Can a free dessert for a five-star review break the law? Since 6 April 2025, fake reviews and concealed incentivised reviews are banned in the UK, and the CMA's own guidance lists offering an existing customer a free or discounted product in exchange for a five-star review. Google bans incentives for reviews outright. Inviting only the happy tables is cherry picking, and on your own website, hiding or burying negative reviews while showing positive ones counts as misleading. If you publish reviews, the CMA says you should have a published policy that clearly prohibits fake reviews. The CMA can fine businesses directly, up to the higher of £300,000 or 10% of turnover.
What the film covers
- The review problem most restaurants create themselves
- What the law has banned since 6 April 2025
- How big is the penalty?
- What the CMA has actually done so far
- Is it legal to offer a free dessert for a review?
- Review gating and cherry picking: why inviting only the happy tables backfires
- How to get more Google reviews for a restaurant
- Who to ask
Questions the film answers
- How do I get more Google reviews for my restaurant?
Ask every guest the same way after a completed visit or order. Create the Google link or QR code from the Business Profile, put it on receipts and thank-you emails, and keep the wording neutral. Do not offer rewards, set staff quotas or ask at the table. A consistent invitation matters more than a clever one, and it keeps the process inside the rules.
- Can I give a free drink or dessert for a review?
Not on Google. Google's policy does not allow merchants to offer incentives such as discounts or free goods in exchange for a review, or for changing or removing one. The CMA's guidance treats an incentive that is not disclosed as a banned practice, and lists a free product for a five-star review as an example. The safe rule is to offer nothing in exchange.
- Is it legal to ask only happy customers for a review?
It is risky. The CMA warns that selectively promoting positive reviews, and "encouraging just those who are satisfied to leave reviews", can amount to cherry picking. Google also prohibits selectively soliciting positive reviews. Send the same invitation to every eligible guest, and keep any private feedback route as an extra, not a gate.
- Can I delete or hide a bad review?
On Google, only the platform removes reviews that break its policy, and you can flag them. On your own website, you are the publisher. You may hide fake, abusive or personal-data reviews under a written policy, but not because a review is critical. The statute lists removing negative reviews while publishing positive ones as publishing in a misleading way.
- How do I respond to a negative review?
Wait, check the record privately, then reply once and briefly. Apologise if an apology is due, say what you will do, and ask the guest to contact you by phone or email. Do not share their details, argue or offer a deal in the reply. Google reviews replies, and the guest can still change their review afterwards.
- What are the UK fake review laws?
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20 paragraph 13, bans fake reviews, concealed incentivised reviews and misleading publication of reviews. It has been in force since 6 April 2025. The CMA can fine directly, up to the higher of £300,000 or 10% of turnover. The CMA's guidance sets out how to comply.