A holiday rental management and accommodation company has been fined $117,000 for misleading consumers with online reviews.
Bachcare pleaded guilty to two charged under the Fair Trading Act 1986, following a Commerce Commission investigation.
The company altered and withheld publication of online reviews posted by users of its accommodation services between 1 June 2017 and 28 September last year.
The editing included removing negative comments about the rental properties listed by the company and reviews for properties where a star rating of lower than 3.5 out of 5 were withheld.
Bachcare also misled consumers through the creation of fake positive impressions about certain properties and its services.
Commerce Commission chair Anna Rawlings said online reviews were an important source of information for consumers contemplating the purchase of goods and services, especially in markets including short-term property rentals.
"Consumers have a right to expect that reviews solicited from past customers will be published in a way that accurately represents the feedback received," Ms Rawlings said.
"In this case, consumers had no way of knowing that star ratings were inflated, or that the text of some reviews had been edited to cast the property in a more positive light. This type of conduct undermines the trust that consumers will place in reviews of products or services.
Ms Rawlings said businesses who collect and present online reviews must do so faithfully and present genuine customers reviews.
"Any discretion exercised by the trader over the publication of reviews must be made very clear, otherwise consumers can be misled and traders risk breaching consumer law," she said.
In his written sentencing judgment, Judge Singh said the offending "compromised the interests of the consumers, fair competition and an environment in which consumers and businesses participate confidently". There is no way to quantify harm caused, he added.
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