1. Honest use
- Only leave a review if you have first-hand experience of the practice.
- Do not write or commission fake or incentivised reviews.
- Do not review your own business, your employer, or a competitor.
- Do not create multiple accounts to inflate or attack a practice's rating.
2. Lawful content
- No defamation, harassment, threats or discriminatory content.
- No personal data about staff, other clients, or third parties.
- No breach of confidentiality (clinical letters, medical records, private correspondence).
- No content that infringes copyright or other intellectual-property rights.
3. No manipulation
- No automated scraping, bulk downloading, or AI training on Compare-Vets content without written permission.
- No attempts to bypass rate limits, moderation, spam controls or authentication.
- No coordinated review campaigns (for or against a practice).
4. For veterinary practices
- Do not offer money, discounts, vouchers, refunds or free treatment in exchange for reviews. Incentivised reviews are prohibited on Compare-Vets — see the Review Rules.
- Do not ask staff, family or friends to post reviews.
- Do not use the Right of Reply to identify, threaten or shame a reviewer.
- Do not use the complaints route as a way of suppressing genuine negative feedback.
5. Security
No probing, scanning, penetration testing or exploitation of the platform without prior written consent. Responsible security disclosures: security@compare-vets.org.
6. Enforcement
We may warn, suspend or permanently ban accounts that breach this policy, remove content, and — where the conduct is unlawful — report it to the CMA, the ICO, the RCVS or the police. See Review Rules for the sanctions ladder.
7. Reporting a breach
Use the "Report" link on any review or listing, or email moderation@compare-vets.org.