Many cash house buyers are legitimate businesses, but a star rating can’t prove it: read reviews critically, looking for what happened to the price and the timetable on completed sales, then check the company itself at Companies House and with The Property Ombudsman. Since 6 April 2025 fake reviews have been banned under UK consumer law. That helps, but it doesn’t mean every review you read is genuine.
Are cash house buyers legit?
Some are and some aren’t, which is why the checks matter. When the Office of Fair Trading studied the quick sale market in 2013, it found a dynamic sector where some firms were trying to offer a better service, alongside practices that might not comply with the law. It then investigated four firms, which gave undertakings in December 2013, including not to reduce offers without a valid reason.
Protection depends on the type of firm. According to the OFT, firms that broker sales, by introducing you to other buyers, are likely to be doing estate agency work and must then follow estate agency law. For firms that buy homes on their own account, The Property Ombudsman (TPO) runs a voluntary scheme with its own code of practice.
So “legit” is a question about the particular firm in front of you. Reviews are one piece of evidence. They work best alongside the checks further down this page.
What does the law say about fake reviews?
The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 lists practices that are always unfair and banned. Since 6 April 2025, the list includes:
- Fake reviews: reviews that claim to be based on someone’s genuine experience but are not, whether positive or negative.
- Concealed incentivised reviews: reviews the writer was paid or rewarded for, where that isn’t made clear.
- Publishing reviews in a misleading way. The Competition and Markets Authority’s guidance gives examples: suppressing genuine negative reviews, cherry-picking positive ones, or only inviting satisfied customers to review.
- Failing to take reasonable steps. Businesses that publish reviews must take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and remove fake reviews.
The CMA can now fine a business up to 10% of its global turnover for breaking consumer protection law.
The CMA’s guidance makes a fair point the other way too. A review is not fake just because the business disagrees with it, as long as it reflects the reviewer’s genuine experience.
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Trustpilot or Google: which reviews should you trust?
Neither on its own. Each works differently.
Trustpilot describes itself as an open platform. Anyone with a genuine experience of a business can post a review free of charge, without being invited. Businesses can also invite their customers to review them. Trustpilot says invited reviews go through the same fraud detection and moderation as any other, and that its rules prohibit inviting only satisfied customers. It also says nobody can pay to have reviews removed, and that it can place a warning on a business’s profile if it breaks the platform’s rules.
Google reviews appear on business profiles in search and Maps. In January 2025 the CMA secured legally binding undertakings from Google to tackle fake reviews. Google agreed to put warning alerts on the profiles of UK businesses where suspicious activity has been detected, to sanction businesses and reviewers that break the rules, and to make it easier for people to report concerning reviews.
What that means in practice:
- Look for warnings on either platform before you read anything else.
- Check when in the process each review was written. A glowing review left the day after a quick phone call says little about the final price.
- Compare the two. A big gap between a firm’s Trustpilot and Google scores is worth asking about.
- Make sure the profile is the company you are dealing with, not a similarly named business.
What should you look for in a review?
Reviews of a quick sale are most useful when they cover the whole journey. Look for:
- The final price against the first offer. In the complaints the OFT received, offers fell after the survey by an average of 22%. Reviews that mention a late price cut, and whether the firm explained it, are the ones to read closely. Our guide to gazundering explains your options if it happens to you.
- The timetable. Did the sale complete when promised?
- Who actually bought. Did the firm buy, or pass the seller to someone else?
- Fees, tie-ins and solicitors. Any mention of upfront fees, long exclusivity agreements or pressure to use the firm’s solicitor.
- Patterns. The CMA lists a sudden spike in highly positive or negative reviews over a short period as a possible sign of fake reviews.
- The firm’s replies. A business that answers criticism calmly and specifically is often more reassuring than one with no negative reviews at all.
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What checks should you make beyond reviews?
Companies House. The free Find and Update Company Information service shows the registered address, date of incorporation, current and resigned directors, previous company names, filed documents, charges and any insolvency. A firm claiming decades of experience through a company formed last year, or a string of previous names, is worth asking about.
The Property Ombudsman. Check that a buyer is a member rather than taking its word for it. TPO members that buy homes directly must tell you in writing, when they make an offer, that they are members and follow its code.
Proof of funds. Ask for it. The OFT’s view was that “a genuine cash buyer will be able to provide it”.
Everything in writing. The offer, the fees, any conditions and any changes.
Our guide to spotting rogue quick sale companies covers further checks, including redress schemes for firms acting as agents and how to complain. Our checklist for judging cash house buyers pulls it all together.
In Scotland, Citizens Advice Scotland warns about the same risks: an offer reduced at the last minute, and uncertainty over who is buying and whether the money is in place. The checks above apply there too.
How does this apply to us?
We think you should check us in the same way. Sell My Property Online is an introducer, not a buyer. With your consent, we pass your details to vetted cash buyers on our panel, who pay us for each introduction. You never pay us anything.
If you would like to see what buyers offer, you can get offers for my home. Our panel includes individual cash buyers and property investors, and institutions such as property companies and investment firms, each of which passes identity checks and shows proof of funds before joining. There’s no obligation, and any offer will usually be below full market value in return for speed and certainty. Run each buyer through the checks on this page before you agree to anything.
Common questions
Is it illegal for a company to post fake reviews?
Yes. Since 6 April 2025, submitting or commissioning fake reviews, and hiding the fact that a review was paid for or rewarded, have been banned practices under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The Competition and Markets Authority can now fine businesses up to 10% of their global turnover for breaking consumer protection law.
Can a company delete its bad reviews?
On its own website, suppressing genuine negative reviews while showing positive ones can amount to publishing reviews in a misleading way, which the CMA's guidance says may break the law. On Trustpilot, the platform says nobody can pay to have reviews removed; a business can report a review, and Trustpilot investigates.
Are reviews on a company's own website reliable?
Treat them with care. The company chooses what to show, and the CMA's guidance says cherry-picking positive reviews, or highlighting ones that don't reflect reviewers' experience overall, may be misleading. Compare them with reviews on independent platforms.
Where can I report a business I think is using fake reviews?
Report the review to the platform it appears on; Google, for example, has agreed with the CMA to make reporting easy. In England you can also report unfair trading to Trading Standards through the Citizens Advice consumer service, which has separate arrangements in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Trading Standards won't resolve your individual dispute, but it uses reports to decide on action.
Related guides
- Best cash house buyers in the UK: how to judge who is best for you A 10-point checklist for judging any cash buyer, and the red flags.
- Are quick house sale companies legit? How to spot a rogue firm Warning signs, simple checks and how to complain.
- "We buy any house" companies: how they work, what they pay and how to check reviews How these firms work, what they pay, the pros and cons and Scotland.
- What is gazundering, and how can you protect yourself? Last-minute price cuts: why they are legal and how to guard against them.