Polish consumer watchdog fines firms selling fake online reviews more than PLN 220,000
The President of Poland's consumer watchdog UOKiK has issued two decisions against businesses that supplied fake online reviews. Fines on R4E, sole trader Paweł Gil and company managers total more than PLN 220,000.
Author: Editorial teamPublished: 2 min read
Contents
Poland's Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK) has fined two businesses that made a living from posting fake reviews online. The fines on R4E, Paweł Gil and the people running the company come to more than PLN 220,000 in total.
How the practice worked
The problem arises when reviews do not come from real customers, or are posted for payment without clear labelling. That makes it harder for consumers to tell a genuine recommendation from hidden advertising. The aim was usually to improve a business's rating on websites, so that its offer appeared higher in search results.
Who pays how much
According to UOKiK's findings, R4E staff did not test products or use the services being reviewed. The head of the office fined the company PLN 70,000. The people managing the firm were also fined PLN 25,000 each.
The second business fined is sole trader Paweł Gil. Through the website bow24.pl he offered services such as adding Facebook page fans and publishing reviews on Google and more than 20 other sites, including Znany Lekarz, Ceneo, Gowork and Tripadvisor. He received a fine of PLN 102,000 and an order to stop the practice.
The regulator's position
UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny points out that this dishonest practice undermines trust in the whole e-commerce market. Artificially boosting search rankings harms fair competition and misleads people who base purchases on other people's opinions.
These are not the first such cases. UOKiK has previously fined companies including Opinie.pro and SN Marketing, which in December 2022 were the first to be penalised for trading in false reviews.
What sellers should remember
The office reminds businesses that publish reviews on their websites to check that they are written by people who actually bought the product or used the service. Boosting ratings artificially with paid reviews is prohibited. Negative comments must not be removed simply because they are negative.
What this means for you
The decisions concern Polish businesses and Polish consumer law, so they apply mainly to purchases and services on Polish websites. The case does show, however, that online ratings can be fabricated. It is worth bearing this in mind when choosing shops, services and doctors online, in the UK as well.
Sources
This article was prepared automatically by AI from the listed sources and published without prior editorial review. Spotted a mistake? Use the “Report an error in this article” button.
Photos
- Cover: „ecommerce, selling online, online sales, e-commerce, buy”, author: Mediamodifier, licence Pixabay Content License; cropped or resized.
- Photo 1: „feedback, review, rating, customers, stars”, author: geralt, licence Pixabay Content License; cropped or resized.
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