All business owners know customers will have different experiences with their company. Whilst all UK companies aim to please every consumer, some individuals inevitably find fault with a business. Accordingly, it is becoming increasingly common for customers to post their dissatisfaction online in this digital age. This article will explore your legal obligations regarding negative online reviews against your UK business. In particular, it will inform you of when and how you can directly act against certain types of negative reviews. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Our starting point is that a UK business cannot ban or block online customer reviews simply because they are not complimentary. Some customers will have genuinely held concerns about your company’s products or services; in the UK, you cannot simply erase them from existence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
UK laws protect the right to free speech, so if an individual has published a genuine and honest opinion about a product or service, there is no legal recourse against it. This remains the case even if a viewpoint is a matter of opinion rather than fact. Therefore, each individual is as legally entitled to their view as your company is to its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, UK law (and some internet providers) draw a line between \u2018genuine\u2019 reviews and \u2018disingenuous\u2019 or defamatory reviews<\/a>. In this way, whilst your organisation is unlikely to remove genuinely held negative online reviews<\/a>, it may be able to take action against false negative comments. Alternatively, you may consider raising the possibility of legal action against false negative comments in your website’s Terms of Use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To avoid lengthy and expensive disputes, it\u2019s important to have up-to-date legal contracts in place. Our contract lawyers can review and update your contracts to ensure your business is protected. Book a complimentary consultation today by filling out the form on this page.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n UK law will seek to protect UK organisations from false or misleading reviews. What are false or fake reviews? Examples of these can include online reviews which:<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of these reviews can cause damage to a business by putting off future potential customers. After all, most consumers looking to book a nice hotel would pick the one with the average 91% positive rating rather than a similarly priced one with just 68%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n Continue reading this article below the form\n <\/i>\n<\/a>\nWhat is a Disingenuous or Defamatory Review?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n