THE consumer watchdog is getting serious in its war against fake online reviews, slapping one removal firm with a massive fine over alleged dodgy testimonials.

Citymove has paid penalties totalling $30,600 over three infringement notices issued by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission.

The ACCC alleges Citymove used fabricated customer identities to post two testimonials on Google+ and one testimonial on YouTube.

Positive ratings on Google+ can bump businesses up in Google Search results and feature prominently when customers search for local services.

The ACCC says it identified the Citymove testimonials as being potentially false or misleading when the same testimonial appeared on different review websites under different customer identities.

The payment of a penalty specified in an infringement notice is not an admission of a contravention of the Australian Consumer Law. The ACCC can issue an infringement notice where it has reasonable grounds to believe a person has contravened certain consumer protection laws.

Citymove director James Russell toldnews.com.au the testimonials were from real customers but posted mistakenly under the wrong names by a their digital marketing company.

Mr Russell described the ACCC action as a “witch hunt”. “We’ve got thousands of real reviews and they picked three,” he said.

“The real story here is they’re going after a small business that can’t legally stand up on our own. No one was hurt, no one lost any money, but they chase us and let Woolworths run rampant. It seems unfair.”

It’s the second time in recent years the Sydney-based removalist company has been pinged for its online behaviour. In 2011, it paid a $6,600 penalty for publishing false consumer testimonials on a website created by Citymove called movingreview.com.au.

ACCC deputy chair Dr Michael Schaper toldnews.com.authe watchdog received more than 10,000 complaints every year about false and misleading behaviour.

“The single biggest thing that small businesses contact us about is this issue of misleading conduct and false claims,” he said. Dr Schaper said the ACCC investigated Citymove after a complaint from another removalist firm.

“We encourage businesses to make sure other businesses are doing the right thing. If you see competitors breaking the competition and consumer law, you have the right to come and tell us.”

He said consumers should be able to trust that testimonials online were posted by genuine consumers about genuine experiences. “Fake testimonials can mislead consumers and disadvantage competing businesses,” he said.

Mr Russell said he wasn’t surprised to hear he had been dobbed in by a rival removalist. “The removalist industry is rife with tall poppy syndrome. There are so many dodgy operators that aren’t surviving and they need to pull down anybody who happens to be doing something good.”

He said the $30,000 fine was crippling for a business his size. “It’s a huge amount for a small business. I had to take out an overdraft. These infringement penalties are not relative to anything. There’s no ‘punishment fits the crime’ here.”

The consumer watchdog is currently awaiting a judgment in a case against carpet cleaning business Electrodry over alleged false testimonials on sites including Google+ and TrueLocal.

frank.chung@news.com.au