The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has launched five new consumer law investigations as part of a crackdown on fake and misleading reviews – opening cases across sectors including funerals, food delivery and car sales. An online reviews expert welcomed the news and urged consumers to fundamentally change how they assess reviews, as his company has found over half are fake.

The companies being investigated are Autotrader, Feefo, Dignity, Just Eat and Pasta Evangelists. Online reviews, the CMA notes, play a significant role in people’s decisions, influencing billions of pounds of UK spending every year. Research from Which? found that 89% of people use reviews when researching a product or service – making it essential that the information they rely on is genuine and transparent.

The CMA is investigating five businesses to determine whether they have infringed consumer law:

• Autotrader and Feefo – Treatment of negative reviews: Whether a number of 1‑star reviews – which were moderated by Feefo – were not published on Autotrader’s platform, and were not counted towards star ratings, therefore denying consumers a fully rounded picture of other customers’ experiences.
• Dignity – Misleading reviews: Whether Dignity asked staff to write positive reviews about the company’s crematoria services – giving people a potentially inaccurate picture of genuine customers’ feedback.
• Just Eat – Star ratings: Whether Just Eat’s ratings system has inflated certain restaurants’ and grocers’ star ratings – giving consumers a potentially misleading picture of quality when choosing where to order.
• Pasta Evangelists – Discounts for reviews: Whether customers were offered discounts on future orders in exchange for leaving 5-star reviews on delivery apps, without this being disclosed – meaning people may not have known how reliable or representative those ratings were.

The CMA said while it is investigating the five businesses it has not reached any conclusions about whether consumer law has been broken.

Its work includes looking at the key stages in the online reviews ecosystem – from how reviews are obtained to the way they are moderated and displayed as well as the star ratings people so often rely on.

By taking cases across each of these stages, the CMA is investigating multiple practices which can shape what people see when they search, shop or book online.

In April 2025, several practices relating to online reviews became “banned practices” under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, meaning they are automatically deemed unfair and illegal.

This includes obtaining and posting fake reviews and paid-for reviews which are not clearly marked as incentivised. It also covers how reviews are handled – for example, if negative reviews are hidden or if star ratings present an inaccurate picture.

The investigations bring the total number of businesses under review using the CMA’s new consumer powers to 14. These powers enable the CMA to decide whether consumer laws have been broken, without having to go through the courts.

Sarah Cardell, Chief Executive of the CMA, said: “Fake reviews strike at the heart of consumer trust – with many of us worrying about misleading content when looking at reviews online.

“With household budgets under pressure, people need to know they’re getting genuine information – not reviews or star-ratings that have been manipulated to push them towards the wrong choice.

“We’ve given businesses the time to get things right. Now we’re deploying our new powers to tackle some of the most harmful practices head on.”

Daniel Mohacek, CEO of TruthEngine, an independent platform specialising in the detection and prevention of fake reviews, said the investigations by the CMA should be noted by businesses up and down the land.

He said: “We welcome these investigations by the CMA, which are likely to be the tip of the iceberg. This announcement is great news for the consumer and is shining a light onto an issue that is both global and institutionalised.

“It’s fantastic the CMA is taking the lead here and protecting UK consumers from an issue that is widespread, endemic and hitting their wallets.”

He said TruthEngine analysis of millions of online reviews over the past five years found that across many sectors over half of them are now fake – and AI is only making the problem worse.

Mr Mohacek added: “The takeaway from this is simple: everyone should alter how they use and trust online ratings and businesses that have them in place need to act or face potentially significant fines.

“Whether choosing a new energy provider, buying a tumble dryer or booking a getaway abroad, a rating of five out of five feels deeply reassuring.

“But increasingly, our analysis shows that reassurance is misplaced. The fact of the matter is that a business that appears universally adored should raise eyebrows, not confidence. If it looks too good to be true, it usually is.”

He told Newspage: “This isn’t to say that consumers should ignore reviews entirely, rather that they should use them differently. People need to be very wary of companies with a 5-star rating and, instead, focus their decision on the 2s, 3s and 4s, where TruthEngine’s research shows the reviews are more trustworthy and likely to be human.

“Also, we encourage consumers to use reviews that have been independently authenticated wherever possible.

“Ecommerce is obsessed with stars, but the savvy consumer these days will trust what doesn’t shine quite so brightly.”