
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has launched courtĀ proceedings against home building company Aveling Homes, alleging it misled consumers through its review websites.
Action has been launched against the Perth-based companyĀ in theĀ Federal Court, with the ACCC claiming it created review websites for its homes that appeared to be independent of the company but were not.
The ACCC claims the review websites in question are actually run by Aveling Homes, and that the companyĀ allegedly acted to secure a favourable overall impression by āobscuring or removing unfavourable reviewsā.
Read more: ACCC takes Meriton to court over claims TripAdvisor online reviews were manipulated
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The allegations concern the sites www.avelinghomesproductreviews.com.au and www.firsthomeownerscentreproductreviews.com.au. The ACCC claims thatĀ First Home Owners Centre was operated by Aveling until February 1, and the site now redirects to a landing page on Avelingās website.
The ACCC also alleges the sites gave the impression they were affiliated with the third party website Product Review, when this was not the case.

Aveling Homes reviews website. Source: ACCC.
āWe believe the potential for harm from the conduct alleged in this case is significant, as buying or building a home is one of the biggest purchasing decisions for Australians,ā ACCC deputy chair Michael Schaper said in a statement on the case.
āOnline reviews are increasingly being relied on by consumers and they should be able to trust that those reviews are independent, unbiased and accurately reflect the range of consumer feedback received.ā
The ACCC is seeking declarations, pecuniary penalties, injunctions, corrective notices, a compliance program, and the findings of fact and costs.
An absolute “don’t do” for business
Narissa Corrigan, founder and commercial lawyer at Ampersand Legal, told SmartCompany allegations of false or misleading reviews are happening āmore and more oftenā.
However, she thinks this case is unusual, due to the method in which Aveling is allegedly misleading customers.
āThe company [is alleged to have] created these supposedly independent websites to display misleading reviews. In my opinion that shows an intention to really mislead customers,ā Corrigan says.
āItās misleading on two fronts. Firstly, the [allegation] the company created these websites, which is in itself weird.ā
āSecondly, that they edited reviews so only positive reviews would show on there. Thatās an absolute donāt do for businesses.ā
The area of the Australian Consumer Law which Aveling Homes has allegedly contravened relates to misleading and deceptive conduct, says Corrigan.
āThereās a provision in the ACL to prevent this, so no false representations are made about businesses. In this case, itās more misleading than deceptive,ā she says.
āThe misleading part is implying an association between their website and third party websites. The deceptive part is the removal of negative feedback.ā
Corrigan believes the ACCC is cracking down on this sort of conduct from businesses as more and more consumers become reliant on online reviews.
āBusinesses rely on an online presence and consumers are becoming more comfortable with using a review to determine where they get their products from,ā she says.
For businesses that allow reviews on their website, Corrigan advises to take āthe good with the badā and allow all sorts of reviews.
āYou canāt just edit away the bad reviews,ā she says.
False or offensive reviews can be removed says Corrigan, but āgenuine gripesā canāt be taken down just because you donāt like it.
āBusinesses have to paint a clear and accurate picture of what their service is,ā she says.
SmartCompany contacted Aveling Homes but did not receive a response prior to publication.
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