It is hard not to agree today with the statement that advanced algorithms and large databases now govern our everyday purchasing decisions.
Reviews of the spectrum, i.e. a rating system without verification
A tourist planning a dream holiday in Poland or abroad mostly trusts online reviews. Unfortunately, the problem arises when these internet opinions turn out to be a plain, ordinary digital illusion. The UOKiK president has just accused Nocowanie.pl of serious violations of collective consumer interests. The main trigger in this dispute is the complete lack of reliable information about whether the published ratings actually come from people who truly stayed at the property.
According to current law, every major player in the e-commerce market must clearly and transparently inform users whether and how they verify the authenticity of their reviews. Without this mechanism, consumers navigate the platform blindly, risking the loss of hard-earned money on properties with fictitious standards.
A consumer who books accommodation and relies on posted reviews should know whether the portal owner verifies reviews and what procedures are used for this purpose. Failing to meet this obligation, Nocowanie.pl may mislead users of its service, and consumers may mistakenly believe that the reviews were written by people who actually stayed at the place.
- says UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny.
See also: The carrier conspiracy and the internet giant led to pathology in the labor market? UOKiK intervened with a control
The magic button for hosts. How bad reviews disappear?
The most astonishing element of this business-holiday puzzle is the fact that Nocowanie.pl allowed property owners to completely opt out of displaying the user rating panel. What does this mean in practice for consumers? If a guesthouse starts collecting massive terrible reviews for, say, dirty linens or missing promised amenities, the host could make the entire comments section simply vanish with one click.
New critical comments could not flow, while old ones automatically disappeared from potential customers’ view.
When the situation calmed, the panel could be quickly re-enabled. This kind of juggling is an example of classic manipulation that the service allowed without informing consumers.
The ability to disable and then re-enable the rating panel creates a risk of manipulation. A consumer seeing an offer without reviews does not know whether they were absent, or whether the property owner stopped showing them because they were unfavorable. I remind you that distorting consumer opinions about products or services, including hiding negative ratings, is an unfair market practice.
- emphasizes UOKiK President Tomasz Chróstny.
See also: Fake promotions at H&M and Peek & Cloppenburg. Giants will be penalized by UOKiK
Smoke screen in the terms and conditions
It turns out that this is not the end of the platform’s unfair tricks. On the service’s offer pages, the key information about whether a given “host” operates a registered business or is merely a private individual was missing. For the average tourist, this is a fundamental difference, as it determines whether the transaction is a consumer contract and whether it is protected by strong EU law provisions.
The terms state that the service provides only the technological space and contacts, not being a direct party to the contract, while simultaneously declaring assistance in finding alternative accommodation in case of sudden problems.
The UOKiK president reminds that such practices can lead to a penalty of up to 10% of last year’s turnover, which for any company means a powerful blow to both finances and image.
See also: Dino shares at a 28% discount. UOKiK strikes the giant! Working conditions online under scrutiny
Source: UOKiK
