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Suspected fakes

The review describes a visit that never happened

You are fairly sure it is not real. You cannot prove it in a reply box, and the reply box is the wrong place to try. Here is what to write while the report is with the platform.

Draft a reply to your review

Report it, then write as if a stranger is reading

It names a service you do not offer, or a date you were closed, or it is four generic sentences from an account with no history. Sometimes it points readers somewhere else, which is the tell that costs the writer the most.

Two things are happening at once and they need different responses. The report goes to the platform, which is the only party that can remove anything. The reply goes to the public, and its only job is to leave a reader unsure enough that they discount the review on their own. Calling somebody a liar in public does the opposite: it reads as heat, and heat reads as something to hide. A short note saying you cannot find the visit in your records, with an invitation to get in touch, does the work without the accusation, and it is still true if you turn out to be wrong.

Three reviews that do not add up

A plumbing company, three one star reviews with nothing checkable in them. Read these against the guidance above, because they disagree with it, and that is the most useful thing on this page. The draft engine has no signal for what an owner privately suspects, so it answers all three as ordinary complaints and not one of them says the visit cannot be found in the records. That sentence is the one you add before you post it, and this is the clearest example on the site of why a draft is handed to a person rather than sent anywhere.

  • 1 out of 5Describes a job that never happened
    These people installed a boiler for my mother and it failed within a week. Complete cowboys. Avoid at all costs.
    User 8842, on Google

    Drafted reply

    I'm very sorry to hear about the issues following your mother's boiler installation. This isn't the standard of work or aftercare we expect. Please contact us directly at [contact] so we can look into it urgently and put things right.

    Voice: Calm Service Recovery, chosen automatically on the risk_flag_legal rule. Drafted with claude-opus-4-7 on 2026-09-10 for Northgate Plumbing Co, a plumbing contractor.

  • 1 out of 5Generic, with nothing checkable in it
    Worst company I have ever dealt with in my life. Zero stars if I could give it.
    Alex, on Google

    Drafted reply

    Alex, I'm sorry your experience left you feeling this way. We'd like the chance to understand what happened and make things right. Please reach out to us directly so we can look into it.

    Voice: Calm Service Recovery, chosen automatically on the needs_apology rule. Drafted with claude-opus-4-7 on 2026-09-10 for Northgate Plumbing Co, a plumbing contractor.

  • 1 out of 5Sends readers somewhere else
    Overcharged me by hundreds and left a mess everywhere. There are better plumbers in this town and you should call one of them.
    Jordan L., on Google

    Drafted reply

    Jordan, thank you for sharing this. The billing concern and the condition you were left with are both things we take seriously, and we would like the chance to look into what happened. Please reach out to us directly so we can review the details with you.

    Voice: Calm Service Recovery, chosen automatically on the needs_apology rule. Drafted with claude-opus-4-7 on 2026-09-10 for Northgate Plumbing Co, a plumbing contractor.

Every reply marked as drafted below is verbatim output of the same engine a customer's account uses, produced by claude-opus-4-7 and frozen on the date its own card carries, the registry itself last rewritten on 2026-09-13. The wording is the engine's throughout, and the only thing the freeze script changes is the shape of the placeholder, which is why a few of them read [contact] where a contact route belongs: the engine was given a business and a review and no way to reach anybody, so it left the slot for you. Filling that in, and deciding whether you agree with the rest, is the part you do before you post it.

AI Personalities

One review, two voices

Every draft is written in a voice, and the voice is yours to pick. Below is the first review on this page answered twice, in two of the AI Personalities that come with every plan, with nothing changed between them but the voice.

These people installed a boiler for my mother and it failed within a week. Complete cowboys. Avoid at all costs.
User 8842, 1 out of 5 on Google

  • Professional

    Polished, formal, and diplomatic. Uses measured language and handles all situations with composure. Ideal for healthcare, legal, financial, and corporate businesses.

    We're very sorry to hear about the issue with your mother's boiler. This is not the standard of work we expect, and we'd like to arrange a prompt inspection. Please contact our office directly so we can look into this without delay.

    Drafted with claude-opus-4-7 on 2026-09-12, in this voice because it was asked for.

  • Calm Service Recovery

    Empathetic, accountable, and steady. Acknowledges issues directly, apologizes when appropriate, and guides the conversation toward resolution. Ideal for handling complaints and mixed feedback.

    I'm very sorry to hear your mother's boiler failed so soon after installation. That's not the standard we work to, and we'd like to put it right as quickly as possible. Please contact us directly so we can arrange a senior engineer to re-inspect.

    Drafted with claude-opus-4-7 on 2026-09-12, in this voice because it was asked for.

Set a voice for the account and every draft arrives in it, or leave it on Auto and each review gets the one its own analysis calls for. Either way the draft waits for you: GetSetReply writes it, you post it.

What happens to a review before you see a draft

  • The review is read before anything is written

    Every review is analyzed first: the rating, the sentiment, the themes a reader would pick out, and a closed set of risk flags (possible legal issue, safety concern, harassment or abusive language, worth checking this reviewer). The draft is written from that reading, and a review nothing usable could be read from does not get drafted at all.

  • The voice is a setting, not a house style

    Pick an AI Personality for the account or let Auto choose one per review from what the analysis found. Change it on any draft and it is rewritten in the new voice, from the same reading.

  • One inbox instead of a login for each

    Google, Yelp, TripAdvisor, DoorDash, Trustpilot, Etsy and Facebook arrive in one list, already analyzed and already drafted. GetSetReply writes the draft and you post it, so nothing reaches a review page until you send it.

You can try the drafting half on a review of your own without an account. Paste it into the free review response generator and read what comes back.

Public reply, private report

Keep the two channels separate. The reply is not evidence and the report is not an audience.

Do

  • Report it through the platform's own process first. On Google that is the report control on the review, or the Reviews Management Tool.
  • Say plainly that you cannot match the review to any visit, booking or job in your records.
  • Invite them to contact you directly so the record can be corrected either way.
  • Keep a note of the date you reported it, because the platform's decision can take days.

Do not

  • Do not call the reviewer a liar, a competitor or a bot in the reply.
  • Do not threaten legal action to get it removed. The FTC rule treats groundless legal threats aimed at removing a negative review as a prohibited practice.
  • Do not post your own review anywhere to balance it out, and do not offer anyone anything to post one. Google prohibits reviews that have been paid for, directly or in kind.
  • Do not report a review just because it is unflattering. Google's guidance says that is not what the report control is for.

Questions about suspected fake reviews

How do I report a review on Google?

From the Business Profile, choose the report control next to the review and pick a reason, or report several at once through the Reviews Management Tool. Google decides whether the review breaks its content policy; a review is not removed for being negative.

How long does removal take?

Days rather than hours in most cases, and the outcome is not guaranteed. That is precisely why the public reply matters: it is the part you control while the report sits with somebody else.

Should I reply at all if I have reported it?

Yes. Removal is not guaranteed and the decision is not yours, so the report is not a plan on its own. An unanswered accusation sitting on the profile for a fortnight does more damage than a calm two line reply ever will.

Can I ask customers to post reviews to push it down?

You can invite customers to review you, and you must not offer anything in exchange. Google's content policy prohibits reviews paid for directly or in kind, including discounts and free goods.

The reviews that are real and still hard to answer

Every response template

While the report is pending

Write the calm version, not the first version

A review you cannot place still comes back with a calm draft. You add the sentence about the records before it goes up.

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