Rules for suspending a review
Updated: 25-Sep-2026
A user's honest opinion, positive or negative, is not ours to remove. Suspending a review is a temporary hold while we check a fact with the user or the business; it is never a way to make an unwelcome review disappear.
Below is every case where we suspend a review, and the cases where the user has no right to review that service at all.
A. The user asks us to hold the review
1. The user asks to withdraw their review or to delay publishing it. We suspend it.
2. The work isn't finished yet and the user asks us to wait before publishing. We suspend it until the work is done.
B. Something about the review needs checking
3. Wrong business. The business says it never provided a service to this user. We suspend the review while we confirm with the user.
4. Not enough detail. The review doesn't explain what the user was unhappy about. We suspend it while we try to get a clarification from the user.
5. Text and score don't match (for example, warm praise with a low score, or the reverse). We suspend it until the user confirms which one reflects their view.
6. Breaks our review content rules. We suspend it.
7. Score manipulation. We detect an attempt to game a business's rating (by the business, a competitor, or anyone else). We suspend the affected reviews.
8. Facts proven untrue. The review states facts that are shown to be false beyond reasonable doubt. We suspend it.
9. Improper edit. The user changes an old review in a way we don't allow, or after the editing window has closed. We suspend the edit.
10. Illegal request. The user asked the business to do something against the law. We suspend the review.
C. Cancellations
11. The business cancels late, without reasonable notice. The user may review. The exception is a humanitarian reason (a death, an accident, a hospitalization), where we suspend the review.
12. The user cancels a scheduled appointment after paying a deposit that was agreed in advance as non-refundable. The user may not review the business for keeping that deposit.
13. The user cancels after the business has already arrived. If the business charged a reasonable, standard call-out fee for the visit, the user loses the right to review it.
D. How the service was arranged and paid
14. Arranged outside Locallista. If the user reached the business directly and not through Locallista, that job is not reviewable on Locallista.
15. The user didn't pay. A user who withholds payment has no right to review, unless they are withholding it because they dispute the quality of the work.
16. Free service. It depends on how much of the service was delivered. If the business fully completed the job and received no payment, the business may ask us to suspend the review.
Exceptions
- Humanitarian reasons (a death, an accident, a hospitalization) excuse a business's late cancellation (rule 11).
- A genuine quality dispute keeps the user's right to review even when they haven't paid (rule 15).
- A suspension is temporary. Once the fact in question is checked, the review is published or handled under our Reviews publishing rules.
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