Good morning. Reviews are the cheapest salesperson your shop has — the first thing a homeowner reads before they call. Which is exactly why so many owners cut corners to get them. As of last year, some of those corners are a federal offense. Here's what changed and how to stay clean.
Top story — The FTC's fake-reviews rule is real, and it has fines
Since 21 October 2024, the FTC's Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (16 CFR Part 465) has been federal law. It bans the review shortcuts a lot of contractors have quietly relied on: fake reviews, paid-for reviews, undisclosed reviews from your own people, and burying the bad ones.
Why it bites the trades specifically: your rating on Google is your lead pipe. A shop with 40 five-star reviews outbooks the one with four, so the temptation to manufacture them is real — and now expensive. The rule "authorizes courts to impose civil penalties for knowing violations" (FTC). Under the FTC's current penalty schedule, that runs up to $53,088 per violation (16 CFR 1.98). "Per violation" can mean per fake review, so the math gets bad fast. There's no small-business carve-out — a two-truck shop is covered the same as a national roll-up.
The rule doesn't stop you from asking for reviews. It stops you from faking, buying, or hiding them.
Quick hits
The line on incentives is about sentiment, not thank-yous. The rule makes it illegal to "provide compensation or other incentives in exchange for... consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment" (16 CFR 465.4). Translation: a gift card or discount handed out for a five-star review is over the line. So is a review written by an owner, a manager, or an employee that doesn't carry a "clear and conspicuous disclosure" of that relationship (16 CFR 465.5). Your tech can be a happy customer — but the review has to say so.
You can't threaten a bad review off the internet, either. The rule bars using "an unfounded or groundless legal threat... in an attempt to prevent a review... or cause a review... to be removed" (16 CFR 465.7). The angry-lawyer-letter move against a one-star customer is its own violation now.
Google will pull them even if the FTC never calls. Separate from federal law, Google's own contribution policy says reviews "must be based on real experiences and information," and that "deliberately fake content" violates the policy — which means removal. Bought or fabricated reviews carry two risks: a federal penalty and a platform purge that can wipe your rating overnight (Google).
The Tip — Run a 15-minute review-process audit this week
Pull up how your shop actually collects reviews and fix three things. One: kill any "leave us a 5-star review and get $X" offer — you can ask for a review, you just can't pay for a positive one. Ask every customer, not only the ones you're sure loved you. (Asking only happy customers isn't specifically banned by the rule, but the FTC warns it "could violate the FTC Act," so don't build your whole system on it.) Two: if anyone on your payroll — or your cousin — has posted a review, make sure it discloses the relationship, or take it down. Three: kill the reflex to threaten reviewers; dispute a genuinely fake review through the platform instead. Fifteen minutes now beats a five-figure "per violation" letter later.
Tool watch — [Not sponsored]
The FTC wrote a plain-English page for exactly this: "The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers" on business.ftc.gov. It walks through what's banned, what's fine, and the grey areas (including the "only ask happy customers" question) in language a shop owner can read in ten minutes. It's free, it's the source of truth, and no reputation-management vendor gets to spin it for you. No one paid for this mention, and the only thing named is the regulator's own guidance.
That's the callout. See you next time.
The Callout — the business brief for the trades. We label every commercial placement: [Sponsor], [Affiliate], or [Not sponsored]. Today's Tool watch is our own honest read — no one paid for it, and the only page named is the government's own. 231J Ramparts Road, Te Anau 9600, New Zealand · Unsubscribe anytime. This is general information about a federal rule, not legal advice. Penalty amounts are inflation-adjusted annually; the $53,088 figure was read live on the eCFR on 26 September 2026 and re-confirmed live via the eCFR API on 27 September 2026. Check the rule and your own review practices with counsel before you rely on any of this.
Sources
FTC — The Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule: Questions and Answers (business guidance; "which went into effect on October 21, 2024"; the rule "authorizes courts to impose civil penalties for knowing violations"; on asking only happy customers, "The rule does not contain a specific prohibition against such conduct. But this practice could violate the FTC Act"). https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers
eCFR — 16 CFR Part 465, Rule on the Use of Consumer Reviews and Testimonials (current text: §465.2 fake or false reviews/testimonials; §465.4 buying reviews — "provide compensation or other incentives in exchange for... consumer reviews expressing a particular sentiment"; §465.5 insider reviews must carry a "clear and conspicuous disclosure" of the material relationship; §465.6 company-controlled review sites; §465.7 review suppression — "an unfounded or groundless legal threat"; §465.8 fake indicators of social media influence). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-465
eCFR — 16 CFR 1.98, Adjustment of civil monetary penalty amounts (§5(m)(1)(A) of the FTC Act: $53,088, effective 17 January 2025). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-1/subpart-L/section-1.98
Google — Contribution policy / prohibited & restricted content (reviews "must be based on real experiences and information"; "deliberately fake content" violates the policy). https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7422880
All government pages read live 26 September 2026 (US) / 27 September 2026 (NZ); re-confirmed live via the eCFR versioner API and direct page fetches on 27 September 2026 (Mac-side check).