Notes for owners · Branding and communication
Fake and unfair reviews: what a business can do and what it cannot
How to sort a bad Google review into fake, unfair or true-but-harsh, what to flag, reply to and document for each, and when a lawyer is worth calling, in general terms.
The GullySales team · Updated 17 Oct 2026 · 6 min read
On this page
A business generally cannot delete a review on Google. It can report one, reply to it, record the evidence and, in a few cases, ask a lawyer to write to the author. Which of those to do depends on what kind of review it is. Sort every bad review into one of three groups first: not from a customer, from a customer who got it wrong, or from a customer who is right.
What kind of bad review is it?
Treating all three the same is how an owner ends up arguing with a customer who was telling the truth. Use the table before you type a word.
| Type | Signs | Report it? | Reply? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Not a customer | No match in your records, wrong service named, wrong city, a burst of reviews on one day, new profiles with no other history | Yes | Briefly, once |
| A customer who got it wrong | Real order, but the claim is false or half true: "never delivered" when you have a signed challan | Only if it breaks the platform's rules | Yes, with facts, calmly |
| A customer who is right, and angry | Matches your records and the complaint is fair | No | Yes, with an apology and a route to fix it |
Be honest about the third group. A review that stings is not fake. If you can find the customer in your records, it is a customer, however unfair the tone.
What can you do about a review that is not from a customer?
Look for the gap between what the review says and what you can show. Search your records by the reviewer's name, phone, or the date and service described. If nothing matches, write that down. Then screenshot the review, the reviewer's profile and the date, and save the link.
Use the platform's own report option, and choose the reason closest to the facts: a service you do not offer, say, or a poster with no experience of you. Do not tick a heavier reason than the facts support.
Then write one short public reply, without accusing anyone: "We could not find a record of this order under this name. Please write to us on the number on our profile with the invoice or date." This tells other readers you take it seriously, and invites the writer to prove it.
You cannot force the platform to act. Reports sometimes come back unchanged, and its decision may be final in practice. Plan on keeping the reply, not the removal.
What if a real customer wrote something false?
This is the hardest group. A person can believe a thing that is not so, and anger makes that likelier. Do not argue the whole case in public.
- Find the order. Call the customer first if you have the number, and listen without correcting.
- If they were wrong about a fact, send them the paper (delivery challan, signed estimate) privately and ask whether they would update the review. Some do.
- Reply in public with one fact and one offer: "Our records show delivery on the 12th, signed for by a family member. We would like to look at your concern. Please call."
- Do not offer money in exchange for removing a review, and do not pressure the customer to remove it. Read the platform's rules on this yourself, because they change.
If the review makes a claim about your product that rules in your trade restrict, such as a health claim, keep your reply to what you did and leave out claims about outcomes. Rules differ by state and body and change, so check with your own adviser or regulator.
An invented example: a bridal boutique in Surat
Imagine a boutique in Surat that hires out and sells lehengas. In one week it gets three one-star reviews: "stitching was terrible", "worst service, never again", "shop is closed all the time". None names a garment. The owner is sure a rival two lanes away is behind them and wants to reply with an accusation.
The owner does not. The booking book shows no customers with those names. Screenshots with dates are saved, all three are reported, and the same calm reply goes under each. One complaint turns out to match something real: the shop shuts on Monday afternoons and the listing says it is open. That one is partly the shop's mistake, so the hours are fixed and the reply says so.
All three reviews stay up and the reports bring no change. The replies may help a reader see the pattern, but nobody can be sure. The owner also starts asking every bride, at delivery, for an honest review, so that the real ones outnumber the odd ones. How to ask without pressure is in getting reviews without asking every customer the same way.
When does a lawyer make sense?
Not for a single rude review. A lawyer's letter costs money and can make a small thing bigger, since the letter may be posted online.
It makes sense when a review names a person and states something false that is costing you work, and the author can be identified. It also makes sense when there is a pattern: many reviews from linked accounts and a competitor you can name.
Your lawyer will ask for the evidence file: screenshots with dates, the link, the records showing no match, your report and the platform's answer. Whether any of it is actionable depends on the facts and on where you are. Ask your own lawyer. This post is not legal advice.
What should you not do?
Do not post fake positive reviews to drown the bad ones. Do not offer free service for a changed rating. Do not threaten the reviewer in the reply. Each gives the platform, or the next reader, a reason to trust you less than before the review.
What to do this week
Open a folder called "Reviews" and keep one dated sheet in it. The columns are: link, date posted, matches a record (yes or no), what was reported, what the platform said, and what you replied. Fill it in for every review below four stars. For the reputation side, see online reputation management, and the marketing hub lists the related work. To get a pile of reviews sorted, tell us what you need.
