Sports Direct disapproved reviews...

CBU2004

I recently reviewed four items on Sports Direct, 2 reviews were positive and they got approved, however the other 2 reviews stated a few negatives about the products and they were disapproved, now I wasn't sure where to post this, but should I attempt to contact them about this ? Surely other people need to know some negatives about their products ?

The negative reviews weren't harsh or 'nitpicking' they just stated a downside to the products.

Weird huh?

bris

you really think it's in their best interests to approve negative reviews on their site, how naïve.

If you want honest reviews you need to look to independent sites not the sellers.

bod1467

Not weird at all. If it was their own site then they can choose to not show negative reviews if they wish.

Of course they'll deny doing this. They'll say that those reviews breached posting guidelines in some obscure way.

CBU2004

bris wrote: »

you really think it's in their best interests to approve negative reviews on their site, how naïve.

If you want honest reviews you need to look to independent sites not the sellers.

Not naive, I have seen other sites let reviews through with slightly negative comments. Why not, it's not like a tore into the product and said it was terrible and avoid at all costs, just pointed some facts out that people would want to know.

visidigi

Their site, their choice.

Even Tripadvisor doesn't always get it right and they are supposed to be independent...

wealdroam

If they don't want your comments on their website, then that really is the end of the matter, isn't it?

Leo2020

I would always trust a company more that allowed positive and negative reviews of products. All products, even the highest quality ones, fail. Some customers will have problems with something they bought or the service they received. I think it shows the company in a better light if the allow negative comments, especially if they then go on to post a comment back showing how they are trying to resolve it/or how it was resolved.

Same for Facebook - some companies only allow positive comments, any complaints get deleted quickly. I think this is a sign that a business has something to hide.

lucy03

Retailers do have to be a little careful not to avoid any potential perceived breach of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations. I can't see that any trading standards department would be concerned at Sports Direct, or any other company, refusing to publish negative reviews, but they might if the retailer was deliberately giving full marks to some products (such as those they manufacture) and accepting lower marks for other products (such as those they don't or which produce less profit).

But IMO broadly it's their site and they can post the reviews that they want to.

frugal_mike

If they are editing/censoring the reviews then I wonder if they would stray into the advertising category rather then being just user feedback? Not sure what the rules are about advertising online though.

4743hudsonj

frugal_mike wrote: »

If they are editing/censoring the reviews then I wonder if they would stray into the advertising category rather then being just user feedback? Not sure what the rules are about advertising online though.

I wonder the same. For example some companies use the term 'testimonials' rather than reviews as it seems to make clear that they are moderated and selected customer opinions and not a general reflection on the item as reviews would point out.