Shop Directory Rating & Review Terms of Service

Summary

This page outlines the rules that govern shop/dealership interactions on RepairPal. This includes listing presentation and ratings/reviews as posted to the RepairPal directory. These rules address the process by which RepairPal responds to any issue or dispute regarding a customer review and rating of an auto repair shop or dealership listing on www.repairpal.com or RepairPal mobile applications.

Repair Shop and Dealership Guidelines

Businesses listed on RepairPal are required abide by the following guidelines. Failure to abide by these guidelines may make a business subject to removal from RepairPal without notice.

  • Each business is permitted to have one listing on RepairPal for each physical location or business license.
  • Businesses may not create multiple listings for a single physical location or business license to gain further exposure or misrepresent their business.
  • No one is permitted to represent a business on RepairPal except the owner or authorized representative for that business.
  • Each business may not submit falsified content or claims about their own business or other businesses.

Process and Guideline Definition

Users can add ratings and reviews for business listings where they have personally had services performed.  Registration, including an email address, is required for a user to submit a shop rating or review.  Each review and rating displayed on a shop listing page on RepairPal has a "flag as inappropriate" link that allows any registered user to report a rating or review to RepairPal if they believe it is inappropriate for any reason.  RepairPal asks the reason when a review is flagged as inappropriate so that RepairPal can determine if the rating or review is "inappropriate" according to the definition detailed below.  The reason needs to be identified with sufficient clarity and detail by the reporter so that the RepairPal Team can investigate and make a determination.

“Inappropriate” is defined by RepairPal to mean in violation of RepairPal’s Terms of Service, including but not necessarily limited to:

  • Content that includes offensive or abusive language.
  • Content involving a conflict-of-interest. For the purposes of evaluating complaints about shop reviews posted to www.repairpal.com or RepairPal mobile applications.  A "conflict-of-interest" exists when a review has been created by shop's ownership, management, or current and former employees, or a competitive shop's ownership, management, or current and former employees.
  • Content that is not an objective review by an actual customer who has had an experience with the reviewed shop.  
  • Content that is not original content from RepairPal or an official partner (i.e., is taken from another site or other source).
  • Reviews that contain personal attacks, comment on other users, include commercial/advertising content, or other elements that RepairPal deems inappropriate or inconsistent with the purpose of shop reviews.
  • Reviews submitted by anyone other than the individual who received the service.

If RepairPal is able to establish any of the above criteria are met, a rating or review is "inappropriate".  RepairPal reserves the right to remove "inappropriate" ratings and reviews.

Upon receipt of a "flag as inappropriate" complaint from a user, customer, or repair shop, RepairPal takes action according to the following guidelines:

  • Any review that violates RepairPal's Terms of Service may be subject to removal.
  • If the review has been flagged due to offensive or abusive language, RepairPal will evaluate the review and remove it if it is offensive or abusive in style or language, at the discretion of the RepairPal Team.
  • If the complaint reports a conflict of interest, RepairPal will investigate the claim and attempt to resolve the situation.
  • If the complaint is a dispute about the veracity or facts of the review, RepairPal will investigate the claim and attempt to resolve the situation.
  • If the rating or review does not describe the reviewer's own experience, and/or is not relevant to the shop reviewed, it will be subject to removal.
  • RepairPal also may remove a review if it is not original content from RepairPal or an official partner (taken from another site or other source).
  • RepairPal does not edit reviews; "inappropriate" reviews are removed in their entirety.

RepairPal strives to be fair and unbiased at all times.  RepairPal's efforts to investigate and resolve complaints of inappropriate content are free of charge in all cases and status as a paying customer will have no bearing on the processes followed or actions taken by RepairPal.  RepairPal employees will not offer or accept any offers for preferential treatment with respect to these processes.  RepairPal reserves the right to remove any Content for any reason or no reason in its sole discretion.