Introduction

The trust that Cheffins has with our customers and clients is one of our greatest assets. Accordingly, Cheffins is committed to maintaining transparency, authenticity and integrity in our business practices and all customer reviews and feedback. Customer reviews provide a vital role in helping potential customers make informed decisions.  In line with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act), submitting, publishing and allowing fake reviews and concealing incentivised reviews is now a banned practice. The banned practice is focused on both consumer reviews and information derived from or influenced by these reviews.

Policy

This policy outlines Cheffins stance on fake reviews and the steps that will be taken to ensure the integrity of customer feedback on platforms such as our website, social media, published media, sales aids, third party review sites and any other relevant channel, digital or otherwise. It is the responsibility of all Cheffins’ employees to familiarise themselves with this policy and to understand their own obligations in relation to it.

Who does this apply to?

Everybody working for and with Cheffins, in whatever capacity for any length of time including employees, equity partners, contractors, stakeholders, third party service providers associated with Cheffins and customers.

What is a fake review?

A fake review is ‘a consumer review that purports to be, but is not, based on a person’s genuine experience’ *

Fake reviews can be positive or negative. A fake positive review makes false, positive claims about an experience with Cheffins. Such reviews often say positive things about a product or service, helping to boost sales, rankings or ratings in comparison to rivals. Fake negative reviews are often written with the intention of undermining a product or service in the eyes of consumers.

What is a concealed incentivised review?

A review conceals the fact it has been incentivised if:

  • a person has been commissioned to provide the review, (either by way of being asked to write a review in exchange for; money, commissions, discounts and vouchers, terms more favourable than those offered to the general public, invitations to events, free products) and;
  • that fact is not made clear

It could include a member of staff being asked to write a review of our services without having experienced it themselves.  

Example of fake reviews

Please see below an indicative list of example scenarios which constitute a banned practice:

  • Stating in a review that the service received from Cheffins was exceptional, when in fact it was not, or the reviewer had not even used the service
  • Allowing a review to be published about the service a client has received from Cheffins, without disclosing that the reviewer has a commercial relationship with Cheffins and had received preferential treatment in return, such as reduced fees.
  • Encouraging staff or their family members to leave reviews without disclosing this relationship to the potential consumer.
  • Offering an existing customer a free or discounted service in exchange for a five star review (which is not reflective of their genuine experience) of their previous purchase. 
  • Sharing a post on social media asking for five-star reviews in exchange for a free or discounted service. 
  • Contacting a customer who has left a negative review and offering them a refund and/or a gift card if they change their review to remove the negative commentary (so that it is no longer reflective of their genuine experience). 
  • Buying reviews which look like they have been written by individual consumers but have in fact been generated by software applications (such as bots).

There are many other scenarios where fake reviews may occur and this list is not exhaustive, but it is intended to demonstrate the types of scenarios which could present in the types of business that Cheffins operates.

What are the risks to Cheffins?

Consumer reviews

There is a risk that customers and/or third parties may post negative reviews which are out of context, over inflammatory and unreasonable in relation to their complaint.  Additionally, consumers may not use their real name which can make it difficult to understand if the review is genuine in its nature.

Employees

Employees (past and present) could take it upon themselves to post positive reviews, either anonymously or using fake / borrowed identities in order to promote their office or department or in relation to an employment dispute. This could also include encouraging friends and family members to post positive or negative reviews, even if they have not used the service.

Third Parties & Contractors

Third Parties & Contractors could post positive reviews in the hope of receiving favourable terms of engagements from Cheffins.
Cheffins both receives and publishes reviews through a number of channels across all departments, these include reviews left on ratings sites such as Google, AllAgents and Trustpilot. All reviews are reviewed by the Marketing Team and the relevant Head of Department is notified of its existence.

Reviews may be published by Cheffins in:
 

  • Promotional material
  • Cheffins External and Internal websites
  • Property Reports
  • Client Reports


The above list is not exhaustive and may change from time to time.

What can we do?

