Who can leave a review
Anyone with a Ceylon Chat account can review a published business page. One review per person per business — you can change or withdraw yours whenever you like, but you cannot leave a second one. That single rule is most of what keeps the ratings on this site worth reading: leaving ten reviews would cost somebody ten real accounts.
The rules in short
- One per person
- Per business, tied to your account.
- Your own experience
- Something you actually bought, ate, visited or used.
- Not your own business
- Owners cannot review their own page, and the site refuses it.
- Not a competitor's
- Reviewing a rival you compete with is not allowed.
- Never paid for
- Taking or offering anything to leave, change or remove a review is banned.
- Edit or withdraw
- Yours to change at any time. Edited reviews are marked.
Writing one that actually helps
The reviews people trust are specific. What did you order, when did you go, what happened, would you go back. “Rubbish” tells the next customer nothing; “waited 40 minutes for a takeaway that was quoted 15, on a quiet Tuesday” tells them everything.
Before you post
- 1Say what you bought or which service you used.
- 2Say what actually happened, not what you assume about why.
- 3Keep it about the goods and the service, not about the owner as a person.
- 4Leave other people's names, addresses and phone numbers out of it.
- 5If something went badly, it is often worth speaking to the business first — most problems get fixed, and you can always review afterwards.
What gets a review removed
Anyone signed in can report a review, and a business owner can appeal one. Either way it goes to a person, who checks it against this closed list. Nothing comes down for any other reason.
1.This person was never a customer
What we check. Has the owner actually checked, and said what they checked? Absence from their records is weak on its own — plenty of real customers pay cash, or come in with somebody else.
What to send us. The dates you have checked, and what you searched — bookings, receipts, order records.
2.It states something as fact that is provably untrue
What we check. Is there a specific checkable claim that is false, rather than an opinion the owner disagrees with? "The food was cold" is an opinion. "They were shut that day" is checkable.
What to send us. Which specific claim, and the evidence it is false. Not that they exaggerated — a checkable statement, like a date you were closed.
3.Abusive, hateful or threatening
What we check. Slurs, threats or harassment. Blunt criticism and strong language are not abuse.
What to send us. Which words. Rudeness is not abuse; slurs and threats are.
4.Not about the goods or service at all
What we check. Is it genuinely about something other than the goods or the service?
What to send us. What it is actually about — politics, a personal dispute, something unrelated.
5.It is about a different business
What we check. Does it describe a different place?
What to send us. Which business it seems to describe, and how you know.
6.Contains someone's private details
What we check. Names, addresses, phone numbers, medical or financial details of a real person.
What to send us. Which details — a home address, phone number, medical or financial information.
7.Written by a competitor or someone connected to one
What we check. Is there real evidence of the connection, or only suspicion?
What to send us. How you know the connection. A hunch is not evidence.
8.They demanded something to change or remove it
What we check. Is there a message demanding money, freebies or a change in return?
What to send us. The message where they asked. Screenshot it before it disappears.
9.Advertising, a scam link, or nonsense
What we check. Links, advertising, or generated nonsense.
What to send us. Anything that helps us see it quickly.
Reporting a review does not hide it while we look. If it does come down, the person who wrote it is told, and told why — nobody loses their words silently.
Common questions
A business asked me to take my review down. Do I have to?
No. Nobody can require you to remove an honest review, and offering you anything in return for removing it is against our rules and against UK consumer law. Tell us using the report button on their page.
Can I be identified?
Your review shows your display name and links to your profile, the same as a post. If you would rather not be seen reviewing somewhere, do not review it.
Why is the star rating not showing in Google?
We only publish a business's rating to search engines once it has at least three reviews. One or two opinions are not an average, and claiming otherwise would be a claim we cannot stand behind.
Does paying for advertising change a business's reviews?
No. Advertising has no effect on reviews, ratings, ranking within the directory, or the outcome of an appeal. We do not sell review removal at any price.