‘Fake Google Reviews are Damaging My Business’

It’s always important to look out for fake reviews and be wary. If you do receive one, there are a few things you can do about it such as:

  • If the review was left directly on Trustist, tell us and we can remove it – as long as it can be proven to be false.
  • Again, with proof, you can flag it to Google as to alert them and they will consider taking it down.
  • Turn it around to your advantage and demonstrate that you care about any bad experience a customer may have had.

If you’d like some more information on false reviews and the measures being taken to prevent them, click here to see a more an investigation completed by the CMA.

The Story

A small garage in the UK has begun legal action against Google for defamation because, despite their statements and policies, they have refused to delete the fake reviews that the business has been receiving.

Last week, BBC reporter Angus Crawford interviewed the owner, Richard Boatwright, who is furious at the lack of care his company seems to be getting. 

According to Richard, these reviews were completely fabricated as they were left with fake names and all rated one star. The business has no idea who is leaving these reviews but it’s hurting their business significantly.

Google’s Response

Richard mentions that when contacting Google multiple times he received a similar response each time, with Google saying that the reviews did not directly contravene their policies which meant they were not able to be removed.

Google have also said the following on the topic of potentially false reviews:

“The vast majority of reviews are helpful, relevant and authentic. We monitor closely for content that violates our policies 24/7”

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