ReviewVault – Wordpress Reviews Plugin
www.wpreviews.co.uk

ReviewVault Reviews Integrity Policy

www.wpreviews.co.uk

1) Purpose

ReviewVault is designed to help businesses collect, store, and display genuine customer feedback on their own website. This policy explains what we consider unacceptable behaviour (including fake or misleading reviews), how we verify and moderate reviews, and what actions we may take where abuse is suspected. ReviewVault is for genuine customer feedback. If you want to buy reviews, hide incentives, or mislead customers, this plugin is not for you.

2) Scope

This policy applies to:

  • Reviews submitted through a ReviewVault submission page

  • Reviews imported into ReviewVault (CSV or other imports)

  • Reviews displayed via ReviewVault shortcodes (badge, carousel, library/all reviews, and related widgets)

  • Any “review information” derived from reviews (e.g., average rating, review counts, charts, source breakdowns)

3) Definitions

For clarity:

Fake review
A review that claims to reflect a real customer experience but does not, or is written/commissioned by someone without a genuine experience.

Incentivised review
A review written in exchange for money, discounts, free products/services, gifts, competition entries, refunds, or any other benefit. Incentivised reviews are not automatically prohibited, but must be clearly disclosed where shown. UK rules treat concealed incentivisation as a banned practice.

Review information
Any ratings, scores, averages, star displays, distribution charts, “verified” labels, or source breakdowns based on reviews.

Verified
A label used to indicate that the review has been checked against a business record (for example, a booking, invoice, job reference, or internal system). “Verified” must not be used where no reasonable verification process exists.

4) What we prohibit

You must not use ReviewVault to create, procure, publish, or distribute:

  1. Fake reviews (including “self-reviews” or reviews posted by staff, friends, family, or agencies posing as customers)

  2. Review gating (only inviting happy customers to review while suppressing others) where it creates a misleading overall impression

  3. Concealed incentivised reviews (incentives not clearly disclosed alongside the review)

  4. Bulk purchased reviews or review “packages”

  5. Coordinated attacks on competitors (negative review campaigns)

  6. Misleading edits (altering review meaning, selectively quoting in a way that materially misleads, or changing star ratings)

  7. Misrepresentation of source (labelling a review as “Google” or “Facebook” when it was not obtained there)

  8. Any content that is unlawful, defamatory, harassing, or infringes third-party rights

5) UK legal and regulatory context (overview)

This section is a plain-English overview of the main UK rules relevant to fake reviews.

A) Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCC Act)

The DMCC Act introduces banned practices relating to:

  • fake consumer reviews

  • reviews that conceal the fact they have been incentivised

  • false or misleading consumer review information

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has also published guidance for businesses that publish reviews, including expectations to take reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent, identify, and remove fake reviews.

B) CMA guidance on fake reviews (CMA208)

The CMA’s guidance explains practical steps review publishers should take, which may include:

  • risk assessment (how likely fake reviews are in your sector)

  • prevention measures (friction, checks, and controls)

  • detection and investigation

  • clear processes to remove or correct reviews and review information

C) Advertising standards (ASA / CAP Code)

If you use reviews/testimonials in marketing, ASA rules require they must not mislead, and “fake reviews” are expressly prohibited under the CAP Code. Testimonials and endorsements must be genuine, relevant, and not presented in a deceptive way.

6) Our approach to preventing misuse

We support responsible use by encouraging the following controls (and we recommend ReviewVault users adopt them):

A) Transparency

  • Clearly label the source of reviews where shown

  • Do not claim a review is from a third-party platform unless it is

  • Where reviews were incentivised, disclose this clearly next to the review (and do not conceal it)

B) Verification standards

Where “Verified” is used, you should maintain a repeatable process, for example:

  • cross-check name/date/service against job records

  • retain internal evidence (invoice/booking reference) privately

  • keep an audit note of who verified and when

C) Moderation and removal

We reserve the right to:

  • remove content from our demo packs and sample libraries

  • refuse support where we believe the plugin is being used for deceptive practices

  • suspend access to updates/licensing where there is evidence of misuse (where applicable)

(If you’re publishing this as the plugin vendor, keep the above aligned with your actual licensing model and terms.)

7) Reporting suspected fake or misleading reviews

If you believe a review displayed via a ReviewVault implementation is fake, misleading, or unlawfully posted, you can report it to the site owner using the site’s contact details.

Where ReviewVault is used on an Online Media Direct demo site, reports can be sent to:
[insert contact email]
Please include: page URL, review text (or screenshot), and why you believe it is false or misleading.

8) Handling disputes and corrections

Where a review is challenged, we recommend site owners:

  1. acknowledge receipt of the complaint

  2. request supporting detail (job date, reference, correspondence)

  3. temporarily unpublish the review where risk is high

  4. reinstate, amend labelling (e.g., source/incentive disclosure), or remove based on findings

  5. update any derived “review information” (averages, charts) if required

9) Data protection and privacy

Reviews may contain personal data. Site owners are responsible for:

  • lawful basis for processing

  • minimising personal data displayed publicly

  • responding to data subject requests where applicable

  • ensuring any verification evidence is stored securely and not displayed publicly

(You may want to link here to your Privacy Policy.)

10) Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect:

  • product changes

  • updates to UK guidance

  • changes to consumer protection and advertising rules