How we verify reviews

What happens when you write a review

You give your name, email address, a star rating from 1 to 5 and your review. The review must be for a business that has a live listing on TrustedBusiness.Reviews. Reviews for businesses we can't match to a listing are not accepted.

Your review then waits in a moderation queue. It is not visible to anyone until a moderator approves it, usually within 24 hours. We email you when it is submitted and again when it is published.

What our moderators check

Moderators look at each review and at the pattern of reviews a business is receiving. We hold back or reject reviews when we see signs such as:

• many reviews for one business coming from the same IP addresses or email addresses
• a sudden burst of reviews for one business within a few hours, or an unusually high volume
• runs of five-star reviews that look coordinated
• text copied from another review
• links, email addresses or phone numbers asking readers to contact someone
• advertising written by a business about itself, or a review that is about a different business
• "fund recovery", hacking or investment pitches, which we never publish

Negative reviews are published on the same terms as positive ones.

What "Verified" means

On a review, "Verified" means the review passed our moderation check before it was published. It does not mean we have seen a receipt or proof of purchase.

On a business, the Verified badge (our Trusted Stamp) means the listing has a physical address, a valid email address and a phone number on file.

How ratings are calculated

A business's rating is the average of the star ratings in all its published reviews, shown to one decimal place. Every published review counts, including negative ones. The rating and review count update whenever a review is approved, rejected or removed.

Trust awards

Awards are calculated automatically from published reviews and cannot be bought.

• Medal: at least 15 published reviews with an average of 4.0 stars or higher. 33 businesses currently hold one.
• Trophy: at least 25 published reviews with an average of 4.5 stars or higher. 22 businesses currently hold one.

If a business's reviews fall below the threshold, the award is removed automatically.

For business owners

To claim a listing, the owner submits a claim. Claims made from an email address on the business's own website domain are verified automatically. Claims from other email addresses, such as Gmail or Yahoo, are checked by hand within 24 to 48 hours.

Report a problem

If you think a review is fake, breaks these rules, or is about the wrong business, raise a ticket or email contact[at]trustedbusiness.reviews with a link to the review.