Reviews that reflect a person’s genuine experience of Cheffins are allowed. There are many instances in which Cheffins may want to encourage the submission of reviews, such as to gather feedback on the performance of our services and customer satisfaction more generally. Doing so without predetermining the contents or sentiment expressed in the review, for example by merely emailing customers generally to ask if they wish to provide a review, is not prohibited under the banned practice. 
If Cheffins choose to incentivise customers to leave a review for example by paying them, offering them future discounts or free products, this is permissible but to comply with the law

Cheffins will:

  • tell consumers that the review has been incentivised, and 
  • the review will still reflect the reviewer’s genuine experience.

What can’t we do?

Create or Allow Fake Reviews; it is strictly prohibited to write, solicit or pay for fake positive or negative reviews to manipulate public opinion or ratings.
Incentivise Reviews in Exchange for Positive Feedback or other Benefits; it is strictly prohibited to offer rewards, discounts or any other incentive in exchange for positive reviews. 
Post Reviews Under False Identities; it is strictly prohibited to post reviews under fictitious names, fabricated customer identities, or those that do not accurately reflect the reviewers experience with Cheffins.

Cheffins will not:

  • Publish consumer reviews in a misleading way
  • Suppress or cherry-pick reviews.
  • Omit information relevant to how reviews have been written.
  • Allow ‘catalogue abuse’ (presenting reviews of a different service to that which the consumer is considering, e.g. a consumer review from Fine Art posted on the Residential Sales website.)
  • Allow outdated reviews (genuine reviews for services that no longer exist or have changed considerably)
  • Publish consumer review information in a misleading way (e.g. displaying ratings information without taking into account negative reviews)
  • Offer services that facilitate the submission, commissioning or publication of banned reviews and information

How do we monitor this?

Cheffins uses a manual review process to monitor the authenticity of reviews. This includes looking for patterns such as unusually high numbers of reviews from the same person, identical or similar language across multiple review platforms, reviews that do not appear to have come from legitimate customers. 
Customers, employees and other parties involved or transacting with Cheffins, who suspect a review to be fake are encouraged to report it through our Marketing Team. Any report will be taken seriously and investigated properly.

If a review is found to be fake, Cheffins will take the following actions:

  • Investigate – all reviews thought to be fake will be investigated thoroughly by Cheffins Marketing Team. It will be removed from where it has been published and the customer who posted it may be contacted for clarification.
  • Disciplinary Action – any employee or third party associated with the creation or solicitation of fake reviews may face disciplinary action, this may include termination of the business relationship with the third party. This may also include banning a customer from future transactions with Cheffins.
  • Legal Action – in cases where fake reviews are intentionally used to harm the reputation of Cheffins, or defraud customers, Cheffins reserves the right to take legal action against the individuals or entities responsible.

Genuine negative reviews will be acknowledged and where necessary directed to the firms Complaints Procedure.

Guidance for Those Wishing to Post a Review

Cheffins encourage anyone wishing to post a review to write honest, unbiased reviewed on their actual experience. To be truthful, ensure the review is respectful and relevant to the service received and to report any suspicious reviews to us. 

In the case of a complaint, these should be submitted to Cheffins via our Complaints Procedure which can be found at www.cheffins.co.uk/complaints-procedure or by emailing complaints@cheffins.co.uk.

Summary

At Cheffins, we value the trust of our customers and work to maintain the highest standards of transparency and integrity. Fake reviews undermine the credibility of our review system, and we are committed to take all necessary actions to eliminate them. By following this policy, we can ensure that all reviews are honest, accurate and reflective of real customer experiences.

Review and Update of This Policy

This policy is reviewed regularly by Cheffins Compliance Officer to ensure its alignment to the appropriate legal and regulatory requirements.  Any queries relating to this policy or to report a suspicious review, please contact us at Rachel Mildenhall (Compliance Officer) 01223 271973 or rachel.mildenhall@cheffins.co.uk
OR
Sharon Hamilton (Marketing Director) 01223 271960 or sharon.hamilton@cheffins.co.uk

Sources

* Paragraph 13(5)(b)  of Schedule 20 to the DMCC Act.

‘CMA208 Fake Reviews’ produced by Competition and Markets Authority (04.04.2025)
‘CMA Short Guide for Businesses’ produced by Competition and Markets Authority (04.04.2025)

Policy Issued:    09/04/2025

Owner:        Rachel Mildenhall, Compliance Officer