Organizations must be stricter about verifying reviews under new rules
In-house lawyers in the UK must ensure that their organizations are complying to new rules prohibiting fraudulent reviews, reported the Law Society Gazette.
Under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act that received royal assent last year, businesses must take “reasonable and proportionate steps” in review verification and the provision of upfront information, according to the Gazette. New powers granted to the UK Competition and Markets Authority could see businesses slapped with fines amounting to 10 percent of global annual turnover.
Beginning April 6, the CMA can act directly against businesses without going through a court process. In relation to fake reviews, the body will concentrate on backing businesses in the first three months rather than on enforcement.
Andrew Rogers, associate at London firm Farrer & Co, advised in-house lawyers to first evaluate their organizations’ existing processes and procedures.
“They will need to check whether their organisation carries out any banned practices - such as permitting concealed incentivised reviews or publishing reviews in a misleading way - and whether existing procedures are suitable to detect, investigate and respond to fake reviews,” Rogers told the Gazette.
He added that regular risk assessments should be conducted to determine solutions to and preventive measures against fake reviews. Moreover, in-house lawyers should determine whether their organizations have engaged a third-party consumer review provider and identify their tactics against fake reviews.
The new rules also bar drip pricing; to address this, Farrer & Co associate Sufi Rahimi advised in-house lawyers to make sure that products or services’ headline prices are transparent and there are no surprise hidden costs.
“The cost must be clearly disclosed upfront at the start of the booking flow. Any booking fees should be prominently displayed at the beginning of the booking process, so the consumer is able to calculate the total cost when they first see the product and the price together,” Rahimi said in a statement published by the Gazette.
The CMA will enforce action against drip pricing that clearly violates the rules as per a guidance that will soon be released.
