• Do you check product reviews while shopping online? Seeking information about the seller and the product is always a good practice – provided that such information is honest and reliable.
• Due to actions taken by the President of UOKiK, the ceneo.pl and opineo.pl websites will change the rules of presenting negative ratings given by consumers.

Social research conducted by PBS on behalf of the UOKiK shows that product reviews are vital for online shoppers. As many as 84 per cent of respondents agreed. As such, product ratings and reviews must be reliable and honest, with both positive and negative feedback being presented.

- "Consumers have the right to honest information – this is particularly important when shopping online, so we take action to ensure that they can access fully reliable purchase reviews", explained Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection.

The activities of the ceneo.pl and opineo.pl websites raised concerns of the President of UOKiK. Specifically, it was about the way negative ratings and feedback were presented, as well as the fact that in some instances they were not included in statistics. Tomasz Chróstny, President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, requested that the websites clarify these doubts.

- "Choosing a specific product or a seller online is not easy at all – you often have to rely on other people's reviews, hoping that they reflect their actual experience. This is the only way for you to make an informed decision when choosing products and sellers. Removing or concealing negative ratings and feedback distorts the market environment and buyer purchasing decisions alike. With access to all ratings, the consumer could have chosen a different product or seller or decided not to make a purchase altogether. The owners of product rating platforms should not interfere in the ratings posted by users, and with this in mind, we drew the attention of ceneo.pl and opineo.pl to this issue", said Tomasz Chróstny, President of UOKiK.

Both companies responded positively and declared that they will be changing their policy.

The reservations raised concerned hiding certain negative ratings and reviews and failing to include them in statistics in cases where the seller contacted the consumer. Ceneo.pl and opineo.pl allow both customers and stores to message each other; this feature was used by business owners upon receiving a low rating, among others. If the consumer failed to respond to such a message, their rating was hidden. It also did not count towards the store's average rating. Additionally, both websites did not show negative reviews concerning cases in which the dispute was resolved and the consumer withdrew the review.

We would like to remind everyone that while consumer review websites may provide communication tools for sellers and customers, using such tools must not result in the removal of negative reviews and distortion of the rating statistics. If consumers are allowed to withdraw negative reviews when their dispute with the seller is resolved positively, then the information about the number of withdrawn reviews should also be available on the website. It may have involved the consumers receiving some sort of benefit (e.g. voucher, discount).

Social research

Commissioned by the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, PBS conducted a consumer survey about experiences concerning falsifying online reviews. Three out of four respondents declared that they have heard of this phenomenon. Most surveyed consumers have a neutral attitude towards it. At the same time, many are concerned that false reviews may affect their product choices (with 28 per cent being rather and 19 per cent very concerned about this, respectively). The vast majority of consumers believe that high ratings or positive product reviews are rather or very important when shopping online (32 and 52 per cent, respectively). Consumers typically do not check the authenticity of reviews because they do not know how to do it. Nearly half of those who do not verify reviews point to this problem.

The survey was conducted on the "poznaj.to" CAWI online panel between 21 and 28 October 2020 on a sample of 1,003 individuals over the age of 15. 

Consumer assistance:

Phone: 801 440 220 or 22 290 89 16 – consumer helpline
E-mail: porady@dlakonsumentow.pl
Consumer Advocates – in your city or county
Regional Inspectors of Commercial Inspection

Additional information for the media:

UOKiK Press Office
Pl. Powstańców Warszawy 1, 00-950 Warszawa, Poland
Phone +48 695 902 088, +48 22 55 60 246
E-mail: biuroprasowe@uokik.gov.pl
Twitter: @UOKiKgovPL