Star ratings are often the fastest way to compare budget pushchairs, and a high score can tip a buying decision. UK law now speaks directly to whether those ratings can be trusted. This guide sets out what the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) says about fake reviews under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act), and what that means for a shopper comparing prams. The rules apply across the UK and concern the traders who publish reviews, not the shopper.
What the law bans
Schedule 20 to the DMCC Act lists commercial practices that are unfair in all circumstances. Paragraph 13 covers reviews and bans:
- submitting, or commissioning someone else to submit, a fake consumer review or a review that conceals the fact it has been incentivised;
- publishing consumer reviews, or consumer review information, in a misleading way;
- publishing reviews or review information without taking reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and remove fake, concealed incentivised or misleading content.
The Schedule defines a fake review as one that purports to be, but is not, based on a person’s genuine experience, and “consumer review information” as information derived from or influenced by reviews (legislation.gov.uk, Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20). The CMA says the provisions apply to commercial practices from 6 April 2025 (CMA, “Unfair commercial practices” (CMA207)).
What counts as a review, and a fake one
The CMA’s guidance treats reviews broadly. They can be text such as a comment under a product listing, speech such as a video opinion, or graphic representations such as a star rating. Aggregated ratings, review counts and rankings are “consumer review information”. A fake review can be positive, boosting sales or rankings against rivals, or negative, aimed at undermining a product or trader. A review is not fake just because the trader disagrees with it, as long as it reflects the reviewer’s genuine experience (CMA, “Fake reviews guidance” (CMA208), chapter 2).
Incentivised reviews
An incentivised review is not banned by itself. The CMA says the problem arises when the fact is concealed, and it lists examples of incentives that can count: money, commissions, discounts or vouchers, and free or cheaper loans. For pram shoppers, the practical point is that a glowing review from someone who received a free pushchair or a voucher should be clearly identifiable as incentivised. Where a platform permits incentivised reviews, the CMA says the review must be clearly identifiable as such, and usually labelled prominently (CMA208, chapters 2 and 3).
Cherry-picking and suppressing reviews
The guidance also addresses how retailers present reviews. A trader may infringe the law by suppressing genuine negative or positive reviews or by selectively promoting some. The CMA says traders should not, for example, interfere with reviewers’ ability or willingness to leave negative reviews through threats of harm or legal action, or make an offer of dispute resolution depend on a customer not leaving a negative review. Cherry-picking can also happen by encouraging only satisfied customers to leave reviews, or by highlighting positive reviews that do not reflect the overall experience reported (CMA208, chapter 4).
When reviews of a different product are merged
The guidance describes “catalogue abuse”, sometimes called review hijacking or review merging, as presenting reviews of a different product as if they relate to the product a shopper is considering. It says consumers are most likely to be misled where reviews from different products are merged to boost one product’s rating and review count while there are material differences between them. Where the experience is likely to be materially the same across different specifications, sharing reviews is more likely to comply. For a pushchair sold in several frame or wheel configurations, that distinction matters, because a rating may relate to a different model from the one on screen (CMA208, chapter 4).
Star ratings that are not updated
Publishing review information in a misleading way includes displaying a star rating or review count based on aggregated reviews without addressing the effect of fake reviews, for example by failing promptly to update the rating and count after reviews have been identified and removed as fake. (CMA208, chapter 5).
Practical checks when comparing pushchairs
The law places obligations on the businesses that publish reviews, so no shopper is expected to detect fakes alone. Some sensible habits follow from the guidance, though:
- Look for labels: reviews written in exchange for a free product or a discount should be identifiable as incentivised.
- Check which product a review refers to: where a listing covers several versions, look at whether the review text describes the version being bought.
- Read the negative reviews too: the CMA treats hiding or removing genuine negative reviews as a potential breach, so a listing with only glowing feedback deserves a second look.
- Use safety information separately: a review is opinion, not a safety test. Our guide to reading a pram’s labels explains what the required markings say.
Questions readers often ask
Is a review fake if it is negative and the seller disagrees?
No. The CMA says a review is not fake just because the trader does not like it, provided it reflects the reviewer’s genuine experience.
Are reviews in exchange for a free pushchair illegal?
Not in themselves. The ban applies to reviews that conceal the fact they were incentivised.
The bottom line
Since 6 April 2025, UK law bans submitting or commissioning fake reviews, concealing that a review was incentivised, publishing review information in a misleading way and failing to take reasonable steps against fake reviews. The CMA’s guidance covers cherry-picking, merging reviews of different products and outdated star ratings. Shoppers comparing budget prams can therefore expect incentivised reviews to be labelled and ratings to reflect genuine experience, but should still read negative reviews and check which model a review describes.