Fake, unfair or wrong-business reviews: what you can do

You wake up to three one-star reviews. You don’t recognise the names. You’ve never served these people. And one of them complains about a burger, when you’re a plumber.

It’s horrible, and it’s tempting to panic. But there’s a calm, proper way to deal with it. In this lesson, I’ll show you what it is.

We’ll cover which reviews Google will remove, how to report once and appeal once, and what to say in public while you wait.

First, the hard part. You can’t get a review removed just because you disagree with it. In Google’s words: “Do not report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it.” An honest customer’s harsh review stays, even if it feels unfair. That one needs a good reply, which you learned in Lesson 3.3.

What you can report is a review that breaks Google’s policy. For example, it isn’t based on a real experience. It comes from someone with a conflict of interest, like a competitor or an ex-employee. It was posted to damage a competitor’s reputation. It’s off-topic: Google says reviews must be based on an experience at that place, so you can report the burger review. Or it contains harassment, or someone’s personal information.

Here’s how to report. Open your Business Profile and select “Read reviews”. Next to the review, select “Report”, choose the reason that matches the rule it breaks, and select “Send report”.

You can follow it in Google’s Reviews Management Tool, which shows a status for each report. Google says checking a report typically takes several days.

If Google finds no violation, you can send a one-time appeal from the same tool, for up to 10 reviews at a time. There’s only one, so make your case clearly the first time.

Two warnings. First, report each review once. Google’s support policy says repeated unfounded submissions can lead to all your further complaints being rejected without assessment. Second, be patient. In October 2026, a Google team member said review appeals were taking longer than usual because of high volume, and asked people not to create duplicate appeals.

While you wait, reply. Calmly, once, and without accusing anyone. Future customers read your reply as much as the review.

For a review that seems meant for another business, our guide has this template: “We can’t find a visit matching your description, and we think this may be meant for another business with a similar name. If we’ve got that wrong, please get in touch.” For a review you believe is fake: “We take every review seriously but can’t find any record of this visit. If you were a customer, please contact us so we can help.”

Clinics and law firms: use the confidential reply from Lesson 3.3 instead, because even “no record of this visit” says something about who is, or isn’t, a patient or client.

And never fight fake reviews with fake ones. Don’t ask friends or family to post five stars to balance things out. That’s fake engagement, and it breaks the same rules. Keep asking every customer, so your newest reviews show your real service.

If you’re hit by a sudden wave of fake reviews, Google may step in by itself. In September 2026, Google emailed some owners to say it had found a spike in spam reviews on their profile. It removed them, so they don’t affect the rating, and paused new reviews, typically for a few days. If that happens to you, keep screenshots and dates, report anything still showing, once, and carry on as normal when the pause lifts.

A quick rules check. Report only real breaches, once each. Never post or buy fake reviews, from anyone. And be wary of anyone who offers to remove reviews for a fee. Google decides what comes down, and it only removes reviews that break its policies.

One country note. However angry a review makes you, don’t threaten the reviewer. In the US, the FTC’s rule bans groundless legal threats, intimidation or certain false accusations to get negative reviews removed. In the UK, the CMA says businesses mustn’t interfere with people leaving negative reviews, for example with threats of legal action. In Australia, the ACCC says suppressing or removing genuine negative reviews can mislead customers. If a review is genuinely defamatory, talk to a solicitor or lawyer.

Let’s recap. You can’t remove a review because you disagree with it, but you can report one that breaks the rules. Report once, and appeal once. Reply calmly in public, and never fight fakes with fakes.

Your task: open the report log on workbook page W8. For any review you believe breaks the rules, note the date, the reason and the date you reported it. Report each one once, reply calmly, and come back to fill in the outcome.

And if you’d like every new review in one place, Flexi Local’s review monitoring brings reviews from Google, Facebook and 65+ other sites into one inbox, with instant alerts. The course works the same either way.