CMA cracks down on fake reviews

Positive reviews are a great marketing tool for your agency, but they can also be difficult to get – even when you’re giving out five-star service.

But agents who cut corners by posting fake reviews or hiring third parties to post them could soon see them disappear.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has received a detailed undertaking from Google to make it easier to report and take down fake reviews. The search engine will also ban rulebreakers from the Google Reviews platform.

The move comes as part of a wider crackdown. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers (DMCC) Act, which came into force in April, banned organisations from paying for fake reviews or hosting reviews without taking reasonable steps to ensure they are genuine. The CMA can enforce these rules directly without having to take the organisation to court, and can impose fines of up to 10% of annual turnover.

Estate and letting agents get Material Information guidance

This isn’t the first time the CMA has made waves in the property industry since the DMCC Act came into effect. Last month, we reported that agents were feeling uncertain about Material Information requirements after the National Trading Standards Estate and Letting Agency Team withdrew the guidance they had previously issued.

Although the CMA is expected to take the lead on enforcing Material Information rules under the DMCC Act, NTSELAT can still prosecute agents for breaches of consumer protection legislation through the courts. At the time of writing, no replacement guidance has been issued for agents to follow.

Help is now at hand! Last month, Dr Neil Cobbold, property lawyer David Smith, and former ARLA Propertymark President Greg Tsuman teamed up to show agents what the DMCC Act says about Material Information, what has changed and what they need to do next.

Visit the Reapit website to watch their webinar now.