Before we buy almost anything online now, we check the stars. That's exactly why fake reviews exist: a wall of five-star ratings sells. The good news is that they're now illegal in the UK, and with a few minutes' reading you can usually tell a real reputation from a manufactured one.
Why reviews matter so much
When you can't see a shop, touch the product or meet the people behind it, other customers' experiences are the next best thing. Genuine reviews tell you whether the thing arrived, whether it worked, and, most usefully, how the company behaved when something went wrong. That last part is what a scam shop can't fake for long.
What the law now says
Since April 2025, under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, it has been a banned practice in the UK to:
- write, submit or commission a fake review, meaning one that pretends to be based on a real experience when it isn't;
- post or commission reviews that hide the fact they were paid for or rewarded (free products, discounts, cash);
- publish reviews in a misleading way, for example by hiding the bad ones or showing a star rating that doesn't match the reviews behind it.
Websites that publish reviews must also take reasonable steps to stop fakes appearing. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) enforces this and can fine businesses up to 10% of their global turnover. It doesn't mean every fake has vanished, but the businesses that still do it are taking a real risk.
How to spot fake reviews
- Too perfect. Hundreds of five-star reviews and almost nothing in between is unusual. Real products collect a spread: mostly good, some middling, a few grumbles.
- All at once. A flood of reviews in a few days, especially for a new shop or product, is a warning sign. Check the dates.
- Vague and gushing. “Amazing product! Highly recommend! Five stars!” tells you nothing. Real reviews mention specifics: delivery took four days, the strap is shorter than it looks, customer service replied the same day.
- Same words, different names. Repeated phrases, identical structure, or the product name repeated awkwardly suggest reviews written to a script.
- Reviewer profiles. Where you can click on a reviewer, see what else they've reviewed. Dozens of five-star reviews for unrelated products on the same day isn't a normal shopper.
- The wrong product. On big marketplaces, reviews sometimes belong to a different item that was merged into the listing. If the reviews describe something else, ignore them.
How to read reviews sensibly
- Start with the three-star reviews. They're usually the most honest: people who liked it, with reservations.
- Read the one-star reviews for patterns. One angry customer is life. Twenty saying the parcel never came is a shop to avoid.
- Look at how the company replies. Polite, specific replies that fix problems are a good sign. No replies, or rude ones, aren't.
- Prefer verified purchases where the site labels them, and recent reviews over old ones: companies change.
- Check more than one place. Look the company up on a second review site and search its name with words like “scam” or “complaints”. A shop that only has glowing reviews on its own website hasn't proved much.
When there are no reviews at all
Every business starts with none, so no reviews doesn't mean a scam. It means you need other evidence: a real UK company number you can look up on Companies House, a physical address, clear terms of sale, and a way to contact a person. Our guide to spotting a scam website walks through the checks.
A word about us
We're a young company, so we don't have many reviews yet. We'd much rather have a handful of real ones than a page of fake ones, and we'll never buy, write or filter them. If you buy from us, tell people what you honestly thought, good or bad.
If you spot fake reviews
Use the site's “report” button on the review. If a business looks like it's faking its reputation, you can report it to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer helpline.