How do we vet Reviews?
Due to new regulations, it is even more important to be able to check reviews for authenticity, both for companies and platforms. We warmly welcome this. Only authentic and independent reviews have added value for consumers. As a 100% independent platform, we question the reliability of reviews on some platforms. A hefty monthly fee is paid by companies to use the functionalities of such sites and to moderate reviews. We believe this is not the best way to form a truly independent opinion about a company. Also, platforms like this sometimes have tens of thousands of reviews on 1 company. This does make finding an informed experience very difficult.
It’s good to know that we have no interest in the placement of both positive and negative reviews. There is no reason for us as a platform to reflect a better or worse picture of reality. Companies cannot pay for special extras, nor can they moderate reviews themselves. We do not offer options to remove or edit reviews for a fee. Thus, we guarantee an authentic and independent review site with the most reliable picture of the companies shown. This offers positive added value for writers, readers and recipients of reviews and ratings alike.
What we do:
For both review writers on our platform and the companies we show, systems are in place to check the authenticity and reliability of our reviews. For example, we automatically check IP addresses and ask you to leave an order reference. This can be order numbers, invoice numbers, shipping codes, etc. This way, we can link the experience to a reference from the company concerned and verify it where necessary. When in doubt about the authenticity of a review, if the reference is not filled in or is incorrect, this may be a reason to remove the review or subject it to additional review. If the reference is correct and the review meets our guidelines, this is not a basis for a company to have a review removed.
When writing a review, the writer must confirm that he/she has written this review truthfully based on a real experience. We take this very seriously. If, despite giving approval, a review is found to be false, the writer will be barred from sharing experiences on our platform. We can send out a request for additional information about a review if doubts have arisen about its authenticity. If there is no response to this within 7 days, or no convincing evidence is offered, this may be reason to remove a review from our platform.
We do not use a “closed loop” system. This means that companies cannot automatically invite customers based on, for example, a purchase in their webshop, and that those are the only consumers who can write a review about a company. We believe this way of working can encourage abuse and does not give a complete picture. Also, a review from a consumer who has not yet made a purchase can also be of great value. Think of receiving an offer or being approached by a staff in a shop. Filling in an order number is not always possible in such cases, so this field is optional. If you do have an order number or other reference, please always fill it in when writing your review.
In addition to these reviews, we have a number of automatic monitoring systems in place, which, for example, check that a person is not writing several reviews in quick succession, that fake e-mail addresses are being used or that suspicious activity is coming from the same IP address. In addition, each review is checked manually by a moderator. Unlike many platforms, we do not edit reviews; we do not consider this to be authentic. A review will be posted 100% as written, or it will be deleted in its entirety if all requirements are not met. We do not quarantine reviews first (provided they meet the terms of use, click HERE) and you will therefore never find a modified review on this platform.
A company’s total review score is simply the sum of all reviews divided by the number of reviews. So if a company has 2 reviews, one of which is 2-star (4/10) and one of which is 5-star (10/10), the score is 3.5 stars (7/10).
What you can do yourself:
Would you like to report a review? Please use the contact form on this page and the review will be checked against our guidelines and verified for authenticity. You can also use this form if you want to remove a review you wrote yourself. Please make sure you use the same email address as entered when writing the review, as a confirmation will be sent here to prevent abuse.
Checks by companies:
Due to regulations, companies may need to self-verify reviews for authenticity. We strongly support this. Because our platform does not automatically invite every customer of a company, the number of reviews is often much smaller than on paid platforms. As a result, reviews are still really read and thus offer real added value for your company. You can request to be notified when a new review is published. Every review is always checked in the manner described above. If, after your own review, you still have doubts about the authenticity of a review, you can report it via the contact form on this page. We will then manually check the review, ask the writer for additional proof if necessary and make a decision on whether or not to remove the review. Please note: If a company is repeatedly found abusing the platform, it may be reported on the company page. We take the authenticity of reviews on our platform very seriously and ask companies to do the same.