EXPERT ADVICE
Reviews you can trust, written by homeowners like you
Updated 07/26
By: Paige Madtes
When you want work carried out on your home, whether for regular maintenance, home improvements, or emergency repairs, checking reviews for tradespeople can be an essential step. So how do we fit in?
We take the job of maintaining a trustworthy community very seriously.
We utilise a variety of methods to ensure the reviews on our platform reflect genuine experiences, and to detect and remove fake reviews.
We’re open and transparent
Anyone can write a review about their experiences with a trade.
If you have:
Enquired or spoken with a tradesperson about a job request
Received a quote, project plan details or information pertaining to a job request
Work has been undertaken or you’ve paid money for the job
Share your feedback, focusing on the facts. Once the review is verified, the tradesperson that’s been reviewed has the opportunity to see the review, reply to it and engage in dialogue.
Safeguards put in place
Checks established to verify our reviews authenticity
Every review goes through our verification and fraud detection process before it's published.
We verify reviews using a combination of checks, including SMS confirmation, account history, and platform activity.
Behind the scenes, our review fraud detection system runs 24/7 and combines automated screening with AI and human review. It:
Screens every review as it comes in
Analyses patterns across accounts and activity
Flags anomalies that suggest a review may not be genuine
If we suspect a review is fake, we will remove it immediately and escalate to our dedicated trust and safety team. An investigation will determine next steps, including whether the trade member will be removed from Checkatrade if required.
We reserve the right to ask you for supporting evidence, such as proof of the job or payment.
Why leaving a review for your tradesperson matters
It only takes seconds to leave a review of the work you've had done in your home. We look at why leaving tradesperson reviews is so important for both trades and customers.
Our community is our greatest strength
How you can help homeowners like you
Homeowners who suspect a review on a trades profile is fake can report it through our contact us form and one of our team members will investigate.
Trade members who suspect a review they receive is fake, can report it in the trade app and one of our team members will investigate.
Our review guidelines
As well as removing fake reviews, we check for and remove reviews that don’t meet our guidelines
Be factual, concise and unbiased - what is helpful to share about your experiences with other homeowners?
Avoid jargon like “cowboy”, “con artist” and “scammer”
Don’t post something to deliberately damage a business - this is defamatory and will be removed
Don’t use personal information like names, phone numbers or addresses - it infringers on a person's personal data and human rights and will be removed
Avoid inappropriate language - this will be removed
Paige Madtes
Hey! I’m Paige, I work in the Checkatrade product team. As both a homeowner and renter, I know the challenges of home improvement. I work to make sure homeowners know about the tools we are building to simplify their projects and make the process stress-free.
