# Getting more Google reviews for a taxi firm, the right way

> Ask passengers for a review the same way after each journey, using Google's own review link or QR code. Don't offer anything in return, don't ask only the happy ones and don't set drivers review targets: Google's policies ban all three. Since 6 April 2025 the DMCC Act 2024 has also banned fake reviews and hidden incentives, with CMA fines of up to 10% of turnover.

By Joe, founder of Dispatch AI. Updated 2026-10-15. The web page: https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/getting-more-google-reviews-taxi/

Taxi Google reviews do two jobs. They help your firm show up on the map, and they're what a passenger reads before deciding whether to ring you. This guide covers how to get more of them inside Google's rules and UK law, how to reply, and what to do about the unfair ones.


## Why do Google reviews matter for a taxi firm?

Google reviews feed the part of Google's local ranking it calls prominence. Google says more reviews and positive ratings can help a business's local ranking, and replying to them shows customers you value their feedback.

They also sit right next to your name on Google Maps and Search, where a passenger compares you with the next firm down. The Competition and Markets Authority has estimated that as much as £23 billion of UK consumer spending a year is potentially influenced by online reviews.

A perfect score isn't the goal. Google's own advice is that a mix of positive and negative feedback often feels more trustworthy, and that honest, balanced reviews help people decide.


## How do you get your Google review link?

Google gives every verified Business Profile a review link and a QR code. To get them:

1. Sign in on a computer and go to your Business Profile.
2. Select Read reviews, then Get more reviews.
3. Copy the link, or right-click the QR code and save the image.

Google says the review QR code can only be made in a computer browser, not on a phone. If your profile isn't verified yet, start with our guide to [setting up a Google Business Profile](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/google-business-profile-for-taxi-firms/).

Google suggests putting the link on receipts, in thank-you emails, at the end of a chat and on printed QR codes, and says you can send review requests by email or WhatsApp. For a taxi firm that translates to:

| Where | How to use the link |
|---|---|
| The receipt or confirmation email | Add one line and the link after the journey details |
| A text or WhatsApp message after the job | One line and the link, sent the same way to each passenger |
| A card in the car | The QR code and a plain line such as "Tell other passengers how we did" |
| Account customers | Ask the bookers who use you regularly, once a quarter |
| Your website | A review link on the contact page |


## When should you ask passengers for a review?

Soon after the journey, while it's fresh, and in the same way for everyone. That second part is where firms get caught out.

Review gating is the habit of asking "how did we do?" first, then sending the Google link only to the passengers who said they were happy. Google's policy bans merchants from selectively soliciting positive reviews. The CMA's fake reviews guidance treats encouraging only satisfied customers to leave reviews as cherry-picking, a form of publishing reviews in a misleading way. Send the link to everyone, from your booking records, not just to the passengers you remember fondly.

Mind the back seat. Google's policy says businesses shouldn't require or pressure people to leave a rating or review while they're on the premises. For a taxi firm the car is the nearest thing to premises, so a card with the QR code beats a driver asking for five stars at the kerb.

Mind your drivers too. Google bans businesses from asking staff to collect a set number of reviews, or reviews that mention a particular member of staff. No review league table for drivers, and no "say Dave drove you".


## What do Google's rules and the law ban?

Google's rules and UK law overlap, and Google's are stricter on incentives. Here's how the common shortcuts fare:

| Practice | Google's policy | UK law |
|---|---|---|
| A discount, free journey or gift for a review | Banned as fake engagement, even if you say so openly | Banned if the incentive is hidden |
| Asking only happy passengers (review gating) | Banned | The CMA treats it as cherry-picking |
| Drivers, staff or family reviewing the firm | Removed as a conflict of interest | Hiding that a reviewer works for you is misleading |
| Review targets for drivers, or asking for reviews that name a driver | Banned | No specific rule |
| Offering a refund if a passenger changes a bad review | Banned | A CMA example of commissioning a fake review |
| Buying reviews or using a review-writing service | Banned | Banned, and so is selling the service |
| Leaving bad reviews on a rival firm | Banned | Fake negative reviews are banned too |

Getting caught on Google costs more than the fake reviews. Google can stop the profile receiving new reviews for a set period, unpublish the existing ones, or show passengers a warning that fake reviews were removed. Google committed to the CMA in January 2025 to put warning alerts on the profiles of UK businesses boosting their ratings with fake reviews, and to delete all reviews for 6 months or more from firms that keep doing it.


## What does the DMCC Act 2024 say about fake reviews?

The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 lists practices that are unfair in all circumstances, and paragraph 13 of Schedule 20 covers reviews. Since 6 April 2025 it has banned:

- Submitting a fake review, or commissioning someone else to write or submit one. A fake review is one that claims to be based on a genuine experience but isn't
- Submitting or commissioning a review that hides the fact it was incentivised, where "commissioning" includes incentivising by any means
- Publishing reviews in a misleading way, such as removing negative ones while keeping positive ones, or giving positive reviews more prominence
- Offering traders a service that does any of these things

The CMA can now enforce this itself. Section 182 of the Act lets it fine a business up to £300,000 or, if higher, 10% of its turnover. Its guidance, Fake reviews (CMA208), was published on 4 April 2025 and has worked examples.

