The Competition and Markets Authority has opened an investigation into online platform Autotrader over its compliance with consumer protection law, focusing on how customer reviews are moderated and displayed.
The CMA is examining whether a number of one star reviews, moderated by Feefo were not published on Autotrader’s platform and were excluded from overall star ratings, potentially denying consumers a fully rounded picture of customer experiences.
The regulator said it will now engage with Autotrader and gather evidence to determine whether there has been any breach of consumer protection law. It noted that at this point, no findings have been made and it should not be assumed that any rules have been broken.
In a statement, Autotrader said: “We note that the CMA, exercising its new direct consumer enforcement powers, has today announced an investigation into a number of companies, including Autotrader and our third-party moderator, in relation to online consumer reviews. We endeavour always to operate as a responsible and compliant business and will co‑operate fully with the CMA’s investigation.”
Concerns over hidden negative reviews
The CMA actions reflect the significant role online reviews play in purchasing decisions, influencing billions of pounds of UK spending each year. Research from Which? found that 89% of consumers use reviews when researching products or services, underlining the importance of transparency and authenticity.
The investigation into Autotrader and Feefo forms part of a wider CMA crackdown on fake and misleading reviews, with five businesses the latest to come under scrutiny across sectors including food delivery and funeral services.
Other cases include:
Dignity, where the CMA is examining whether staff were asked to write positive reviews about crematoria services
Just Eat, where the ratings system may have inflated certain restaurant and grocer scores
Pasta Evangelists, where customers may have been offered discounts for five star reviews without clear disclosure
New powers target review practices
The investigations follow changes introduced under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, which from last April classifies certain practices as automatically unfair and illegal.
These include posting fake reviews, failing to disclose incentivised reviews and manipulating how reviews are displayed.
The CMA said its work is examining the full online reviews ecosystem, from how reviews are obtained to how they are moderated and presented to consumers.
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.”
The CMA said the investigations could lead to enforcement action if breaches are found, including requiring businesses to change their practices and imposing fines of up to 10% of global turnover.
The cases bring the total number of businesses under review using the CMA’s new consumer powers to 14.
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