Cody of Stafford, VA Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: June 14, 2019I had just moved out to Virginia on military orders. And I had a lot of debt that was piled up, and I was getting sunk under. I wasn't really gaining a foothold on my actual debt amount with the payments I was making. So, I wasn't really getting anywhere. I was just like give and take. And then, I heard about National Debt Relief through the radio. I gave them a call and talked to a lady for 45 minutes on the phone. She was very informative and explained to me the whole process and how it works. I decided to do it because I knew that I wouldn't have a chance to use my credit cards anymore because the program closes all your accounts. So, when you do this, it helps. And then, it consolidates it into one payment. So, I'm not trying to pay four different payments each month. It's one main payment or split in two if I want to. So, it's made it easier to manage.
National Consumer Center - a scam that misleads people into thinking that they can get a prize by submitting their answers to a fake survey.
The information that National Debt Relief put out there was very clear and concise. I truly understood what was gonna be going on and what was gonna be happening with my debt and how it works. It made an easier decision for me to choose them compared to some of the other ones I have looked into. With NDR, I got a very quick response from the request I put in about more information.
The enrollment process was very simple. It was just providing a lot of the information and giving them clearance to look up the debt that I have. It's so easy to sign up and understand what was going on and how they broke everything down for me. The program is easy to use and I like the flexibility. Right now, as far as my debt being cleared of my name, up to 80% of my debt has been cleared. I'm in the process of just finishing some stuff up and making some last payments. I still owe NDR money, but as far as creditor-wise and my name, those big loans in the credit cards that I had out there don't exist anymore.
My negotiator has been really good as far as breaking a lot of my deals down. I'm still waiting on two to be confirmed, but it took a little bit longer of a process because that credit card company wanted an actual hard copy with my signature on the thing that I agreed that NDR would handle my debt that I owed to. My negotiator stayed on top of everything and always kept me informed. It was tough at first because apparently, my number wasn't saved on file, and I wasn't receiving the emails. But it took me to call in, which I wasn't mad about. It was a simple misunderstanding. She said that she was really glad I called because we stayed on the phone for 25 minutes taking care of everything and updating everything to make sure that all the stuff went through and got cleared out and got taken care of.
I recently came into more hardships as far as needing car repairs, and then my wife hasn't been working that much. And NDR is very flexible with me, either pushing payments or consolidating payments on one day compared to having them split up, that way I can have a little bit extra money that I need in the beginning of the month and then pay it off in the end of the month. I've told a few people about this program and how it's worked for me and helped me with clearing my debt little by little. Working with National Debt Relief allows me to get back on track with some other bills.
View more 10 people found this review helpful
Thank you, you have successfully subscribed to our newsletter!Enjoy reading our tips and recommendations.
We value your privacy. Unsubscribe easily.Joshua of Enumclaw, WA Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: June 3, 2019
I had multiple credit cards that I wanted to pay off and I wasn’t able to keep up with the payments as they were, and they were compounding. I saw National Debt Relief's accreditation and the reputation, so I got their debt consolidation program. I told them what I wanted, they gave me a call, I listed everything that I had, and they sent me an email, I put everything in there, and everything was done through DocuSign. Then one document was shipped to me that I had to physically sign, and I sent it back, and then they took care of everything.
They set up an account for me, and then, every month I send a specific amount of money. I can go above that if I want to pay off faster. I've changed all of my addresses to National Debt Relief’s address, and then they handle everything from there. Any correspondence I have from creditors, I have to let National Debt Relief know, and then they contact them and deal with them. I'm not the middleman but I'm basically taken out of the picture there.
National Debt Relief works on my behalf to reduce the amount that I owe by negotiating with the credit card companies, and trying to get it to a cheaper deal. All of the accounts that I had except for one have been accepted, and I'm paying those off. One of them was already reduced by quite a bit and the credit card company accepted that they will work with National Debt Relief on that. They asked me what I was able to afford, and then they also told me what I pretty have to make work. And if I couldn’t, then they would work with me in some other way. But they tried to get it as low as they could without obviously messing things up for me in the future, and we came to a pretty good agreement, and it was lower than what I was paying for two of my credit cards, and I had multiple. So, that was definitely good.
I signed the paperwork that said what I would agree to and talked with National Debt Relief on the phone, and then they said they would handle it. If I have any questions or if I have any creditors getting ahold of me, I could call them. So National Debt Relief writes a note in the system, and then they handle whatever correspondence that needs to happen from there. Then they let me know the results as soon as one of the creditors comes to a decision with what they're willing to negotiate or agree upon. National Debt Relief calls me and lets me know what they’ve agreed to settle on, and then I say yes or no.
