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Warning about dodgy 'recommendations' on MSE forums

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I don't know if the forum adminstrators will pull this post down but I think it's really important to warn fellow GENUINE MSE forum users about some seriously suspicious 'recommendations' that regularly pop up in these forums.

I feel a bit guilty using Leathersofaworld as an example because I've noticed it happen with a number of companies and I've almost been caught out buying products based on dodgy 'recommendations in the past.

But the practice of registering as a new forum user simply to recommend your own company under the guise of being a normal person is a disgusting thing that all genuine MSE members should be aware and wary of.

My original post is at:
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=277392&highlight=leathersofaworld

does anyone else find it a little suspicious that the two people that made positive comments/recommended Leathersofaworld.com in this post both seem to have registered to use MSE forums purely to recommend this company in this post.

I obviously can't prove anything but I just hate companies that register as everyday 'normal' people and make sneaky recommendations about their own company.

The first post from Nathbargainhunter was posted in August 2007, SEVEN months after the previous post so if he's the happy owner of a sofa from leathersofaworld, why is he doing a 'sofa' search in the MSE forums???

Doing a search would surely have been the only way he would have found that post. Why is he searching for 'sofa's when he apparently already owns a great one and knows the exact company to buy from?

There was also a gap of a month before Sianywarny registered purely to comment on how good this company is and 'agree with one of the previous comments'.

I thought I might take my investigation further so did a search for leathersofaworld in the MSE forums and guess what I found:

Another 'newbie' registered under the name Amycaff to hail the services and quality of leathersofaworld.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...hers ofaworld

And in another post, yet another 'newbie' registered under Ste1987 purely to make an arbitrary comment about the delivery times of leathersofaworld.
http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/...hersofaworl d

ALL of these comments came almost a full month, sometimes more, after the previous posts so yet again, there more than likely no way they simply stumbled across the posts and decided to make a comment... they've had to search for sofa before doing so and then gone through the registration process simply to make these recommendations... nothing before, nothing since.

Wanting to be completely fair to leathersofaworld, there was a total of 2 people who have been long-term members of the MSE forums that I discovered HAD made positive comments about the company.

Let this be a warning to people out there, at the very least check how long a person has been registered on MSE before believing everything they say, check out what else they've commented on and at the very least, take 'recommendations' from newbies with a healthy pinch of salt.

and I'm not bringing into question just leathersofaworld but many many more companies that try similarly deplorable, underhand tricks to attract business.

p.s. let me say that leathersoftheworld actually seems to be a decent company selling sofas at good prices... I'm in the hunt for a well-priced sofa myself which is how I stumbled across this post but these sort of seriously suspicious 'recommendations' do more to make me worry about the trustworthiness of the company than reassure me.

Sorry Leathersofaworld, I know you might feel victimised by this post but it's just bad luck yours was the company I noticed trying this disgraceful technique.

Comments

  • penrhyn
    penrhyn Posts: 15,215 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture Combo Breaker
    If I spot one I will click on the warning triangle and report the post as a Spam!
    You should too, its very cathartic.
    That gum you like is coming back in style.
  • Poppycat
    Poppycat Posts: 19,913 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    It regularly happens that suspicious posts from newbies defending a company or even plugging it

    They often get reported and usually removed too
  • saintscouple
    saintscouple Posts: 4,334 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    Hi, Martin’s asked me to post this in these circumstances: I’ve asked Board Guides to move threads if they’ll receive a better response elsewhere (please see this rule) so this post/thread has been moved to another board, where it should get more replies. If you have any questions about this policy please email [EMAIL="abuse@moneysavingexpert.com"]abuse@moneysavingexpert.com[/EMAIL].
  • saintscouple
    saintscouple Posts: 4,334 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    As the others have rightly said - if you see anything suspicious, click on the red triangle and report it to abuse. This will then get reviewed by the team.

    Even if the post turns out to be legit, there is no come-back, so don't worry about that. We're just thankful for your observations :T
  • boombap
    boombap Posts: 765 Forumite
    You often see quite a few suspicious replies to threads over on the Travel forum.

    Often someone will ask if anyone's ever used such-and-such a tour operator and, low and behold, a glut of newbies register to say how fantastic they are! Hmmmmmm.

    S.
  • isofa
    isofa Posts: 6,091 Forumite
    This does also happen on the tech forum, often when there is a discussion about poor service with PC World a new registered user pops up defending and listing new products and services from the "great company". We tend to just refer them to previous problems with the company, sometimes is can get quite heated!
  • The problem here is that everyone was or is a Newbie at some point and the minority of spammers are undermining the genuine newbie who is trying to save money in tough times.

    I'm a Newbie, so how do I recommend things I kow about without people thinking I am in some way linked to it? It's a tough question and I have to think carefully before writing stuff for fear of my profile being pulled. But, I have things to tell people and things I have found on here that have helped me that I want to rave about. I sometimes feel that I can't though for fear of being incorrectly labelled.

    How about requiring a postcode at registration too? Would that help stop spammers maybe?
  • marleyboy
    marleyboy Posts: 16,698 Forumite
    10,000 Posts Combo Breaker
    Im particularly suspicious about this thread
    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=190532

    moreso on page 4, the company are blatently advertising their products via a link, but this is a prime example of newbies popping up to promote themselves
    :A:dance:1+1+1=1:dance::A
    "Marleyboy you are a legend!"
    MarleyBoy "You are the Greatest"
    Marleyboy You Are A Legend!
    Marleyboy speaks sense
    marleyboy (total legend)
    Marleyboy - You are, indeed, a legend.
  • marleyboy wrote: »
    Im particularly suspicious about this thread
    http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=190532

    moreso on page 4, the company are blatently advertising their products via a link, but this is a prime example of newbies popping up to promote themselves

    Tough one that, suspicious, oh yes, absolutely definitely an employee, too close to call in my view. Trouble is, I can't think of a bullet-proof way of stopping this sort of 'spoof recommendation'.
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