markets will write to all Total SEO customers that working with Total SEO services that post reviews on behalf of other people and companies is illegal.

I must say that the service is still lucky. According to the provisions of the Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, companies that post fake reviews (no matter about their activities or the work of other companies) can be fined a considerable amount. And the leadership of such companies may even fall behind bars.