So far, things are being handled and I don’t have to handle it, and I'm not getting calls from the creditors every five minutes, which is amazing. Any questions that I had, either were answered right then and there or they sent an email to answer. I feel very comfortable working with my negotiator. I haven't had any crazy questions that he couldn’t answer. So, everything has been good there.
I have one payment now instead of multiple. It's already set up automatically, so I don’t have to do anything about it. I can look into the bank account and see how much is there, how much I've deposited every month goes in there, and then what's being withdrawn for those creditors that have agreed to a contract of what is gonna be paid to them. Also, I can see how far into paying them off I am. So, it's easy because I just look at one place rather than looking at each individual creditor.
View more Be the first one to find this review helpful
Christopher of San Antonio, TX Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: March 5, 2019I fell behind on quite a few of my creditors and in finding a way to try to keep a good standing with my creditors, I opted to go with National Debt Relief to help me try to at least pay off my credit. The program is straightforward and easy to understand. Basically, you open up a little savings account and from that savings account, they withdraw. There are people that represent you when they come down to your creditors when the collector is calling and they make that very easy to do. They receive all the phone calls and take over everything that has to be said in a professional manner. Sometimes, one doesn’t know how to communicate with creditors or doesn’t know how to communicate very well. With National Debt Relief, it relieves you of that stress.
The enrollment process was very simple. It was just a little lengthy as far as the questions. You have to come down and say how much you owe with the mortgage and with the electricity, how much you’re paying for gas, etcetera. They take all of those things into account and add them all up. Then they’re better able to tell you whether you qualify to get help or not. Also, to qualify, a lot of your loans have to be past due and that was very hard for me to do because I was current with all my loans, except that I was making the very minimum. I just never saw the light. So one scary thing is that you have to go negative for more than 60 days and that does impact your credit score. After that, they look at how much you owe and how much you make. I believe you have to be employed and with those things, they’re better able to help you.
I’m probably halfway through paying off my debt at this point and it’s been going very good. I’ve been making my monthly payment and they handle the rest. Come March 31st, God-willing and Godspeed, I should be paying off my first huge debt. It was almost $5,000 that they negotiated on it. The negotiator was also very professional. He answered all my questions and he did not move forward with anything until I 100% understood exactly what was going on and what was gonna be done about it. So he was very thorough and patient. At these times, patience is the key with the consumer and me specifically because I was not just frustrated but I was flooded with a lot of questions on my mind and with stress. Talking about lawyers and lawsuits scares people sometimes.
He really hit a chord with me because his patience to answer all my questions and his professionalism seemed like it was a sign that I was talking to the right person. With him, I've felt very calm. He told me that they wouldn't have to go to court but if I had to go that way, they would have someone to represent me. He told me that I had nothing to worry about and nothing to lose and that I can cancel anytime. He also said that they may be times when I need the extra money and I can just call in and get from my savings or stop a payment to help me out. Everything is very controlled and relieving on the consumer’s end.
They also gave me three ways to communicate with them – by mail, by email and through the phone number. And their system is working for me. In fact, I have recommended two of my buddies to it. I’m also actually seeing my credit score go up now and my money is being maintained. Working with National Debt Relief has really helped me to learn a word and that word is 'budget'.
View more 4 people found this review helpful
Heather of Ozark, AR Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Feb. 15, 2019I had worked so hard on my credit score that I was petrified of not paying my credit card. I called a company and they marketed and advertised heavily. I heard National Debt Relief's number on the radio and I called them. They were easy to get a hold of. I didn't feel like I was going to be out on a whim. Every time I called, I could get straight to a person. I didn't feel like when I dealt with them, I was just gonna get a machine and the runaround. They explained things to me over and over again. They empathized and said that they understood about the debt seasoning.
I refinanced my house and the enrollment process was pretty simple. Everything was done over the phone and with e-signatures. I was very adamant that I wanted to be able to see the document before I signed it. I was a little apprehensive about that because I had never done this before and I am not sure I know anybody that had done it. I really just had no idea what was going on. But National Debt Relief was more than happy to let me take my time and read the document. It was easy. All I had to do was respond to an email. There was a link in the email so it made it really simple.
