The company behind well-known infomercials has been fined $1.04 million for misleading customers with fake customer reviews.

The Auckland District Court found Brand Developers Limited (BDL), which trades as The TV Shop, also misrepresented consumers' rights to refunds or other remedies, and made misleading claims about free or bonus items.

The Commerce Commission found the company, behind well-known brands like Thin Lizzy, asked friends and family to leave reviews.

It also "systematically" removed some negative reviews from its website.

Commerce Commission deputy chair Anne Callinan said online reviews were increasingly relied on by customers looking to buy products, describing manipulating these posts as unacceptable.

"When you have staff post reviews without disclosing their affiliation, or when you remove negative reviews, you are effectively tricking potential customers," she said.

"My message to businesses is simple - don't pull the wool over people's eyes - Kiwis should be able to trust online reviews are genuine and free of manipulation."

The commission had successfully prosecuted The TV Shop twice since 2015.

In 2015, it was fined $153,000 for misrepresenting that a ladder being sold or advertised had a certification, when it did not.

In 2022, it was fined $123,500 for not complying with extended warranty disclosure requirements.

The District Court also found BDL misled customers about their rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act in a judgment from December, the Commission said.

"The company had policies and instructions in place that meant call centre staff suggested customers had no rights to refunds or remedies beyond a '30-day Money Back Guarantee scheme' or 'risk-free trial' if customers thought products were broken, faulty or mis-advertised."

In her judgment, Judge Belinda Sellars, KC, said BDL made concerted and repeated efforts to improve its online rating and reviews.

"The methods that staff were instructed to follow for posting reviews were designed to circumvent Product Review and Google's processes to stop non independent reviews.”

Representations made by a business about the Consumer Guarantees ACT were extremely important to consumers given the protective nature of the legislation, she said.