Review Policy

Last updated: 10 July 2026

Reviews help customers make informed choices and help good tradespeople build their reputation. This Review Policy explains the rules for submitting reviews on ratedlocaltrades.co.uk and how we handle them. By submitting a review you agree to this policy and to our Terms of Use.

1. Who can leave a review

Reviews should be based on a genuine, first-hand experience of contacting or using a tradesperson listed on the Website. You should only review a tradesperson you have personally dealt with. Reviews must not be submitted by a tradesperson about their own business, by competitors, or by anyone with a personal or financial connection to the business being reviewed.

2. Rules for reviews

When you submit a review, you must ensure that it:

• is honest, accurate and based on your own genuine experience;
• is your own opinion and not copied from elsewhere;
• does not contain false or misleading statements;
• does not contain offensive, abusive, discriminatory, threatening or defamatory content;
• does not contain unlawful content or infringe anyone’s rights;
• does not disclose personal data about other people, such as the names of individual staff or private contact details;
• does not contain spam, advertising or promotional material; and
• relates to the service provided, rather than to matters unconnected with it.

3. Fake and incentivised reviews are prohibited

We do not allow fake, dishonest or incentivised reviews. This includes reviews written or commissioned by a business about itself, reviews written in exchange for payment or other benefits, and reviews intended to unfairly harm a competitor. Fake reviews are also unlawful under UK consumer protection law, and we will remove them and may take further action.

4. Moderation

We may read, moderate, decline to publish, or remove reviews that we reasonably believe breach this policy or any applicable law. We do not, however, edit the substance of genuine reviews simply because a business disagrees with them, and we are not obliged to publish every review submitted.

Because reviews are submitted by users, we cannot and do not guarantee that every review is from a verified customer, or that every review is accurate. Reviews reflect the views of the individuals who post them.

5. Reporting a review and right of reply

If you are a tradesperson and believe a review about your business is fake, defamatory or in breach of this policy, you can report it to us at info@ratedlocaltrades.co.uk. We will consider reports fairly and may remove content that breaches this policy or the law. Where appropriate, we may also give businesses the opportunity to respond publicly to a review.

6. Defamation and unlawful content

Reviews should be honestly held opinions or accurate statements of fact. We take the law of defamation seriously and will act on genuine complaints about unlawful content. Please remember that you may be personally responsible for untrue and damaging statements that you publish.

7. Licence to use your review

By submitting a review you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to publish, display, reproduce and distribute it in connection with the Service. You confirm that you are entitled to grant this licence.

8. Changes and contact

We may update this policy from time to time. If you have any questions, please contact us at info@ratedlocaltrades.co.uk.