Amazon ‘allowing’ refunds for top reviews

AMAZON shoppers are being offered refunds by sellers in exchange for fake five-star reviews, an investigation has found.

It comes despite the online retail giant banning bribed reviews. However, two years on, these so-called “incentivised reviews” were uncovered by the BBC.

Experts said the ban led to the emergence of Facebook groups where potential Amazon customers were encouraged to buy a product and post a five-star review in return for a full refund.

Tommy Noonan, director at Reviewmeta, a Us-based website that analyses online reviews, said: “Sellers are trying to game the system and there’s a lot of money on the table.” Within minutes of joining the social media groups, researchers were approached with offers of full refunds on products in exchange for five-star reviews. Amazon said: “We do not permit reviews in exchange for compensation of any kind.”