1. Who can complain
- The reviewed practice — where a review breaches our Review Rules.
- The reviewer — to edit or withdraw their own review.
- Any user — to flag suspected fake, incentivised or unlawful content.
- Third parties — e.g. a staff member named in a review, or someone whose personal data appears.
2. How to complain
- In-product: use the "Report this review" link on any published review, or the "Dispute" tool on your claimed practice dashboard.
- By email — general moderation: moderation@compare-vets.org
- By email — unlawful content / legal notices: legal@compare-vets.org
- By email — personal data / privacy: privacy@compare-vets.org
Please include: the review URL, the exact text or element you object to, the specific rule you believe it breaches, and any supporting evidence (e.g. proof the reviewer was never a client, a redacted invoice, a court order).
3. What we do with each complaint
- Log the complaint with a case reference and acknowledge within 2 working days.
- Triage: routine vs. serious (defamation, personal data, threats). Serious cases may cause the review to be temporarily hidden pending investigation.
- Investigate: we may ask the reviewer for evidence of a genuine visit, and the practice for a factual response (no confidential client information).
- Decide: publish unchanged, publish with redactions, invite the reviewer to edit, remove, exclude from rating, warn or suspend the account, or escalate for legal review.
- Notify both parties of the outcome and update the audit log.
4. Timescales
- Routine disputes: substantive response within 5 working days.
- Serious allegations (defamation, identifiable third-party data, harassment, review bombing): initial action within 24 hours.
- Court orders and statutory notices (e.g. Norwich Pharmacal orders, ICO orders): actioned in accordance with the order.
5. What complaints will not do
Disagreement with a review is not, on its own, grounds for removal. A practice saying "we disagree with this review" is materially different from "this person was never a client and the invoice number they cite does not exist." We assess complaints on the Review Rules, not on whether the practice likes the review.
6. Right of appeal
Either party may appeal a moderation decision once, within 14 days, by emailing appeals@compare-vets.org. Appeals are reviewed by a moderator not involved in the original decision.
7. External escalation
- Clinical concerns about a vet: RCVS concerns process.
- Data protection concerns: Information Commissioner's Office.
- Consumer law / fake reviews: Competition and Markets Authority.
8. Records
Every complaint, decision, evidence file and notification is recorded in our internal audit log. Records are retained for as long as necessary to demonstrate our compliance with CMA208 and the DMCC Act 2024.