Don’t trust fake web reviews, FMB warns homeowners
23rd June 2015

Consumers have been urged to seek independently vetted tradespeople and not to put their faith in customer review websites following the announcement of an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) into fake customer reviews.

The warning comes from the Federation of Master Builders, whose Chief Executive Brian Berry says fake reviews are: “another string to the bow of cowboy builders and dishonest tradespeople.”

He continued: “Many sites that promote businesses on the back of these reviews are far too easily manipulated by their users, as the CMA has rightly recognised. All too often, we see builders sourced from customer review-based websites causing havoc with their poor quality and sometimes dangerous work.

“This investigation highlights the importance of using professional trade associations to find reputable tradespeople, particularly when looking for builders. Hopefully, this welcome but long overdue investigation by the CMA will help crackdown on dishonesty in the industry.”

www.fmb.org.uk