Fake review policy

GoldStarred exists so that people can trust the reviews they read. This policy says what we treat as a fake review, what we do to stop them, and what we promise. It follows the UK Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and the Competition and Markets Authority guidance on fake reviews.

What counts as a fake review

• A review not based on a genuine experience of the business, product or service.
• A review written or paid for by the business, its staff, family or agents, or by a competitor.
• A review posted in return for money, free goods, discounts or other rewards, where that is not disclosed.
• A review that has been edited or selected to hide the real picture, such as inviting only happy customers.
• Reviews posted in bulk, from automated accounts, or from one person pretending to be many.
• Reviews bought, sold or swapped through third parties.

What we promise

• We never hide, delay or reorder a review because of payment, plan or sentiment. A business cannot do it, and nobody can pay to do it. A review may be held briefly for a person to look at when fraud-risk signals appear. Those signals apply equally to positive and negative reviews, and our moderation page explains how.
• Reviews are ranked by review data only, never by payment. If we ever sell paid placement, it will be clearly labelled.
• Incentivised reviews are labelled as such, so readers can weigh them.
• The same moderation applies to every business, free or paid.
• Reviews are never removed because they are negative. They are removed only for breaking our rules or the law.

How reviews are labelled

Every review carries one of these labels:

• Verified: the business invited the customer and supplied an order reference for the purchase. The reference comes from the business and we cannot check it against its records. Every other review is Unverified and shows how it arrived.
• Invited: the business invited the customer to review.
• Organic: the reviewer came to us without an invitation.
• Imported: the review was brought in from elsewhere.
• Incentivised: a reward was offered or given.

These labels are explained in full on How we verify reviews, and the checks behind them are described under "What we do to prevent fake reviews" below and on our moderation page. Most reviews will show Unverified, and that is not a mark against them.

What we do to prevent fake reviews

We assess the risk of fake reviews and take steps to prevent and remove them. These include:

• automatic checks for duplicate text, bursts of reviews, many reviews from one device or network, and reviewers whose email domain matches the business they review;
• holding suspicious reviews for a person to look at before they appear;
• a rule that invitations must be neutral and must not offer an incentive;
• limits on repeat invitations to the same address;
• an audit log of every moderation decision;
• regular reviews of how well these measures are working, and changes when they are not.

What happens when we find one

We remove the review and tell the reviewer, and the business, why. A person decides every removal, and the decision, its reason and who made it are recorded. A business that writes or buys fake reviews, or asks others to, can have its account suspended or closed and its profile marked. We may report serious cases to the relevant UK authorities where the law expects or allows it.

How you can help

Every review has a "Report this review" option. Tell us why you think it is fake. Our moderators look at each report, and we email the person who reported it with the outcome. If you believe a review is defamatory, use our complaints and takedown process.

You can also write to hello@goldstarred.com.

Reviewers' rights

Reviewers can edit or delete their own reviews. Businesses may reply publicly to any review but cannot change it. Our moderation page explains how flagged and reported reviews are handled, including that flagging never hides a review automatically.

Changes

We will review and update this policy when the law or our practice changes, and show the date at the top of this page.

GoldStarred is operated by Harber Glaves Trading Ltd, company number 16605946, registered in England and Wales.

Registered office: Unit A, 82 James Carter Road, Mildenhall, Bury St. Edmunds, England, IP28 7DE.

Contact: hello@goldstarred.com