Showing customer reviews on your card: real reviews, fair collection, transparent display

A visitor who hesitates to contact you is looking for proof that others were satisfied before them. A few customer reviews on your card reassure more than a whole page of arguments. But a wall of reviews can backfire. Invented or cherry-picked reviews hurt you twice: they betray trust, and they expose you to penalties. Showing reviews is fine, on three conditions: they are real reviews, you do not keep only the good ones, and you say where they come from. Here is the method.

Fake reviews are banned across the European Union

Let us start with what is not negotiable. Since 28 May 2022, a European directive known as the "Omnibus" Directive (Directive (EU) 2019/2161) governs consumer reviews across the Union, Belgium and France included. The European Commission puts it plainly: "selling, buying and submitting false consumer reviews in order to promote products is prohibited". In other words, you cannot write reviews yourself under the names of fictitious customers, buy them, or ask a friend to post a review of a service they never used.

This is not symbolic. The Commission places misleading practices regarding reviews under articles 6 and 7 of the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, that is, under the regime for misleading commercial practices. I am not a lawyer, and the details vary by country and by activity; keep the principle above all. A fake review is not a small marketing exaggeration: it is a deception that can be penalised.

If you show reviews, you must say where they come from

Transparency is the second pillar. The European Commission speaks of "a clear obligation to inform the consumers about the handling of reviews". In France, this obligation is spelled out in article L.111-7-2 of the Consumer Code (Code de la consommation), in the version in force since 17 February 2024.

Who is concerned? Anyone whose activity consists, as a main or secondary activity, in collecting, moderating or publishing online reviews from consumers. The "secondary" part matters: showing a wall of customer reviews on your card, even if your trade is something else entirely, may bring you within that scope.

What the law then expects comes down to a few points. Give fair, clear and transparent information on how reviews are published and handled. State whether or not the reviews are checked and, if they are, the main features of that check. Show the date of each review and any updates. Tell a customer whose review was not published the reasons for the refusal. And finally, offer a free way to report a doubt about the authenticity of a review.

For your card, this boils down to a simple rule: do not display floating phrases such as "Great work, thanks!" with no context. Say who is speaking (at least a first name, with the person's consent), when, and where the full review can be read.

Collect without sorting: do not ask only the happy customers

The third pillar is the most tempting to break. Many businesses only ask for a review from customers who are visibly satisfied, and carefully avoid the others. This practice, sometimes called "review gating", distorts the picture you give: the average shown is no longer that of your customers, but that of your happy customers. It is misleading, and it also goes against the rules of most review platforms.

The law points the same way. Article L.111-7-2 requires you to tell a customer whose review was set aside the reasons for that refusal. So you cannot filter silently. The right habit is the opposite of sorting: ask all your customers for a review, in the same way, and let the result speak. A mixed review that you answer with care often reassures more than a row of identical five-star ratings.

A standard exists to do it properly

If the subject feels hazy, know that a dedicated international standard exists: ISO 20488:2018, "Online consumer reviews: Principles and requirements for their collection, moderation and publication". Published in 2018 and confirmed as current in 2024, it is aimed at any organisation that publishes online consumer reviews, including a provider that collects the reviews of its own customers. It is a paid document, which you do not need to buy in order to keep its spirit: collect, moderate and publish reviews according to written, consistent rules, not case by case depending on whether they suit you.

An example

Take a deliberately fictional, illustrative case. A garage owner shows three recent reviews on their card, each with a first name, a town and a date, and a "See all our reviews" link that opens their public page where all the feedback appears, good and bad. Under one of the reviews, two stars and a measured reply: "You waited too long to collect your car, we have reviewed our scheduling, thank you for letting us know." The visitor does not see a perfect shop window. They see a professional who owns up. That is precisely what inspires trust.

Prerequisites and common mistakes

Before showing anything, gather two things: the consent of the people you name, and a source where the full reviews remain available. Without those two supports, it is better to show no reviews at all.

The mistakes keep repeating. Writing reviews yourself under the names of invented customers, which is prohibited. Offering a discount in exchange for a positive review, which buys the review and empties it of value. Showing only the best feedback and staying silent about the rest. Displaying anonymous, undated quotes that cannot be checked. And rewriting the text of a review to make it more flattering: you reply to a review, you do not touch it up.

In short

Reviews on a card are proof, on the sole condition that they are real. Show real reviews from real customers, with their date and their source. Ask everyone, not only those who will smile. And say clearly how you collect them. You will stay on the right side of the law, and above all on the right side of trust, which is the only thing a review is meant to build.

And at bloo.Cards

The bloo.Cards Reviews module collects your visitors' reviews, but it does not display them on your card. Each visitor picks a mood, gives a star rating (half stars are possible) and writes a message. You find these reviews, with the date they were sent, in your back-office, where you can reply to them. The reviews collected by the module are not verified by bloo.Cards: there is no moderation and no check that the author is really a customer. It is therefore up to you, as the professional, to apply this article's three rules: real reviews, collection without sorting, transparent display.

If you want to show reviews to your prospects, you can enter in the module the link to your public review page (Google, Trustpilot or another platform). The card offers it to every visitor, before and after they send their review, whatever rating they gave, so nothing is filtered. The author, date and moderation rules of those reviews then remain those of the platform that publishes them. The three rules above apply whatever the tool. To place this module among the others, see the complete guide to the modules. This article describes a method, not precise settings.

Frequently asked questions

Can I delete a negative review?

On a public platform, not at will: you can report a review you believe to be false or abusive and, above all, reply to it publicly. On your own card, keeping only the flattering reviews amounts to filtering; it is better to answer criticism than to hide it.

Can I offer a discount in exchange for a review?

It is risky. Making a gift conditional on a review, especially a positive one, distorts the feedback and may fall under misleading practices; many platforms restrict or ban it. Ask for an honest review, with no reward tied to its content.

Do I have to show an average rating?

Nothing obliges you to. But if you show one, it must reflect all the reviews, not a selected subset. An average calculated from the good reviews alone is misleading.

What about testimonials I write myself from verbal feedback?

A text you write yourself is not a verified consumer review. Presenting your own words as a customer's review misleads. Use the customer's own words with their consent, or state clearly that it is your summary of feedback received.

Sources

1. European Commission, press release IP/22/394 (checks on websites with online consumer reviews and reminder of the new rules of the so-called "Omnibus" Directive), 20 January 2022. Accessed on 9 November 2026.
2. Code de la consommation (French Consumer Code), article L.111-7-2 (Légifrance, French only), version in force since 17 February 2024, amended by Law no. 2024-449 of 21 May 2024 (art. 52). Accessed on 9 November 2026. Obligations cited from the page; refer to the official text for the exact wording.
3. ISO 20488:2018, "Online consumer reviews: Principles and requirements for their collection, moderation and publication", edition 1, published in June 2018, confirmed in 2024 (current version). Paid document. Accessed on 9 November 2026.