Just Eat under investigation for fake reviews

Just Eat is one of five businesses under investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) for fake and misleading online reviews. 

The CMA is looking into whether the ordering platform had inflated restaurant star ratings and provided a misleading picture of quality for users ordering food. 

It is also investigating Pasta Evangelists, which is accused of offering discounts for customers in exchange for five star reviews on delivery apps, without this inducement being disclosed. 

Online reviews play a significant role in people’s buying decisions. According to research from Which? 89% of people use reviews when researching a product or service, which is why the CMA is investigating businesses that might be manipulating these reviews.

It is also investigating car selling platform Autotrader, funeral services site Dignity and Feefo, which collects and moderates online reviews.

Feefo, which moderated reviews on Autotrader, is being investigated for not publishing negative reviews on its site which in turn weren’t counted towards star ratings.

The CMA said that it was looking into the entire online reviews ecosystem, from how reviews are obtained to the way they are moderated and displayed.

In April 2025, posting fake reviews and paid for reviews that were not marked as such became ‘banned practices’ under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, making them illegal. The Act also covers how reviews are handled, whether they are hidden or it star ratings are accurate. 

CMA chief executive Sarah Cardell said: “Fake reviews strike at the heart of consumer trust – with many of us worrying about misleading content when looking at reviews online.

“With household budgets under pressure, people need to know they’re getting genuine information – not reviews or star-ratings that have been manipulated to push them towards the wrong choice.   

“We’ve given businesses the time to get things right. Now we’re deploying our new powers to tackle some of the most harmful practices head on.”

If the CMA finds any of the companies under investigation have broken the law it can impose fines of up to 10% of global turnover. 

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