But National Debt Relief was supposed to refinance my credit card debt into the amount. They weren’t gonna pay out cash but they were gonna pay the debt. At the end of the day, I signed the closing papers and it was not in the contract that they were paying my credit card debt. I could have taken it all back but I needed to get it done. National Debt Relief ended up comping me a $200 check for the inconvenience and they sort of admitted guilt there.
I had a surgery scheduled that was gonna cost me $8,500. I was gonna put that on my credit card. The credit card debt that I had was supposed to be gone because they were supposed to pay that into my house refi. But I ended up with $14,000 worth of credit card debt. When I looked at the numbers, my income and minimums, they really put me between a rock and a hard place when the plan for them to pay the credit card debt didn't go through because that was my entire plan. I was paying $551 funds from a credit card. It wasn’t the minimum but it wasn’t much over the minimum and it was gonna take 18 years to pay on $14,000.
Other than that, working with this company immediately reduced the money going out by $400 a month. It also helped my credit score go back up. When you do this and they educate you, you realize that your credit score’s gonna take a horrible hit. Mine dropped 150 points which was insane. But as they resolved the debt, it started reporting as paying again. Nobody wants their credit score to go down but it goes back up as they arrange payments for you and start making those scheduled payments.
Whenever I got something from a creditor, I can call National Debt Relief. I can scan the document, upload it, email it, and the people always responded. It doesn't seem like they have forgotten me. I like their people's attitude. They didn’t seem like they were in a hurry and they had other things to do. When I was being a little emotional as I was scared, they just answered each question that I had and they sounded like they knew what they were talking about. They also send me an email that says that I have a settlement offer and I can just accept it right there from the email or I can call. I have done both.
Also, being with National Debt Relief reduced the amount of time that I'm gonna be paying on my debt from 18 years at $500 a month to $200 a month for 36 months. That’s insane. I got into this situation myself but I really intended before I had my surgery already scheduled for that other credit card debt to be gone. $8000 is a little better than $14000. When I found out that our initial credit discussion that they'd pay my credit card wasn’t in my mortgage agreement, I cried.
At this point, National Debt Relief had settled 50% of my debt. I had five creditors and four have agreements made. The agreements took place pretty quickly. I believe the reason why the rest of my debt isn’t settled is because I have only paid $200 towards it and they only have so much money to work with. If I had put $13000 in that bank, I think that all of it would be settled right now. When I have enough money, like when one payment is probably paid up, I expect for another one to be made. I just don't think there is enough for them to work with to schedule six payments. Right now, they’re working with four. But they did tell me that my debt would need to season.
The process is very uncomfortable to not pay your bills and let things go in too deep. I was scared. I remember telling their guy that if they didn't follow through, I was screwed because if I took a hit on my credit score, I wouldn't have any negotiating power to come up with any other plan or any other alternative. But I was comfortable with my payment plan. I asked them if I could pay bi-weekly because it’s how I get paid. They said that I can pay however I want to the recommended amount that I needed to and their rep explained about it too. That’s really why I know that the debt settlement isn’t complete right now because of the amount of money. Their rep explained that if I could paid more, even if there were taxes, it would help the negotiation go faster.
National Debt Relief gave me the option to pay and told me what the minimum was. I was also told to pay in the amount of time that I wanted since I asked about the timeline. We kind of went back and forth until we found a number that worked for me and them. The company has greatly impacted my life because $500 a month going out to credit cards was really stressful. It was causing an impact on my mental health. My happiness and my finances are all sort of intertwined. Now, I don’t even think about it much.
View more 29 people found this review helpful
Robert of Brooklyn, NY Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Feb. 13, 2019A friend of mine recommended me to National Debt Relief because I had some debt that I was paying off. I was actually contacting individually and negotiating myself. Then my friend told me to try this program. I was investigating to see how it is and it took me a month. I saw that these companies tend to be money pits so I did my research. The reviews and the testimonies were the determining factors that made me go with National Debt Relief. Plus somebody I know and trust very well personally went through the process, and that gives me that comfort.
I thought the enrollment process would be more of a hassle. But as I was starting out the program, they gave me materials to read the disclosures, and they made it simple and fluid. Then the money I pay monthly was determined by the amount of debt that I have and that they're trying to pay off. It was 900 bucks a month and they said 48 months. They also have one that’s pretty high but I was in the process of buying a house so I was thinking whether I could afford it. But they were able to work with me. I had moving expenses and they postponed my payment for two months. They were able to do that with no problem and no pressure. I didn’t have to go through hoops and mazes to get that request. It was literally a quick phone call. That was cool.
