How Trust Dan Verifies Every Business Review
Our verification process is more thorough than any other UK review platform. Here's exactly how it works — and why it matters for both consumers and businesses.
Aisha Okonkwo
Trust & Safety Lead, Trust Dan
Why Verification Is Non-Negotiable
A review platform without verification is just a notice board. Anyone can post anything. The value of a review is directly proportional to the confidence you can place in its authenticity.
Trust Dan was built from the ground up with verification as a first principle, not an afterthought.
Step 1: Identity Verification
Every reviewer must create a verified account with a confirmed email address. We use email verification as the baseline, with additional signals from our fraud detection layer to identify accounts created purely to manipulate ratings.
Accounts with suspicious patterns — newly created, no review history, single-business activity — are flagged for review before their submissions are published.
Step 2: Business Verification
Businesses on Trust Dan can apply for a Verified badge by confirming their Companies House registration number. We cross-reference this with the official Companies House API to confirm the business is registered, trading, and at the address claimed.
Verified businesses are more visible on the platform and more trusted by consumers — so the incentive to verify is strong.
Step 3: Review Moderation
Every review goes through an initial automated check and, where flagged, a human moderation review before publication. We check for:
- Obvious spam patterns
- Competitor-planted negativity
- Incentivised reviews (offering discounts for reviews is a violation of our guidelines)
- Personal information that shouldn't be in a public review
Step 4: Video Authenticity
For video reviews, our moderation team watches every submission before it goes live. AI-generated or clearly staged video content is rejected. We're looking for genuine, spontaneous, on-camera accounts.
The Ongoing Layer
Verification isn't a one-time gate — it's a continuous process. We monitor review patterns over time, respond to flagged reports from businesses and consumers, and regularly audit our highest-traffic profiles.
If you see something that doesn't look right, you can report any review directly from the platform. Our team reviews all reports within 48 hours.