Are builder reviews on NoCowboys or Trade Me real?
Short answer
Some reviews are real. Some aren't. Most NZ review platforms don't verify that the reviewer was actually a paying customer of the tradie they're reviewing. Manipulation is documented — both positive (paid or self-posted) and negative (competitor sabotage). The structural fix is to weight reviews by verified-transaction status, which most platforms don't do. Until they do, treat reviews as soft signals, not facts.
Source: Fair Trading Act — false review provisions. Updated May 2026.
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Check a builderKey facts
- No NZ review platform verifies the customer-tradie relationship before publishing
- Both fake positive and fake negative reviews are documented
- Platform algorithms favour many recent reviews over a few older ones
- Reviews can't be removed by the tradie even when demonstrably false
- Defamatory reviews can be challenged but rarely are
How fake reviews happen
Tradie self-posts (using friends' or family's accounts). Tradie pays a small marketing firm to leave positive reviews. Competitor leaves negative reviews. Homeowner with a quibble leaves a one-star review without contacting the tradie first.
Platforms' detection algorithms catch some of these but not all. A pattern of 10 five-star reviews in a fortnight from previously inactive accounts is suspicious but legal.
How to use reviews safely
Read the negative reviews carefully — they're harder to fake and more revealing. Look for specific complaints (timeline, scope, communication) vs vague rants.
Cross-reference: a tradie with brilliant reviews on one platform and nothing on others is worth a closer look. A tradie with consistent across platforms (and a real Companies Office record) is more credible.
Independent verification (LBP, Companies Office, Gazette) is more useful than any review platform. CheckMyBuilder makes that one-click.
Knowing the rules is half the job. The other half is knowing who you're hiring. Check any NZ builder against the public record: company status, licensing and insolvency notices, from the official NZ sources.
Related questions
Sources: Fair Trading Act — false review provisions; Commerce Commission decisions on online reviews. General information for NZ homeowners, not legal advice. Building rules change and vary by council, so confirm critical details on the official source before acting. Last updated 2026-05.