The money goes into a savings account and once they see a certain amount, they try and negotiate with the creditors to pay off the debt at a good discount. The negotiators have also always called me when they've settled debts. Every time they came up with a deal, a payment schedule or anything to do with a specific creditor, they would contact me, inform me and ask for my permission to continue if I would choose to continue. I like the fact that they actually take the time and ask if they have permission to proceed. Sometimes, companies think they have a power of attorney and they're safe like that. But NDR actually contacts you to see where you're at. And if they require additional payments to close the account, they would reach out. “You have to pay extra 50 bucks a month for the next three months if that's okay with you. It's feasible to get this debt covered.” They're straightforward and on their ball.
This might be because of the legal measures but they have a limit on the amount of time you can settle the debt. I think 46 months is the most. Having extra cash, I can afford it. But for somebody who is of lower income, it will be a little bit more fees if they allowed more time to accumulate the funds in the savings account. NDR gets a little percentage as their cost but most of my money is being used to pay off the debt. And for anything left over in the savings account, they let me refund checks. It's great. You can't ask for more. I would definitely recommend somebody to the process.
I'm also pretty comfortable working with them. My customer service representatives call me once every two months just to see where I'm at. They give me updates and ask me about any questions on any of my accounts, any of my creditors being negotiated or the saving account that the money goes to. And I like that. It's so refreshing. Not even my car loan bank calls me. NDR is a big company but they try to make sure that they're squared away.
Plus anytime I call, have a question or want to deposit extra funds, they respond quickly. I'm not on hold for too long, no more than 10 minutes. If they don't know the answer, they would put me on hold and ask the supervisor or even the supervisor would get on the phone and talk with me. When I email them, I get a response within 24 hours. I'm about 60% of the way done and the program has paid off a few of my debts. I was able to close out at least four accounts and NDR is working on a few more. The program has also helped me save a few gray hairs with all these creditors because sometimes they can be a little feisty.
View more 11 people found this review helpful
How do I know I can trust these reviews about National Debt Relief?
- 2,015,871 reviews on ConsumerAffairs are verified.
- We require contact information to ensure our reviewers are real.
- We use intelligent software that helps us maintain the integrity of reviews.
- Our moderators read all reviews to verify quality and helpfulness.
For more information about reviews on ConsumerAffairs.com please visit our FAQ.
Shauna of Westfield, MA Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Sept. 29, 2019So far the start of my journey on getting out of debt has been amazing. I can't wait to see what this company does for me. Jeremy who helped me start this process was amazing and made sure he explained everything to me and answered all my questions.
Be the first one to find this review helpful
Linda of Affton, MO Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Sept. 29, 2019I am happy with the service so far, but I wish I had more control over what accounts went into debt consolidation. There were accounts put in that I did not want in and others left out that should have been included.
Be the first one to find this review helpful
Christopher of Saint Paul, MN Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Sept. 29, 2019Fantastic staff, very knowledgeable and friendly. This consolidation will save me thousands and they showed they cared from the first phone call to the wrap up call. I highly recommend this team of highly skilled individuals! If you are suffering from debt and have no one to turn to National Debt Relief could be the right route for you.
Be the first one to find this review helpful
Jill of Judsonia, AR Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Sept. 29, 2019The first person I talked with got a little aggravated with me, it seemed but the others I spoke with were very nice and helpful. I am Very glad to be in this program to help me get out of stressful debt. In just 2-3 years or less, I will be completely out of credit card debt.
Be the first one to find this review helpful
Shawna of Desoto, MO Verified Reviewer Verified Buyer
Original review: Sept. 29, 2019We were feeling hopeless and overwhelmed. Life has a way of sneaking up on you when you're not expecting it. We hit one rough patch after another and all of our cards maxed with no real way getting out of debt. We were treated like we mattered and spoke to with the utmost respect. We are glad that we are on our way to a debt free life!
Be the first one to find this review helpful
How much do you trust a review on an independent website that gives a positive account of a company's product or services? Websites such as Trustpilot claim to have millions of 'authentic reviews from actual customers' to help shoppers buy online with confidence. But a Guardian Money investigation has uncovered fake reviewing on an almost industrial scale, with companies paying offshore contractors to post numerous glowing accounts of their activities, yet maintaining they are from unbiased consumers.
