FOOD DELIVERY GIANT Just Eat is among five firms under investigation by the UK’s competition watchdog as part of its crackdown on fake and misleading online reviews.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is also investigating motor platform Autotrader, customer review and feedback firm Feefo, funeral firm Dignity and restaurant Pasta Evangelists.

The CMA said it has launched probes against the companies to see whether consumer laws have been broken.

Since April last year, companies in the UK have been banned from certain tactics around online reviews under law, such as fake posts, paid-for reviews that are not clearly marked as incentivised, as well as for hiding negative feedback.

Sarah Cardell, chief executive of the CMA, 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.”

The CMA said it was looking into whether Just Eat’s ratings system had inflated some restaurant and grocer star ratings, giving a misleading picture of quality.

For Autotrader and Feefo, the CMA is investigating whether a number of one-star reviews – moderated by Feefo, which handles reviews for the new and used car site – were hidden on the platform and did not count towards the star ratings.

Dignity is under investigation by the CMA into whether it asked staff to write positive reviews about the firm’s crematoria services.

Artisan fresh pasta chain Pasta Evangelists is being probed over allegations it offered customers discounts for leaving five-star reviews on delivery apps without this being disclosed.

If the CMA finds the firms have broken the law, it can order them to change their practices and fine them up to 10% of their annual global sales.

A Just Eat spokesperson said: “We are working closely with the CMA to ensure the reviews and ratings on our platform are clear, transparent and easy to use for all our customers and partners.”

An Autotrader spokesperson said: “We endeavour always to operate as a responsible and compliant business and will co-operate fully with the CMA’s investigation.”

Feefo said: “We remain entirely confident in our compliance frameworks and look forward to contributing to the CMA’s work.”

Dignity said the investigation related to its crematorium and memorial group division and that it was “committed to ensuring full compliance with consumer law and will continue to engage constructively with the CMA”.

Pasta Evangelists said it was “co-operating fully with the CMA as it works to understand the facts and the CMA has itself made clear that no conclusions have been reached”.

It comes after the CMA recently secured commitments from Google and Amazon to beef up their systems to identify and remove fake reviews.

Amazon last June agreed to put in place “robust processes” to quickly detect and remove fake reviews alongside sanctions for rogue sellers and businesses after an investigation by the CMA to curb the customer hazard.

Emma Cochrane, executive director for consumer protection at the CMA, said the fake reviews crackdown is vital given the shift towards online shopping.

“Nine in 10 of us rely on online reviews when we’re making choices about what we spend our money on, and in a cost-of-living situation, that is really important. And there’s billions of pounds spent on retail in the UK every year, and we know online reviews are a big part of that.”