1. Who can leave a review
Anyone with a verified email account who has been a client of the veterinary practice they are reviewing. Reviews must describe your own genuine experience as a client of that practice. We do not allow reviews from competitors, current or former staff, or anyone with an undisclosed financial or personal conflict of interest.
2. What we publish
- Honest opinions about your experience — positive, negative, or mixed.
- Specific descriptions of what happened during a visit.
- Constructive criticism of service, communication, pricing transparency, facilities or outcomes.
3. What we remove
Every review, positive or negative, is held in a moderation queue and reviewed by a human before publication. The same standards apply to every review regardless of rating. We will remove or refuse to publish content that:
- Is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, threatening, or discriminatory.
- Identifies individual members of staff by name, or contains other personal data.
- Includes medical records, identifiable details about other clients or their pets.
- Makes specific claims of clinical malpractice — those belong with the RCVS concerns process, not a public review.
- Is clearly fake, off-topic, paid-for, or written by a competitor or current/former employee.
- Contains links to third-party sites, contact information, or promotional content.
- Is duplicated across multiple practices or accounts.
4. Verification
All reviewers must accept our reviewer terms and confirm that the review reflects a genuine experience. We log the timestamp, IP address, and terms version at the moment of submission. We may, at our discretion and only with the reviewer's consent, ask for proof of visit (such as an invoice or appointment email) — never identity documents. When proof is supplied and verified, the review is shown with a "Verified visit" badge. Verification is optional and applies equally to positive and negative reviews.
5. Right of reply
Any practice listed on Compare-Vets can publicly respond to a review on their listing, free of charge, by claiming their listing. We strongly encourage practices to respond with the practice's perspective rather than asking us to remove honest criticism.
6. Disputes and takedown
A practice that believes a published review breaches this policy can dispute it from their listing. We aim to review disputes within 5 working days. We assess each dispute on whether the review violates the rules in section 3 — not on whether the practice disagrees with the reviewer's opinion. Reviews under active dispute may be temporarily hidden where the allegation is serious (e.g. defamation, identification of a third party).
If a review contains unlawful content (defamation, harassment, identifiable personal data), email legal@compare-vets.org with the review URL and the basis of your complaint. We act on legitimate notices promptly under our hosting obligations.
7. Disclosure of reviewer identity
Reviews are published under the reviewer's display name. We do not disclose a reviewer's email address or identity to practices. We will only disclose reviewer details when compelled by a UK court order (for example, a Norwich Pharmacal order) or where required by law.
8. No incentivised or paid reviews
Compare-Vets does not accept payment for reviews, will not remove reviews in exchange for any commercial relationship, and prohibits practices from offering incentives in exchange for reviews. This is consistent with the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and the CMA's guidance on fake reviews.
9. Reviewer terms (summary)
By submitting a review you confirm:
- The review is your own honest opinion based on a genuine experience as a client of the practice.
- You have no undisclosed conflict of interest with the practice.
- You are responsible for what you write and may be personally liable for unlawful content.
- You agree your review may be published on Compare-Vets indefinitely.
- You understand we log your IP address and the version of these terms at the moment of submission, and may disclose this if legally required.
10. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The version in force at the moment you submit a review is the version that applies to that review.
See also: Review guidelines, Terms & conditions, Privacy policy.