UK regulator investigates five companies for fake reviews and misleading ratings

March 27 (Reuters) - The British competition regulator has launched investigations into five companies including AutoTrader AUTOA.L and Just Eat JTKWY.PK as part of its crackdown on fake reviews and misleading online ratings, it said on Friday.

The investigations follow the watchdog's interventions into tech giants Amazon AMZN.O and Google GOOGL.O over possible breaches of consumer protection law, which led to changes for improving systems for identifying fake reviews.

Under newly granted powers, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) can independently decide whether consumer law has been infringed and act against breaches, including levying fines and ordering businesses to improve their practices.

Here are details about the latest probes:

• Online car marketplace AutoTrader and reviews platform Feefo are being scrutinised over allegations that one‑star reviews were not published on AutoTrader’s website, potentially skewing overall star ratings.

• Europe’s largest food delivery company, Just Eat, is under investigation over concerns it may have inflated ratings for some restaurants and grocery partners.

• CMA said meal‑kit firm Pasta Evangelists may have offered discounts in exchange for five‑star reviews while funeral services provider Dignity is accused of asking staff to write positive reviews about its own services.

• CMA said it has not yet reached conclusions on whether consumer law was broken, but said the investigations could result in findings of unlawful conduct and fines of up to 10% of the companies' global turnover.

• "We’ve given businesses the time to get things right. Now we’re deploying our new powers to tackle some of the most harmful practices head on", said CMA's chief executive Sarah Cardell.