The Federation of Master Builders has called on consumers to use a vetted builder rather than one found on customer review sites, following an investigation announcement by the CMA.

After the CMA announced that it is to investigate into fake customer reviews found on customer review sites, the FMB has responded regarding cowboy builders.

Brian Berry, Chief Executive of FMB, said builders had been tainted by dishonest and unprofessional business practices on customer review websites for years.

“Many sites that promote businesses on the back of these reviews are far too easily manipulated by their users, as the CMA has rightly recognised,” Brian stated.

“The fake review is just another string to the bow of cowboy builders and dishonest tradespeople.

“All too often, we see builders sourced from customer review-based websites causing havoc with their poor quality and sometimes dangerous work.

“This investigation highlights the importance of using professional trade associations to find reputable tradespeople, particularly when looking for builders.”

Brian added that good builders didn’t need to pay others to provide fake reviews as their work “speaks for itself”.

“Hopefully, this welcome but long overdue investigation by the CMA will help crackdown on dishonesty in the industry,” Brian concluded.