Court action takes crack at fake tradie reviews

THOUSANDS of tradies allegedly faked customer reviews to publish five-star ratings of their work online, a court has been told.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has launched legal action in the Federal Court against Service Seeking Pty Ltd, for alleged misleading conduct over customer reviews.

The ACCC alleges that Service Seeking let businesses post more than 16,000 fake reviews — along with five-star service ratings.

Service Seeking enables customers to get online quotes and book jobs such plumbing, painting, gardening, cleaning and removalist services.

Professionals — including architects, accountants and lawyers — can also offer their services on the business matchmaking app.