Measures for the verification of reviews

Introduction and Origin of Reviews

Feedaty is committed to maximising the authenticity, transparency, and reliability of the reviews published on its platform, in accordance with the provisions of the Consumer Code (Legislative Decree 206/2005), as amended by the Omnibus Directive (EU) 2019/2161, transposed in Italy by Legislative Decree 26/2023. 

The reviews collected by Feedaty come from end users who have completed a purchase experience with a company that uses our paid service. 

Below, we clearly and transparently outline the technical and organisational measures adopted by Feedaty to ensure that the reviews published are attributable to genuine purchase experiences.

Automated Measures 

After their purchase experience with the Company, the customer receives an invitation by email containing a unique link to submit a review. 

The unique link sent to the email address used by the user for the purchase ensures that reviews originate only from genuine buyers. 

The invitation can be sent in two different ways: 

Automatic Invitation via Integration 

The Company, through a technical integration connecting its management system or e-commerce platform with Feedaty, transmits information relating to completed purchases. 

This information includes specific data identifying each purchase, such as: 

  • Buyer’s email address 
  • Unique order code 
  • Purchase date 

Feedaty provides Companies with various methods of automatic integration, including: 

  • Modules for e-commerce platforms (Plugins) 
  • Sending the order confirmation in BCC (blind carbon copy) 
  • API integration 
  • Automatic file generation (csv, xls) 

Through automatic integration, Feedaty sends an invitation to review at the end of the purchase experience. 

Companies that use Feedaty to collect reviews undertake to ensure, via technical integration, that all consumers who have made a purchase receive an invitation to review. 

We apply anti-fraud monitoring systems to verify the reliability of data transmission systems by Companies: 

  • High Level: the seller uses an automatic and continuous high-reliability transmission system for sending review invitations 
  • Medium Level: the seller uses a semi-automatic medium-reliability transmission system for sending review invitations 
  • Low Level: the seller uses a manual low-reliability transmission system for sending review invitations 

Review invitations are sent automatically and neutrally, without selecting only satisfied customers. 

Companies cannot choose whom to invite or exclude: all customers have an equal opportunity to review. 

Automatic Invitation via Spontaneous Request 

End users who have not received an invitation to review via automatic integration can always request to receive an invitation via the “Leave a review” button on the Company’s Feedaty page. 

In this case, the user is asked to upload proof of purchase (e.g., receipt, invoice, order confirmation email, etc.) showing the purchase details, which Feedaty’s moderation team checks to demonstrate the actual authenticity of the experience. 

Manual Measures 

Feedaty implements further levels of verification through some manual measures. 

Moderation 

Thanks to automated systems and manual control activities, the Moderation team checks that reviews comply with our Publication Policies

Reviews that do not comply with the Publication Policies (including those that, following further checks, are found not to come from a Verified Buyer) are removed. 

To verify the authenticity and legitimacy of the review, all reviews are associated with an email address that serves as a reference for further checks if necessary. 

Further Checks 

To prevent cases of fake reviews or breaches of transparency principles in review collection, Feedaty carries out additional checks using anti-fraud systems based on reports from end users, companies, and internal monitoring systems. 

If reports arise indicating doubts about the truthfulness of reviews, the Moderation team carries out further in-depth verification actions with the aim, if necessary, of removing untruthful reviews. 

Calculation of Average Score 

The Company’s overall score is calculated based on the average of the reviews collected in the last 12 months. Reviews come only from real buyers and are displayed if they comply with our Publication Policies

The score is not influenced by the type of paid plan activated by the Company. 

The trend of the score over time, or for shorter periods, allows further assessment of the Company’s level of reliability. 

Mediation 

When a non positive review (1, 2 or 3 stars) is submitted, Feedaty initiates a mediation period of 7 days, during which the review remains pending and is temporarily not visible in the list of reviews. 

This period allows the Company to respond promptly with customer care, demonstrating attention and openness to dialogue with the customer. 

The number of reviews in mediation is always kept up-to-date and visible on the Company Page. 

For non-positive reviews, the Company can send a request to the end user to amend or delete the review, and may also post a reply to the review, which will appear below the original feedback. 

For more information: https://www.feedaty.com/blog/moderazione-e-mediazione-delle-recensioni-come-feedaty-tutela-brand-e-consumatori/ 

Other Types of Reviews 

In addition to “Verified Buyer” reviews, in some cases other types of reviews may be visible on the Company’s Feedaty page, typically imported from other external platforms, which are clearly distinguishable because they: 

  • Do not display the “Verified Buyer” label 
  • Provide details regarding the external source of the review 
  • Are not included in the calculation of the average rating 

Reporting Reviews by Companies and Users 

Companies using Feedaty’s services can report reviews if they believe they violate our Publication Policies

Each review can be reported by the Company only once. The report is assessed by the Moderation team and can result in two possible outcomes: 

  • Report closed and review remains published 
  • Report closed and review removed 

If the report leads to the removal of the review, Feedaty sends a motivated notification by email to the User who, if necessary, can provide more information to allow the Moderation team to reassess the case. 

Reporting by Users 

Users, via the Company Page, can submit a report if they believe that a Company’s reviews are not genuine. 

All reports are handled by Feedaty’s Moderation team. 

Company Pages in “Verification” Mode 

If, following Feedaty’s checks, elements emerge that may cast doubt on the genuineness of a Company’s reviews, the Company Page is set to “Verification” mode, which displays a temporarily hidden average rating and the notice “Feedaty is conducting checks on the reviews collected from this company”. 

Below is how the Certificate Page appears to users in verification mode: