C08 — Reviews and Ratings Policy
| Field | Value |
| Document ID | C08 |
| Version | 0.1.0 |
| Status | Draft for UK legal review |
| Classification | Public |
| Document owner | Legal / Compliance |
| Effective date | [Effective Date] |
| Review date | [Effective Date] + 12 months |
| Related documents | B01; B04; B05; B06; C03; C04; C06; C13 |
Xila Ltd — Reviews and Ratings Policy
Version 0.1.0 — Draft for UK legal review
Effective date: [Effective Date]
This Policy explains how reviews and ratings work on Xila (the "Platform") operated by Xila Ltd ("Xila", "we", "us", "our"), what is permitted, what is prohibited, and when we may remove or restrict reviews.
It should be read with our [Terms of Service (B01)](/legal/terms), [Marketplace Terms (B04)](/legal/marketplace), [Seller and Service Provider Terms (B05)](/legal/sellers), [Community Standards (C04)](C04-community-standards.md), and [Content Moderation and Appeals Policy (C06)](C06-content-moderation-and-appeals-policy.md).
Contact: support@xila.com · https://www.xila.com
1. Purpose
Reviews and ratings help Users make informed choices about products, services, rentals, events and other transactions on the Platform. Trust depends on genuine, honest feedback based on real experience.
This Policy applies wherever review or rating features are enabled, including marketplace listings, seller profiles, service bookings, rental stays, events and other modules that display user feedback.
2. Our principles
Reviews on Xila should be:
- Genuine — based on a real transaction, attendance, rental, service experience or other legitimate interaction enabled by the Platform;
- Honest — reflect the reviewer's actual opinion and experience;
- Relevant — focused on the subject of the review, not unrelated grievances or promotional content;
- Lawful — comply with applicable law, including defamation, consumer protection and advertising rules;
- Respectful — may be critical, but must not harass, threaten or include prohibited content.
Xila does not edit reviews to change their meaning. We may remove reviews that violate this Policy or law, or add labels where appropriate.
3. Who can leave reviews
Where review features are available, eligibility rules may vary by module. Generally:
- only Users with a verified or platform-recognised interaction may leave a review (for example, a completed purchase, confirmed booking, attended event or concluded rental);
- you must use your own Account and must not impersonate another person;
- you must be 18 or over, consistent with our Terms and [Children's and Age-Appropriate Use Policy (C11)](C11-childrens-and-age-appropriate-use-policy.md);
- Business Accounts may be restricted from reviewing their own listings or affiliated businesses.
We may adjust eligibility rules by feature to reduce fraud and conflict of interest.
4. What makes a good review
A helpful review typically includes:
- what you bought, booked, rented or attended;
- whether delivery, quality, communication or service met expectations;
- constructive detail that helps other Users decide;
- a fair star rating aligned with the written review.
You may express negative opinions if they are honest and based on your experience. Disagreement with a seller's politics, unrelated personal disputes or generalised rants without connection to the transaction are discouraged and may be removed.
5. Prohibited conduct
The following are prohibited:
5.1 Fake or fabricated reviews
- reviews for transactions that did not occur;
- reviews written by the seller, their employees, agents, friends or family without a genuine customer experience and without required disclosure;
- reviews posted from multiple Accounts to inflate or deflate ratings;
- AI-generated or purchased review content presented as genuine customer feedback.
5.2 Incentivised reviews without disclosure
- offering money, discounts, free products, gifts, refunds or other incentives in exchange for positive reviews without clear disclosure where required by law or Platform rules;
- conditioning incentives on the content or star rating of a review;
- selective solicitation of only satisfied customers to manipulate average ratings.
Where incentives are permitted by law and Platform rules, they must be transparently disclosed in or alongside the review, and must not require a positive rating.
5.3 Manipulation and coercion
- pressuring, threatening or harassing buyers to change or remove reviews;
- requesting removal of honest negative reviews in exchange for refunds outside normal dispute processes;
- organising brigading campaigns to target a competitor or User;
- using reviews for extortion or shakedowns;
- reporting honest reviews abusively to trigger removal.
5.4 Irrelevant or abusive content
- hate speech, illegal content, threats, doxxing or intimate image abuse;
- spam, advertising, referral links or unrelated promotions;
- personal data of third parties without lawful basis;
- content that primarily attacks protected characteristics rather than the transaction experience.
See also [Acceptable Use Policy (C03)](C03-acceptable-use-policy.md) and [Community Standards (C04)](C04-community-standards.md).
5.5 Conflicts of interest
- reviews by sellers of competing businesses without a genuine transaction;
- reviews by Users with undisclosed financial interest in the outcome;
- reciprocal review swapping arrangements intended to inflate ratings.
6. Seller, provider and organiser responses
Sellers, service providers, landlords, recruiters and event organisers may publicly respond to reviews where the feature is enabled.
Responses must:
- be professional and relevant to the review;
- not include prohibited content, harassment or personal data beyond what is necessary;
- not offer undisclosed incentives to change a review in the response thread;
- comply with consumer law and advertising standards.
We may remove responses that violate this Policy. A response does not guarantee removal of the underlying review.
7. Star ratings and aggregation
Star ratings are a summary expression of user feedback. We may:
- calculate averages from eligible reviews;
- weight or exclude reviews that appear ineligible or fraudulent;
- display review counts, verified purchase labels or similar indicators where implemented.
We do not guarantee that aggregated ratings are error-free or immune from manipulation attempts. We investigate patterns that suggest abuse.
8. Reporting concerns
If you believe a review or response violates this Policy, use in-Platform reporting tools where available, or contact support@xila.com with:
- the review URL or identifier;
- the reason for your report;
- supporting evidence where helpful.
Sellers who suspect coordinated manipulation should include dates, patterns and any relevant transaction references.
9. When we remove or restrict reviews
We may remove, hide, demote or label reviews and responses where we reasonably believe they:
- are fake, incentivised without required disclosure, or otherwise manipulated;
- violate our Terms, this Policy, C03 or C04;
- contain illegal content or pose safety risk;
- are unrelated to the underlying transaction or experience;
- disclose personal data unlawfully or excessively;
- are submitted from ineligible Accounts or following prohibited conflicts of interest;
- are part of a pattern of abuse, brigading or evasion.
We may also restrict a User's ability to post reviews, suspend seller review features, or take Account action under [Content Moderation and Appeals Policy (C06)](C06-content-moderation-and-appeals-policy.md).
We are not required to remove honest negative reviews simply because a seller disagrees with them, unless they violate this Policy or law.
10. Moderation process and appeals
Review moderation follows our general moderation framework:
- reports and automated signals may trigger review;
- we aim to acknowledge reports within 5 business days where practicable;
- we aim to provide outcomes on standard review reports within 20 business days, prioritising serious abuse where feasible;
- Users may appeal removal of their review or response under [Content Moderation and Appeals Policy (C06)](C06-content-moderation-and-appeals-policy.md).
11. Legal responsibilities
11.1 Reviewers
You are responsible for the content you post. Publishing false statements that harm reputation may expose you to legal claims under the Defamation Act 2013 and related law. Think carefully before alleging criminal conduct, fraud or serious misconduct.
11.2 Sellers and Business Users
Business Users must not engage in unfair commercial practices, including misleading consumers through fake reviews or undisclosed incentives, contrary to consumer protection law and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 where applicable.
See [Seller and Service Provider Terms (B05)](/legal/sellers).
12. Relationship with Xila's role
Unless expressly stated otherwise, Xila is not a party to user-to-user transactions. Reviews reflect User opinions, not Xila's endorsement. We do not verify every factual statement in every review.
13. Changes
We may update this Policy as review features evolve or law changes. Material updates will be notified as described in the Terms.
14. Contact
Reviews and reporting: support@xila.com
Complaints: see [Complaints Policy (C13)](C13-complaints-policy.md)
Post: Xila Ltd, Suite E, Ground Floor, Profile West, 950 Great West Road, Brentford, United Kingdom TW8 9ES
Change history
| Version | Date | Summary |
| 0.1.0 | 2026-07-15 | Initial Reviews and Ratings Policy draft for UK legal review |