Just Eat and the funeral provider Dignity are among the latest companies being investigated as part of an inquiry into fake online reviews.
The competition watchdog said its expanded crackdown on false and misleading information for consumers also took in the motor sales platform Autotrader, customer review and feedback firm Feefo and dining chain Pasta Evangelists.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it was looking into whether Just Eat’s ratings system had inflated some restaurant and grocer star ratings, giving a misleading picture of quality.
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For Autotrader and Feefo, the CMA is investigating whether a number of one-star reviews – moderated by Feefo, which handles reviews for the new and used car site – were hidden on the platform and did not count towards the star ratings.
Dignity is under investigation by the CMA into whether it asked staff to write positive reviews about the firm’s crematoria services.
Pasta Evangelists, the watchdog said, is being looked at over allegations it offered customers discounts for leaving five-star reviews on delivery apps without this being disclosed.
Since April last year, companies have been banned from certain tactics around online reviews under law, such as fake posts, paid-for reviews that are not clearly marked as incentivised, as well as for hiding negative feedback.
The CMA has already secured commitments from Google and Amazon to beef up their systems to identify and remove fake reviews.
In Amazon’s case, it promised tighter scrutiny and sanctions for rogue sellers and businesses falling foul of the rules.
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…
