REVIEW POLICY
Important information about the reviews we collect
Introduction
Robert Aston & Company is committed to maintaining transparency and integrity in our business practices and all customer reviews and feedback. Customer reviews provide a vital role in helping potential customers make informed decisions.
In line with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act), submitting, publishing and allowing fake reviews and concealing incentivised reviews is now a banned practice. The banned practice is focused on both consumer reviews and information derived from or influenced by these reviews.
Policy
This policy outlines the steps that will be taken to ensure the integrity of customer feedback on platforms such as our website, published media, sales aids, third party review sites and any other relevant channel, digital or otherwise. It is the responsibility of all Robert Aston & Company’s employees to familiarise themselves with this policy and to understand their own obligations in relation to it.
Who does this apply to?
Everybody working for and with Robert Aston & Company, in whatever capacity for any length of time including employees, contractors and third party service providers associated with Robert Aston & Company and customers.
What are Fake Reviews?
Fake reviews can be positive or negative. A fake positive review makes false, positive claims about an experience with Robert Aston & Company. Such reviews often say positive things about a product or service, helping to boost sales, rankings or ratings in comparison to rivals. Fake negative reviews are often written with the intention of undermining a product or service in the eyes of consumers.
What are the risks to Robert Aston & Company?
Consumer reviews
There is a risk that customers and/or third parties may post negative reviews which are out of context, over inflammatory and unreasonable in relation to their complaint. Additionally, consumers may not use their real name which can make it difficult to understand if the review is genuine in its nature.
Employees
Employees (past and present) could take it upon themselves to post positive reviews, either anonymously or using fake / borrowed identities in order to promote their office or department or in relation to an employment dispute. This could also include encouraging friends and family members to post positive or negative reviews, even if they have not used the service.
Third Parties & Contractors
Third Parties & Contractors could post positive reviews in the hope of receiving favourable terms of engagements from Robert Aston & Company.
Robert Aston & Company both receives and publishes reviews through a number of channels, these include reviews left on ratings sites such as Google, AllAgents, Yell.com and Facebook. All reviews are reviewed by the managing director, Matthew Carlton.
Reviews may be published by Robert Aston & Company in:
- Promotional material
- Robert Aston & Company website
- Property Reports
- Client Reports
The above list is not exhaustive and may change from time to time.
What can we do?
Reviews that reflect a person’s genuine experience of Robert Aston & Company are allowed. There are many instances in which Robert Aston & Company may want to encourage the submission of reviews, such as to gather feedback on the performance of our services and customer satisfaction more generally. Doing so without predetermining the contents or sentiment expressed in the review, for example by merely emailing customers generally to ask if they wish to provide a review, is not prohibited under the banned practice.
If Robert Aston & Company choose to incentivise customers to leave a review for example by paying them, offering them future discounts or free products, this is permissible but to comply with the law.
Robert Aston & Company will:
- tell consumers that the review has been incentivised, and
- the review will still reflect the reviewer’s genuine experience.
What can’t we do?
§ Create or Allow Fake Reviews; it is strictly prohibited to write, solicit or pay for fake positive or negative reviews to manipulate public opinion or ratings.
§ Incentivise Reviews in Exchange for Positive Feedback or other Benefits; it is strictly prohibited to offer rewards, discounts or any other incentive in exchange for positive reviews.
§ Post Reviews Under False Identities; it is strictly prohibited to post reviews under fictitious names, fabricated customer identities, or those that do not accurately reflect the reviewers experience with Robert Aston & Company.
Robert Aston & Company will not:
- Publish consumer reviews in a misleading way
- Suppress or cherry-pick reviews.
- Omit information relevant to how reviews have been written.
- Allow outdated reviews (genuine reviews for services that no longer exist or have changed considerably)
- Publish consumer review information in a misleading way (e.g. displaying ratings information without taking into account negative reviews)
- Offer services that facilitate the submission, commissioning or publication of banned reviews and information
How do we monitor this?
Robert Aston & Company uses a manual review process to monitor the authenticity of reviews. This includes looking for patterns such as unusually high numbers of reviews from the same person, identical or similar language across multiple review platforms, reviews that do not appear to have come from legitimate customers.
Customers, employees and other parties involved or transacting with Robert Aston & Company, who suspect a review to be fake are encouraged to report it to the Managing Director. Any report will be taken seriously and investigated properly.
If a review is found to be fake, Robert Aston & Company will take the following actions:
- Investigate – all reviews thought to be fake will be investigated thoroughly. It will be removed from where it has been published and the customer who posted it may be contacted for clarification.
- Legal Action – in cases where fake reviews are intentionally used to harm the reputation of Robert Aston & Company, or defraud customers, Robert Aston & Company reserves the right to take legal action against the individuals or entities responsible.
Genuine negative reviews will be acknowledged and where necessary directed to the firms Complaints Procedure.
Guidance for Those Wishing to Post a Review
Robert Aston & Company encourage anyone wishing to post a review to write honest, unbiased reviewed on their actual experience. To be truthful, ensure the review is respectful and relevant to the service received and to report any suspicious reviews to us.
In the case of a complaint, these should be submitted to Robert Aston & Company via our Complaints Procedure which can be found on our website www.robertaston.com
Summary
At Robert Aston & Company, we value the trust of our customers and work to maintain the highest standards of transparency and integrity. Fake reviews undermine the credibility of our review system, and we are committed to take all necessary actions to eliminate them. By following this policy, we can ensure that all reviews are honest, accurate and reflective of real customer experiences.
Review and Update of This Policy
This policy is reviewed regularly by Robert Aston & Company to ensure its alignment to the appropriate legal and regulatory requirements.
Any queries relating to this policy or to report a suspicious review, please contact us at 87 Alcester Road, Moseley, B13 8EB or email: [email protected]
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