Many of the fake reviews uncovered by Money were written by computer science specialists in countries such as Bangladesh, India and Indonesia, who, for a relatively low fee, will write and send false reviews using scores of aliases and fake addresses. Many offer their services to western companies on Freelancer.com, which promotes itself as an international website on which you can 'outsource anything you can think of'. Companies simply post their requirements and wait for freelancers to start bidding for the work.
Guardian Money tracked down fake reviews promoting WAE+ (formerly known as We Are Electricals), which last year was the most complained about company to our consumer champions' Bachelor&Brignall consumer champions column. We can also reveal covert review work carried out for a financial services company, AnnuitySupermarket.Com.
Our trail led to 'Zahed Kamal', who described himself as a 25-year-old studying computer science and engineering at university in Chittagong, Bangladesh. He told us, in conversations on Facebook and email, how he had been contracted by western companies – including British personal finance and retail firms – to covertly post hundreds of reviews on independent consumer review websites such as Trustpilot and Review Centre. He currently has 11 jobs posting reviews, which, he says, will earn him £1,130 – including work for a hotel that wants positive reviews on 'popular travel sites'. Indeed, he is so busy that he sub-contracts some of the work to others in India and Bangladesh.
Across Freelancer.com there are scores of individuals who promise to write fake reviews, and extensive evidence of work commissioned and carried out. Crucially, the writer needs to be able to create a unique name, email and internet provider address for each review, and make it look like it is posted in the UK, to fool controls on review sites. It's one reason why fake reviewing is a popular earner for computer science undergraduates.
Guardian Money began looking into the quality of consumer reviews after receiving complaints in late 2011 from readers about We Are Electricals, a Birmingham-based company that promised some of the lowest online prices for cameras, flat-screen televisions and computers.
After paying for the goods, readers complained they were told that the items were out of stock, and then had trouble obtaining refunds. The problems re-emerged late last year, when we reported similar concerns about WAE+, based at the same address in Birmingham. In its defence, the company told Guardian Money: 'There are many positive reviews on the internet for WAE+. We are here for the long haul and aim to be a very successful online retailer.'
When we researched internet reviews of We Are Electricals and WAE+, a puzzling pattern began to emerge. The reviews either gave the company as low a score as possible – typically headlined 'Avoid!' or 'Nightmare' – or were glowing, with headers such as 'Great price, fast service!' and 'Couldn't ask for more!'
It's an unusual distribution of results, and we were not the only ones to notice. In March 2012, an internet culture blogger called Danger Nazi Zombies Ahead (DNZA), who had read Guardian Money's 2011 stories, and once had a job interview with We Are Electricals, analysed WAE+ reviews. He found usernames that had posted glowing reviews were also used to post positive reviews of a small set of unrelated companies, based in different countries. It suggested someone was reusing fake accounts to do work for many companies.
DNZA found that 'most people who thought WAE+, a company based in Birmingham UK with prices in pounds sterling, has good customer service, also bought from an American clothes shop with prices in dollars. This seems very unlikely. Clearly, these reviewers are not real people, but are, instead, shill accounts'.
When Guardian Money contacted Kamal, he told us he was contracted to post reviews about WAE+ and was paid for his services. It is understood he was contacted through Freelancer.com by someone under the name of 'f0rtkn0x'. This is believed to be Ben Slater, operations director of WAE+.
'They hired me, but work wasn't going well so he closed the projects. Someone from his company who was fired, started posting bad reviews, and reported all about the reviews WAE+ got from his clients and from from me.'
Guardian Money put the allegations to WAE+. It said: 'There are no false reviews online about WAE+ for which WAE+ is knowingly responsible. There are, however, 3,500 online reviews that are by verified buyers of purchases, with the overwhelming majority very positive.'
'Laeknishendr [the URL behind the DNZA blog] came for a job interview with us and did not succeed. We have reason to believe that somebody hired a freelance person, in the guise of WAE+, to write some fake reviews for the purpose of the mentioned blogpost.'
Within an hour of the Guardian asking WAE+ about the allegations, the record of Kamal's job on Freelancer.com was deleted, and the user f0rtkn0x changed the location given on his profile from the UK to the US and his display name to 'jimneycard'. Either way, Kamal has confirmed that he was commissioned to write fake reviews about WAE+.
Kamal also told us about work he has done for AnnuitySupermarket.com, a 'retirement solutions' company. Kamal's profile on Freelancer.com includes a testimonial from what is believed to be the marketing director of AnnuitySupermarket.com. Kamal says the company paid him £125 to covertly post 30 ratings and reviews to a 'popular directory'.
