Your guide to managing customer reviews on Checkatrade

So, a customer has left you a review on Checkatrade. Before you reply, check out this handy guide on how to manage reviews. 

Fast facts: 

• Customer reviews help you manage your reputation and make the most of your Checkatrade profile. 

• Published reviews allow us to make sure you meet the Checkatrade Standard. 

• We have a guide to leaving reviews on Checkatrade which we share with our customers. 

What you need to know:

1. Requesting reviews

• Customers who have had a real experience with your business can leave you a review, and you can reply to them - whether you are a paying Checkatrade member or not. 

• We welcome genuine reviews from your customers at any stage of their interaction with you – whether that’s initial contact, when you provide a quote, during the work, when you get paid and the work is completed, or if you went back to the job for any reason.  

• We ask that you avoid requesting reviews from employees, friends or family as they may be biased. 

• Please don’t request fake reviews to boost your score – these will be removed. 

• You should not incentivise someone to leave a review for you – so don’t offer discounts or gifts in exchange for reviews. 

• If we find that there are fraudulent or fake reviews on your profile, you will be removed from our platform. 

2. Publishing reviews

• We check all reviews – those that pass our checks will be published within 24 hours, and we’ll remove any fakes or those that don’t meet our consumer guidelines.  

• If there’s an issue mentioned in a review that’s been resolved, this doesn’t mean we’ll remove it. The person who wrote the review owns the review – and it’s their choice if they’d like to edit or remove it, or to post a new one. We won’t ask our customers to do this, and you should not pressurise or incentivise a reviewer to do this either. 

• We understand that receiving a negative review can feel personal, but it’s important to remember that genuine customer feedback — whether positive or negative — is not defamatory. Customers have the right to share their honest opinions and experiences, if what they are saying is truthful. Reviews are a valuable way for potential customers to make informed choices, and they can also help you identify areas where you could improve your service. We encourage you to see all feedback, even the less positive ones, as an opportunity to learn and grow. 

• We don’t directly handle disputes between tradespeople and consumers. However, if you believe a review is defamatory, please let us know by following our Notice and Takedown Procedure. A review is defamatory if it unfairly harms your reputation or could cause significant financial damage to your business.  

• We’ll carefully review your concerns and any evidence you provide to decide whether the review should be removed. We’ll also consider our responsibility to ensure that genuine negative reviews are not prevented from being published - as outlined by the Competition and Markets Authority’s Trader Recommendation Guidelines. 

3. Replying to reviews

• We publish all your replies to customer reviews – unless they don’t meet these guidelines. 

• When you reply to reviews – please keep your responses respectful, factual, clear and concise. 

• Make sure your replies are appropriate and do not include anything that promotes obscenity, profanity, hate speech, or discrimination as these responses - alongside promotional content and spam – will not be published.   

• Responses should not include personal or sensitive information - such as full names, addresses, or phone numbers. 

4. Reporting reviews

• You can report a review using the app within three months of it being published - if you believe it goes against our consumer guidelines. However, a review is the fact-based opinion of one of your customers.  We won't remove a review just because you think it’s unfair.  

• If you believe a review about you is incorrect, you may need to provide us with evidence to back up your review response and report it. So, keep hold of any paperwork, photos and screenshots of the work you complete. 

• We don't allow anonymous reviews. So, if you receive a review from someone you don't recognise, please flag it to us for investigation. But bear in mind that continuous and / or unfounded requests to review negative reviews won’t be tolerated and could lead to further action. 

By following these guidelines, we make sure Checkatrade remains a trusted platform for both trades and consumers - upholding high standards and fostering trust within our community.