How to avoid review sites that publish fake reviews

Check the verification model

A legitimate platform tells you, for every review, how it was verified — email, invitation, receipt or identity. A laundromat displays stars only. If the platform cannot explain its verification ladder in plain English on a public page, walk away.

Check the policy pages

Real platforms publish a fake-review policy, an incentivised-review policy, a moderation policy and a transparent dispute workflow. The CMA's 2025 assessment found missing or inaccessible policies were the single most common compliance failure.

Check for pay-to-suppress

Ask the sales team a direct question: 'Can I pay to remove a one-star review?' A legitimate platform will refuse on principle and document the refusal in its terms. A laundromat will offer 'reputation management packages'.

Check the enforcement log

Does the platform publish a quarterly transparency report with action counts and false-positive rates? If not, you have no way to audit whether moderation actually happens.

• Action counts by category
• Median time-to-action
• False-positive rate from audited samples
• Share of disputes overturned

Check the corporate footer

A real platform names its operating company, its registration number and its registered office in the footer of every page. ScoreReview UK is operated by UK REAL REVIEWS LTD, company number 14587101, registered at Windlehall, Crank Road, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 7RG. Demand the same standard from any platform you list on.

Check the schema honesty

Open a public business profile and inspect the JSON-LD. The aggregate rating in the markup should equal the rating on screen. Laundromats commonly inflate the schema number to win the rich snippet while showing a lower 'honest' figure to humans.

Check the response policy

Can the business reply to every review, including positive ones? Are reviewers allowed to update their reviews after a reply? Two-sided transparency is a structural marker of a real platform.