1. Who can reply
The verified owner or authorised representative of a claimed practice listing. Anyone claiming a listing must complete our verification process (domain-matched email, RCVS record cross-check, or evidence upload) — start from any practice page or read the For Practices overview.
2. What a reply is for
- Adding context to a reviewer's account of what happened.
- Correcting factual errors politely and specifically.
- Explaining any change of policy, ownership, staff or premises since the visit.
- Offering to resolve the concern offline.
3. Reply rules
Replies are moderated to the same standard as reviews. A reply must not:
- Identify the reviewer or their pet, or disclose clinical or account information about them.
- Threaten legal action against the reviewer or Compare-Vets as a substitute for using the Complaints & Takedown process.
- Contain personal data of staff, other clients, or third parties.
- Contain promotional content, links or contact-scraping requests.
- Be abusive, harassing, discriminatory or defamatory.
4. One reply per review
A practice may post one reply per review. If new information emerges, request an edit via moderation@compare-vets.org. Replies are dated and shown directly under the review they respond to.
5. Disputing a review
If you believe a review breaches the Review Rules, use the "Dispute this review" tool on your dashboard or the Complaints & Takedown Policy. Disagreement with a reviewer's opinion is not itself grounds for removal — we assess disputes on the rules, not on whether you like the review.
6. Confidentiality
We do not share the reviewer's email address, IP address or identity with the practice. In an evidence-based dispute we may act as go-between: asking the reviewer for proof of visit and reporting only whether that proof was supplied.
7. No paid removals, no paid rankings
We do not remove genuine reviews in exchange for advertising, subscription or any other commercial relationship, and we do not sell ranking prominence. See the Rating & Ranking Explanation.
8. Suspension
Practices that repeatedly post replies breaching this policy, or that are found to have solicited fake or incentivised reviews, may have their reply access suspended and the incident recorded in our sanctions register. Serious cases are referred to the CMA and, where applicable, the RCVS.
9. Get started
Claim your listing from any practice page, or read the For Practices page for an overview.