The Act reaches your own website too. If you publish reviews there, the CMA counts you as a publisher: you should have a published policy that prohibits fake reviews and says how you treat incentivised ones, and take reasonable, proportionate steps to keep banned reviews off the page. Our guide to [what a taxi website needs to get bookings](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/taxi-website-that-gets-bookings/) covers showing reviews fairly.


## How should you reply to Google reviews?

Short, polite and signed. Google says replies are public, appear as coming from the business, and that the reviewer is told when you reply and can still change their review. Google checks replies against its content policies, which it says usually takes up to 10 minutes and sometimes up to 30 days.

For a bad review:

1. Check the booking record first: the time, the pickup, the driver and any notes. Whatever you take bookings with, from a paper diary to booking software such as Dispatch AI, the record is your evidence of what happened.
2. Reply calmly. Apologise for what you got wrong, explain what was outside your control, such as a delayed flight or a closed road, and invite them to ring or email.
3. Never post the passenger's address, journey history or other personal details. Google says never to share a reviewer's private information.
4. Put things right because it's right, not as a trade. Offering a refund on condition that the passenger changes the review is a CMA example of commissioning a fake review.

A reply in that spirit:

> Sorry the car was late for your 6am pickup on Tuesday. That's not good enough, and we've spoken to the driver. Please ring the office and ask for Sam so we can put it right. Sam, office manager

Reply to good reviews as well, but you don't have to thank each one. Google's advice is to reply when you have something new or useful to say. Our guide to [customer service for taxi firms](https://dispatchai.co.uk/guides/customer-service-for-taxi-firms/) covers handling the complaint behind a bad review.


## What can you do about fake or unfair reviews?

Report a review that breaks Google's policies, and reply to one that's merely unfair. Google says only reviews that break its policies are removed, and that you shouldn't report a review just because you disagree with it.

To report one, open your Business Profile, select Read reviews, then Report next to the review, and choose the reason, such as spam or profanity. Google says checks take several days. You can follow the report in Google's Reviews Management Tool, and if Google decides there's no breach you get a one-time appeal covering up to 10 reviews. If someone is threatening bad reviews unless you pay, Google has a separate route for reporting extortion.

A rival posting fake bad reviews about you is breaking the law as well as Google's rules: the DMCC Act's ban covers fake negative reviews as much as fake positive ones. Keep screenshots and dates.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I pay a company to get Google reviews for my taxi firm?

Not one that writes, fakes or buys them: the DMCC Act bans offering those services as well as using them, and Google removes the reviews and can restrict your profile. Paying for software that sends your genuine review link to each passenger is a different thing, as long as it asks everyone.

### Can I delete a bad Google review?

No. Only the person who wrote it can change or delete it. You can report a review that breaks Google's policies, and you can reply publicly to one that's unfair.

### Can my drivers leave a Google review for the firm?

No. Google removes reviews based on a conflict of interest, which includes people who work for the business. Under the CMA's guidance, a review from an employee that hides the link is misleading too.

### Can I offer a free journey if I say openly that it's for a review?

Not on Google. UK law allows an incentivised review if the incentive is clearly disclosed and the review still reflects a genuine experience, but Google bans incentives for reviews outright. On Google, the stricter rule wins.

### How many Google reviews does a taxi firm need?

Google doesn't publish a target. It says more reviews and positive ratings can help your local ranking, so make asking a habit after each job rather than chasing a number in one push.


## Sources

- [Tips to get more reviews (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474122) no incentives; reply tips; a mix of feedback feels trustworthy
- [Create a Google link or QR code to request reviews (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/16816815) review link and QR code; computer only
- [Prohibited and restricted content (Maps user-generated content policy, Google)](https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114) fake engagement, rating manipulation, conflict of interest, staff review requests
- [Business Profile restrictions for policy violations (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/14114287) review blocks, unpublished reviews, warnings
- [Manage customer reviews (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/3474050) replying, review of replies, reviewer notified
- [Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773) reporting, Reviews Management Tool, one-time appeal
- [Tips to improve your local ranking on Google (Google Business Profile Help)](https://support.google.com/business/answer/7091) reviews and prominence
- [Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20, paragraph 13](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/13/schedule/20) banned review practices, in force 6 April 2025
- [Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, section 182](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2024/13/section/182) CMA penalties up to £300,000 or 10% of turnover
- [Fake reviews, CMA208 (Competition and Markets Authority)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fake-reviews-cma208) guidance and examples, 4 April 2025
- [Short guide for businesses publishing consumer reviews (Competition and Markets Authority)](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fake-reviews/short-guide-for-businesses-publishing-consumer-reviews-and-complying-with-consumer-protection-law) policies and steps for publishers
- [CMA secures important changes from Google to tackle fake reviews (GOV.UK)](https://www.gov.uk/government/news/cma-secures-important-changes-from-google-to-tackle-fake-reviews) warning alerts and review bans, 24 January 2025

Dispatch AI is a trading name of CABO TECH SOLUTION AI LTD, registered in England and Wales, company no. 16255667.