To be sick of Which? recommending everything

[Lilaone]

Every product/service and advert seems to have a 'Which?' recommended sticker slapped on it at the moment. If it's not Lidl advertising they're Which?'s cheapest supermarket it's Jet2 saying Which? thinks they do the best holidays. Is there anything Which? DOESN'T recommend?

Also where did Which come from? Apparently you have to pay a tenner a month to see their reviews but hello... there are millions of free reviews online?

I'm fed up with seeing everything that says 5 best one of eg washing machines and then every single one then leads you to Amazon.

Before the internet people would ask to borrow your Which when they were making a big purchase.
It was great and often the only way you found out about consumer rights.
It's much more reliable than Tony F giving it five stars and a thumbs up on Amazon.

They’ve been around for decades dimwit.

This is what they do, test s load of products very thoroughly in a category, and score them. It’s a good service for buyers, and course companies that do well will advertise the fact.

Very few other recommendations online will have been thoroughly rested em masse. That’s their USP, and why they can charge.

From their Wikipedia page. The 1970s saw Which? taking a greater campaigning role, and it began to adopt a more aggressive stance on issues such as lead poisoning and aircraft noise. In 1971, for example, Which? published the first league table on the tar and nicotine content of cigarettes

all of this I’m going to assume the regular consumer does not do or know when making a purchase or leaving an online review.

It is in no way the same as getting a review of a FB page.

Ooh I love Which! I check it before I buy anything big. And I like the magazine too

It’s their job! They test stuff and make recommendations. You have to be a member to get the detailed reports (I’m a member) but they make a lot of reports available free of charge.

I don’t trust their testing methods anymore after they incorrectly tested an acquaintance’s product and then slandered it saying it was unsafe, which led to retailers pulling it from their shelves. The product owner then produced a litany of independent safety certificates that they regularly pay high prices for as they are so safety conscious and their product was thankfully reinstated. They asked Which for evidence of their testing methods and what lab they used and received some photos clearly showing incorrect testing methodologies. They didn’t even get an apology from Which.

I need a new washing machine, would you mind buying all the ones on the market and testing them for me? Be sure to include all the different cycles and stains

Yes - save on loads of "life admin". Well worth a subscription (my mum buys me one as a Christmas present each year).

They asked Which for evidence of their testing methods and what lab they used and received some photos clearly showing incorrect testing methodologies

would a customer use it in the way the manufacturer did though, or the way Which? did?

They claimed they had conducted the industry standard safety tests for that sort of product. They did them incorrectly. Lawyers etc all had to get involved. They nearly ruined the product owners business due to their incompetent methods.

Are you very young OP?
"Which" has been going for donkey's years and is a reliable consumer trade mag/platform.
It's not exactly "Yvonne up the street says her sequinned pants are just the best"
Actual experts in the field put products etc through rigorous testing.

One thing I don’t agree with them on is some of their car seat testing. They rate extended rear facing seats poorly because they are belted rather than isofix, because they are up to 25kg so they can’t be isofix!!

Which? Is a brilliant consumer campaigning organization. I never buy anything of value without consulting them. They have exposed all sorts of cons and dangers, including how Amazon rigs their reviews. Which? are reliable and honest.

Doh !! 🤣
that’s like saying RAC should stop telling us they do breakdown cover !!!!
very funny OP !

Calm down, op.

Which? are reliable and honest.

We’ll agree to disagree on that.

We cancelled our subscription when they refused to publish a negative but factual review of one of their trusted traders.

We decided if those reviews were sanatised and biased the rest of the site could not be trusted either.

Which is well worth subscribing to. Saves loads of time and money in the long run. Every other person around my area drives one of those bubble style Fiat 500s. Which has done a safety rating on them (and many other cars) and it’s dreadful. Why people don’t research the things they spend hard-earned cash on, I don’t know…

Are you bored OP? Odd thing to feel aggrieved about.

If you're making a big purchase then WHICH reviews are invaluable. They are so detailed, and verified from real owners/users. I use them.

Unless you purchase everything that Lidl sells, and have compared the price of everything with every other supermarket, you can’t, (and even if you had done that, why would I believe you over a trusted product surveyor?)

Not really, I'm 34. I know Which is a magazine but most magazine product endorsements are dubious imo. I don't know about everyone else but I'm not buying new appliances or tech gadgets several times a month, maybe once a year if that, so doesn't seem to be worth a pricey subscription.

I even saw a Which endorsement for a cup today!

YABVU. Which? is great. I subscribe temporarily every time I need to make a big purchase. I find their reviews really helpful - they are much more thorough and in depth than Bob who posts a review on Amazon saying 5* arrived quickly and nothing about the actual product.

I love Which! Don't make any large purchases without looking up online.