But Kamal says the annuity company started to get cold feet, asking him to stop the work as it feared the negative repercussions. 'He said he might face problems and that he was asking his real clients to post reviews if they can,' said Kamal. 'Sometimes a review website's system removes reviews and then bans the company.' Kamal said: '[The company] still paid me some to keep it between me and him.'
We put the allegations to Annuity Supermarket, which said: 'We have no comment to make other than all reviews are genuine customer testimonials.' It did confirm, in a telephone conversation with Guardian Money, that the marketing director has a profile on Freelancer.com.
Kamal told us that sometimes he is contracted to put up real reviews that have been sent to a company by customers, but which haven't been posted on the all-important review sites.
How does he feel about posting up information under false names that may deceive shoppers and consumers? 'What is not illegal on online? … You can't find what is fake, or what is real,' he told
us.
We also asked Trustpilot about the veracity of reviews on its site and what it does to prevent fake posts. It said: 'Unfortunately, there does exist a black market for reviews and we take that very seriously. That's why we've developed a system to zero-in on suspicious activity. We also rely on the Trustpilot community to help identify and investigate reviews, further ensuring their quality and authenticity.'
Fake reviews are likely to be illegal under consumer protection legislation, but are hugely tempting for companies to produce. Research has found that reading three negative reviews is enough to change the mind of 63% of consumers about making a purchase.
Companies paying for fake reviews are keen to cover their tracks and make reviews as believable as possible. For example, a posting by 'mutaaly' on Freelancer.com, seeking writers for 180 fake 3-, 4- and 5-star reviews to be put on Reseller Ratings, Trustpilot and Sitejabber, requires them to be drip-fed on to the sites every two days, and states that they should not all be hyper-positive. A small number should be '3 star', most '4 star' and a few '5 star'. The post says: 'All reviews should be unique and well-crafted so that they look entirely natural. All reviews must be from unique email addresses/Facebook accounts. Reviews should be very different from each other – ie, one might say 'Item was shipped quickly' and another might say 'A+ great service!!' while another (3-star) might say 'I was satisfied with their customer service', etc.'
The Advertising Standards Authority said: 'The strict Advertising Code prohibits advertisers from falsely claiming or implying they are acting as a consumer … companies should also be aware that the practice of posting fake reviews is likely to be illegal (under consumer protection regulations), and could be subject to investigation by Trading Standards or the Office of Fair Trading.'
In the US, the Federal Trade Commission decided in 2009 that paying for positive reviews without disclosing that the reviewer had been compensated, amounted to deceptive advertising and made offending companies liable for prosecution.
Amazon has begun to crack down on thousands of fake book reviews that have popped up on the site in recent years. Yelp, a popular US site that combines local reviews (30m so far) and social networking to create a local online community, said in November that it would be fighting fake reviews by naming and shaming companies and individuals found to be doing it. If Yelp finds evidence of attempts to pay for positive reviews, it puts up a 90-day consumer alert against the company.
But despite these crackdowns, the number of fake reviews is likely to continue growing, forecasts research firm Gartner. In a report last September it warned that one in seven posted online by the end of next year is likely to be false. Other estimates put the number as high as one in three.
But Gartner also warned that rather than paying for fake reviews, companies would switch to menacing individuals who have put up honest, but negative, reviews, demanding that they, or the site, remove them, or face legal action.
How to spot a fake
• Look for concrete details. Avoid reviews that provide abstract narratives about a product or customer-service experience. Give more trust to reviews that provide in‑depth descriptions of the quality of the product or service.
• Avoid one-review accounts. Click on a user's profile on review websites to get an indication of which other reviews the user has written.
• Beware reviews in poor English. Genuine customers may take little care with spelling and grammar, but some reviews sound as if they were translated from a foreign language. Give more credence to reviews written in well constructed and grammatically precise English.
• Skip over reviews overflowing with verbs, adverbs, hyperbole and praise that contains no caveats.
• Consider whether the reviewer's purchase has been confirmed. Amazon and Trustpilot have ways to confirm whether a customer who left a review for a product has indeed purchased it, but this system can be abused.
• Seek company and product recommendations from reputable publications. Look to Which? and MoneySavingExpert.com rather than consumer review websites.
• Conduct in-depth research. Reviews left by users on consumer forums, where they've engaged with the community on a regular basis can provide sharper insights than reviews posted online, so look beyond page one of Google's search results to get a better idea of a company's reputation.