Local
Can you get fake one-star reviews removed?
This happens more than people realise, particularly in competitive local trades, and the honest position is that removal is possible but narrower than you would like.
What can actually be removed
Reviews are removed for breaching a policy, not for being untrue.
That includes spam, reviews posted by competitors, conflicts of interest, offensive content, and content unrelated to the customer experience. A review from someone who was never a customer is genuinely hard to remove unless you can show it fits one of those categories.
Understanding this changes how you report. An appeal saying the review is unfair goes nowhere. One saying it is from a competitor, and here is why, has something to assess.
How to report properly
Flag each review individually from the profile, and identify the specific policy breached rather than describing your frustration.
Then follow up through business support rather than only flagging and waiting. Flagging alone frequently produces no response at all.
If several arrived at once, from accounts with no other review history, in a short window, say so. A pattern is far more persuasive than any single review.
When they stay up
Assume some will, and plan accordingly.
Reply to each one. Calm, short, factual. Say you have no record of the transaction and invite them to contact you directly so it can be resolved.
You are not writing to the reviewer. You are writing to everybody who reads it afterwards, and they are judging your temperament rather than adjudicating the dispute. A composed reply under an aggressive review does real work.
Dilution is the reliable fix
The most effective response is usually volume. A few bad reviews sitting under a steady stream of recent genuine ones look like what they are.
The same few reviews on a profile with nothing else are devastating. This is the argument for asking consistently rather than only after big jobs, which is covered in how to actually get reviews.
What not to do
Do not retaliate against the competitor. Do not buy positive reviews to balance it out. Both create a worse problem than the one you started with.
Common questions
Can you get fake Google reviews removed?
Only if they breach a specific policy, such as being spam, from a competitor, containing conflicts of interest, or including prohibited content. A review that is merely unfair, inaccurate or from someone who was never a customer is difficult to remove on those grounds alone.
How do I report a fake review on Google?
Flag it from the profile, then follow up through the business support flow rather than only flagging and waiting. Report each review individually with the specific policy it breaches, because vague complaints get closed.
What if Google refuses to remove a fake review?
Reply publicly, calmly and factually, and bury it with genuine recent reviews. Readers judge the response more than the complaint, and a measured reply under a hostile review can be more persuasive than the good reviews above it.
Should I respond to a review I know is fake?
Yes, briefly and without accusation. State that you have no record of the customer or transaction and invite them to make contact. Calling it fake in an argumentative tone reads badly to everyone else, whether or not you are right.