How we rate

The loss totals

The dollar figure on a listing is the sum of the amounts entered by the people who filed reports about it. Nothing is estimated, extrapolated or generated. If four people report losing $2,000, $5,500, nothing, and $12,000, the listing shows $19,500 across four reports.

These are claims by the people who filed them. We do not see their bank records, and we do not audit the amounts. A total is a measure of what buyers say happened, not a finding of fact about the business.

The star ratings

Each report carries a rating from one to five stars, chosen by the person filing it. The figure on a listing is the plain mean of the published reports — unweighted, with no adjustment for recency or for who filed. Where a site in our network shows a score out of ten, that is the same mean doubled, and it links to the same reports.

The risk score

The 0–100 risk score is the one number set by a person rather than calculated. A moderator assigns it from what the reports have in common: whether the same phone number appears under several business names, whether payment was demanded by an irreversible method, whether an address turns out to belong to an unrelated business, and whether reports are still arriving. It is a summary of our reading of the file, and we say so rather than dressing it up as a computed metric.

What each status means

• Reported — reports have been filed and published. We have not formed a view beyond that.
• Under review — a moderator is actively working through the file, usually because reports conflict or because we have asked the filers for more detail.
• Confirmed scam — several independent reports corroborate each other on the details that matter: the same number, the same script, the same payment demand, and no vehicle delivered.
• Disputed — the business, or a business whose identity is being used, has contested the listing and we are reviewing it. The dispute is noted on the page.
• Cleared — we reviewed the listing and found the reports did not stand up, or named the wrong business. We keep cleared listings published rather than deleting them, so that anyone who saw the earlier version can find the outcome.

What we check before publishing

A moderator reads every report before it appears. We check that:

• the account describes something that happened to the person filing it;
• it is not a duplicate of a report already published;
• it does not contain a third party's personal information, or the filer's own account numbers;
• the identifiers given — the number, the domain, the address — are consistent with the account;
• it reads as a first-hand account rather than a repetition of something read elsewhere.

What we do not do is verify that the events happened. We have no way to confirm a wire transfer or a conversation, and we do not claim to. Reports are published as accounts by the people who filed them.

Business identity theft

A recurring pattern in these reports is a fraudulent seller using the street address, trading name or licence number of a real, unconnected business. When we identify it, we mark the address on the listing and publish a notice naming the real occupant as uninvolved. Any business in that position can tell us directly and the listing is marked disputed immediately, before a moderator has read it.

Corrections

We correct anything factually wrong, quickly, and we say what changed. The full policy is on the corrections page.