Reviews policy
Reviews are only useful if they are real. This is how Chalkline collects, checks and publishes them.
Who can leave a review
Only a customer whose job was arranged through Chalkline, with a quote they selected here, and where both the customer and the business have confirmed the work is complete. Each such job allows one review.
You cannot review a business just because you have an account, viewed a profile or exchanged messages. A business cannot review itself, and Chalkline staff do not write reviews.
What a review shows
A rating from one to five, the customer’s own words, their first name, the trade, the date, and the basis for it: “Job completed through Chalkline, confirmed by both parties”. Reviews are not anonymous.
Checking before publication
Each review is read by a person before it appears. It is published if it meets this policy, whatever the rating. It is rejected only if it:
- contains someone’s personal information, such as an address or phone number;
- is threatening or abusive, or contains hate speech;
- is spam or advertising;
- is not about the job in question;
- comes from someone with a conflict of interest;
- is fake, or was given in return for a payment, discount or other incentive;
- is unlawful.
A review is never rejected because it is negative or because the business disagrees with it.
Incentives
Chalkline does not offer incentives for reviews. Businesses must not offer anything in return for a review or for changing one.
Responses
The business can post one public response under a review. It cannot edit or remove the review.
Ratings
The average and the count shown on a profile are calculated from published reviews only. If a review is withdrawn or removed, the figures change with it. A profile with no reviews shows “No reviews yet”, never a rating.
Reporting and appeals
Anyone signed in can report a review. A person looks at every report. If your review was not published you are told which rule applied and can appeal from your account; a different member of the team considers it. Businesses can also appeal. See complaints and appeals.
Records
Chalkline keeps the original wording of every review and a record of each moderation decision and the reason for it.