This policy explains how Love Nottingham collects, checks, publishes and moderates consumer reviews and rating information, including reviews of attractions, restaurants, pubs, accommodation, services and other places. It also explains the independence of reviews from business subscriptions and paid advertising.
1. Who can leave reviews
Our review feature is intended for people sharing a genuine first-hand experience of the subject they are reviewing. A registered account may be required. A reviewer's presence on the Site or use of a profile name is not proof that we independently verified their identity, payment or visit. [CONFIRM BEFORE PUBLISHING: whether any categories of reviews are verified, what evidence is collected, and which labels are shown.]
Reviewers should explain the relevant experience fairly and refrain from unsupported allegations presented as facts. Genuine critical reviews are welcome.
2. Reviews we prohibit
We prohibit reviews that are fake or not based on a genuine experience; written by someone pretending to be an independent customer; submitted from coordinated or duplicate accounts to distort ratings; commissioned or incentivised without appropriate, prominent disclosure; or materially misleading about the experience, date, venue or relationship to the business.
We also prohibit extortionate review threats, personal attacks, illegal material, disclosure of private data, impersonation and copyright infringement. Business owners, staff, close associates and their agents must not disguise a conflict of interest or review their own business as independent consumers.
3. Incentives and relationships
Reviewers must disclose any free goods, meals, admission, discounts, payments, employment or other benefit connected to the review. We may refuse to publish incentivised reviews where suitable transparency or independence cannot be ensured. A business must not condition a reward on a positive score, ask for fabricated reviews, or selectively solicit feedback only from satisfied customers while presenting the result as representative. We will label permitted incentivised reviews where applicable.
4. How reviews reach the Site
Users may submit a review through the relevant place page and account tools. Every submitted review is subject to editorial review and we reserve the right to decline publication where it breaches our standards or is unsuitable for the publication, including offensive, abusive, spam, manipulated or irrelevant material. We aim to avoid unnecessary delays in publishing genuine, relevant and lawful reviews. A genuinely negative review is not rejected just because it criticises a business. We may contact authors for clarification, investigate unusual patterns and check account or submission signals to detect possible manipulation.
These checks can include looking for duplicates, suspicious repeated behaviour, undisclosed connections, exaggerated or inconsistent claims and reports from readers or businesses. We do not promise every review has been visited or purchased by a verified customer, and no review system can detect every fake submission.
5. Presentation, ordering and ratings
We intend to show a balanced account of genuine visitor experience rather than publish only praise. We do not exclude a review merely because it is negative. Ratings and review summaries must not be distorted by fake, irrelevant or undisclosed incentivised reviews, commercial payments or biased selection.
[CONFIRM BEFORE PUBLISHING: exact star-rating calculation, which reviews count, sort-order choices, treatment of old reviews, whether site-wide cross-publication reviews are reused, and any automated summaries.] We will explain material sorting and verification labels on the review interface where readers need them.
6. Business participation and independence
An authorised business representative may claim a listing, correct factual information and respond through available official-reply features. A business does not gain control of independent customer reviews by verifying its listing or subscribing to a paid plan. Paying for a Boost, advertising or publishing tools does not guarantee a higher user rating or protection from genuine criticism. Sponsored placements should be recognisable separately from review ratings.
7. Reporting, investigation and action
Readers and businesses can report a review believed to be fake, unlawful, abusive, off-topic or otherwise in breach of this policy by contacting [email protected] or using an available reporting feature. Include the review URL, the alleged issue and supporting facts. We consider the evidence, the user's account, the review context and any response from the author where appropriate.
Possible outcomes include no action, declining publication, requesting clarification, correcting a display or categorisation error, adding a clear disclosure, removing a prohibited review, restricting features, suspending an account or permanently banning an account for offensive or serious misconduct. We may act urgently to prevent harm and may keep a suitable audit trail. Moderation standards apply independently of whether a business pays for promotion.
8. Challenges, corrections and complaints
Businesses can challenge factual errors and prohibited material but cannot require removal because a review is unflattering. Contributors can request review of a moderation decision. We aim to give reasons where appropriate and offer complaints or appeals mechanisms where required. We may request evidence privately and will handle personal data in line with our Privacy Policy.
A complaint about an actual service should usually be directed to the provider; submitting a public review is different from asking us to investigate or resolve the underlying customer dispute.
9. Ongoing safeguards
We maintain and review proportionate measures designed to prevent and remove fake reviews and misleading review information. That may include staff training, procedures for reports, account restrictions, repeat-offender handling and regular review of our moderation approach. This policy works alongside the Community Guidelines and Terms of Service.
Policy effective 26 October 2026. Contact: [email protected].
