7:33 am, August 8, 2025
Car dealers have been warned of the dangers of falling foul of the law if they post fake reviews about their business online.
Dealerships that fail to comply could face huge fines of 10% of global annual turnover or £300,000 while individuals could face fines of up to £150,000.
Publishing fake or undisclosed incentivised reviews are now automatically illegal – banning dealerships that might have commissioned others to write fake reviews.
Those dealers that cherry pick or suppress negative reviews could also find themselves in hot water.
And it is also illegal to use bots or software to generate fake reviews or recruit people to write fake reviews for a car dealership.
The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has published guidance on how dealerships can stay on the right side of the law.
Auto Trader has studied this guidance and in a blog post said dealers should look in detail at their review processes. It also recently held a detailed webinar on the matter for its customers.
Auto Trader says it is important to work with an established reviews provider who can verify customers, check review authenticity and properly label reviews.
The ad marketplace works with Feefo which is now displaying added information on reviews on car dealer pages, including details on whether the review was ‘invited’ or simply added to the profile.
The firm said: ‘You should review or change your current review practices to make sure they are compliant with the new legislation.
‘Changes may include ensuring reviewers are genuine customers who have purchased vehicles and maintaining records of all review-related activities.’
Auto Trader says dealers should also take ‘all reasonable steps’ to prevent, detect and remove ‘fake reviews’.
‘You need clear labelling of review sources and any incentives provided too,’ added the firm.
Some 90% of Auto Trader users say car reviews are important to them and 86% want to see reviews of car dealerships before buying.
Incentives banned
Some car dealers are known to send gifts to incentivise customers to leave a review while others have paid customers to leave reviews. This practice is now banned unless clearly labeled.
The laws do not force dealers to use just one reviews partner but dealers must ensure those they do use are complying with the new rules.
Moto trade legal experts Lawgistics have been monitoring the changes contained in the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC) for some time.
The firm told Car Dealer that there were a variety of changes dealers need to be aware of in the act, which it detailed in a blog post.
Lawgistics said: ‘These changes grant the CMA new direct enforcement powers and update the list of banned unfair commercial practices.
‘The CMA can now directly enforce consumer law without going to court and can issue fines of up to 10% of a business’s turnover for breaches.’
As well as reviews, car dealers who deliberately engage in ‘misleading actions’ or intentionally mislead by omitting details can also be fined. The CMA will work with Trading Standards officers to enforce the rules.
Umesh Samani, chairman of the Independent Motor Dealers Association (IMDA) said his members knew reviews can ‘make or break’ a business.
He said: ‘For many consumers, a quick glance at star ratings or testimonials can determine whether they choose to engage with a company or move on.
‘Unfortunately, we’ve all seen businesses with obviously fake reviews and it’s a growing concern.
‘These reviews mislead customers and damage the reputation of the industry. It’s only right that those businesses are penalised and that fake reviews are removed.
‘They give a false impression, and many unsuspecting customers only realise the truth once it’s too late.’
The full details of the fake review rules can be found in this document.
The CMA added: ‘Publishers should adopt a combination of measures to tackle the banned reviews by removing them, and ensuring they do not impact consumer review information.’
