Content and Review Policy

1. What this covers

Reviews and quick reviews, photos, detectives’ case files, owner replies, shop updates, public lists, events and anything else posted on The Dessert Detective. It applies to members, contributors who post with an email address, detectives and businesses.

2. What a review must be

A genuine experience of that shop or item, by the person posting it. Say what you had and what it was like. Honest criticism is welcome.

3. What is not allowed

• Fake reviews, or reviews of somewhere you haven’t been or something you haven’t had
• Reviews by a shop’s owner, staff or anyone connected to it, or by a competitor
• Reviews written in return for a free item, discount or other perk without saying so (section 4)
• Hate, harassment, threats or abuse
• Personal information about anyone, including staff names used to criticise them, phone numbers or addresses
• Spam, advertising or links to other sites
• False statements of fact about a business (for example saying it failed a hygiene inspection when it didn’t)
• Anything illegal, or that infringes someone else’s rights, including photos you didn’t take or don’t have permission to use

4. Free items and perks must be shown

If you got the item free, at a discount, or with any other perk connected to your review, you must say so. Tick “I received this for free” when you post, and your review will show a Received free label. This applies to everyone, including our detectives and anyone invited by a shop.

5. How moderation works

• Written reviews, photos and case files are checked by our team before they appear.
• Quick reviews appear once the email address is confirmed. Some are held for a check first, for example if they contain a link, repeat the same text, or come in too fast.
• We may hold, hide, flag, edit or remove anything that breaks this policy, and may block an email address or suspend an account.
• A shop owner can reply once to each review. Owner replies and shop updates follow this policy too.
• Shops can report a review, but can’t have it removed just because they disagree with it.

6. Reporting a problem

Every review, quick review, case file, owner reply, shop update and public list has a Report link. Tell us what’s wrong and, if you’d like a reply, your email. Reported reviews and quick reviews come off the page while we look at them. We aim to act on reports within 7 days.

7. Legal complaints

For a legal complaint, such as defamation, a breach of copyright or misuse of personal information, email [email protected] with the subject “Legal complaint” and:

• The link to the content
• What exactly is wrong and why, and the law you think it breaks if you know
• Your name and how to contact you, and your connection to it (for example, you own the business named)
• Any evidence that helps (for example proof that a statement is untrue)

We take the content down promptly while we check it, and tell you what we decide.