Complaints Procedure
Checkapayer Limited (Company No: 14524341) (Checkapayer, we, us, our) is committed to ensuring the Checkapayer Services are provided in a transparent and fair manner. Our aim is to provide useful and informative information to users of the Checkapayer Services (Users).
The nature of the Checkapayer Services allows Users to post and obtain information about businesses they have or may wish to deal with (based on other Users’ experiences with the same) from the Reviews and other information accessible as part of the Checkapayer Services, in respect of such businesses. Reviews can be posted by a User on an anonymous or named basis (which identifies the individual making the post or statement).
Whilst we have introduced measures which check that Reviews are true, authentic, and genuinely reflect the User’s experience in working with the relevant business the statement relates to, as Reviews are generated by Users based on their opinions, we cannot guarantee that Reviews will not cause other Users harm or distress. We also understand there may be situations where a User may believe that a Review is defamatory in nature and is likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of that User and/or that User’s business and such User may therefore wish to have such a Review removed from the Checkapayer Services.
The information below explains how to raise a query or complaint, how to request the removal of a Review, and how we will deal with queries, complaints, and Review removal requests.
1. General Queries
How do I raise a general query or issue with a Review or information?
Raising a Query – To raise a general query or issue in relation to a Review, or any other information accessed as part of the Checkapayer Services (Query), please email to complaints@checkapayer.com.
What happens next?
Where we receive a Query, we will:
- acknowledge receipt of the Query within 5 Working Days (being any day that the Banks in the City of London are open for business) of receiving it;
- investigate the concerns identified in the Query;
- let the complainant know if we require any further information from them to assist with our investigation; and
- once we have carried out a full investigation, inform the complainant of what (if any) action we are going to take in relation to the Query.
Please note that where a Query is raised but we are not asked to remove the Review or information that the Query relates to, we may still take all or any of the following steps:
- remove the Review or information from the Checkapayer Services;
- ask the author of the Review or information set out in the Query to check the relevant Review or information, and rectify any errors, mistakes or inaccuracies in the Review or information;
- carry out any action we deem reasonable in the circumstances; or
- take no action.
How can I get a Review removed from the Checkapayer Services?
To have a Review removed from the Checkapayer Services, Users can either contact the author of the Review (Author) and ask them to remove the Review (where the Author’s details have been provided as part of the Review) or raise a formal complaint with us about the Review (a Complaint).
When can a Complaint be made?
Users can make a Complaint where:
- the User believes the Review is defamatory in nature and likely to cause serious harm to the reputation of the User or their business;
- the Review was published and made available in the Checkapayer Services, within the last 12-months of the date of the Complaint (i.e., not longer than 1 year ago); and
- the Review has been made on an anonymous basis or the User does not have sufficient information to contact the Author.
The Complaint must be made in accordance with our Complaints Procedure set out below.
2. Complaints Procedure
Please note, the procedure set out below is in accordance with the relevant UK laws and regulations (being The Defamation Act 2013 and The Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013).
Step 1 – Notify us – the User wishing to make a Complaint (Complainant) must send us written notice of the complaint, by email to complaints@checkapayer.com. Such email must contain the information set out below (Notice).
Step 2 – Ensure the Notice contains the following information – The Notice must contain all the following information:
- Complainant’s name and an e-mail address which we will use to contact the Complainant about the Complaint;
- where in the Checkapayer Services the Review was posted;
- what the Review says, and why it is defamatory to the Complainant;
- what meaning the Complainant attributes to the Review;
- the aspects of the Review the Complainant believes are factually inaccurate or opinions not supported by fact;
- confirmation that the Complainant does not have sufficient information about the Author of the Review to bring proceedings against them; and
- confirmation of whether the Complainant consents to their name and/or email address being provided to the Author.
Please note, it is the Complainant’s responsibility to ensure that the Notice contains all the information set out above, and we reserve the right to reject Notices where they do not contain all the required information.
Where we reject the Notice, we will email the Complainant to confirm the reasons why it has been rejected (e.g. if certain key information is missing) within 48 hours of receiving such Notice. Please note that any hours falling on any day that is not a Working Day (e.g. a Saturday, Sunday or other public holiday) do not count towards this 48 hour period.
Where we accept the Notice, we will inform the Complainant in writing within 48 hours of receiving the Complaint that we have received their Complaint and that we have notified the Author of the Complaint. Please note that any hours falling on any day that is not a Working Day (e.g. a Saturday, Sunday or other public holiday) do not count towards this 48 hour period.
Step 3 – Contacting the Author – Where we have received a valid Notice, we will take steps to contact the Author.
Where we are able to contact the Author, we will provide them with the following information:
- a copy of the Notice (where the Complainant has asked that we do not disclose their information to the Author, such information will be removed from the Notice);
- notification that the Review may be removed from the Checkapayer Services, if we do not receive a Response in writing by midnight on the 5th day after the day the Notice was sent by the Complainant to us (Response Period). We will confirm the exact date that the Response Period expires in our communication to the Author;
Where we are unable to contact the Author, we will remove the Review and inform the Complainant that the Review has been removed.
Step 4 – What to do if you are the Author and you receive a notification of Complaint.
Where you are the Author and we have contacted you about Complaint we have received regarding a Review you have posted in the Checkapayer Services, you are required to provide us with a written electronic response which covers the following information:
- if you will remove the Review or whether you would like us to remove the Review;
- if you do not want the Review to be removed, you must provide your full name and details of the postal address at which you reside or carry on your business; and
- whether or not you consent to us providing your contact details to the Complainant.
Step 5 – What action we will take if the Author does not agree to use sending their details to the Complainant Please note that we are unable to disclose the Author’s details where the Author does not provide their consent, and would only be able to provide these if we are ordered to do so by a court order. If the Author does not agree that we can send their contact details to the Complainant, we will not share the Author’s details with the Complainant. The Complainant and the Author each acknowledge that in such circumstances we will only release the Author’s details to the Complainant where we are ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction.
3. Possible Outcomes
Set out below are the 5 main situations which can arise after we contact the Author along with a summary of the action we will take in such circumstances.
3.1. The Author fails to reply within the Response Period
Where the Author fails to reply within the Response Period, we will remove the Review from the Checkapayer Services and inform the Author [and Complainant] that the Review has been removed. We will take this action within 48 hours of the end of the Response Period.
Please note that if we are unable to remove the Review because the Review has already been removed from the Checkapayer Services, we will be deemed to have complied with our requirements to remove the same.
If the Review has been amended by the Author and not removed, we will remove the amended Review.
3.2. The Author replies within the Response Period, confirming the Review can be removed
In such circumstances, we will remove the Review from the Checkapayer Services and notify the Complainant of its removal within 48 hours of receiving the reply from the Author.
Please note that if we are unable to remove the Review because the Review has already been removed from the Checkapayer Services, we will be deemed to have complied with our requirements to remove the same.
If the Review has been amended by the Author and not removed, we will remove the amended Review.
3.3. The Author replies within the Response Period but fails to provide the required information
In such circumstances, we will remove the Review from the Checkapayer Services and notify the Complainant of its removal within 48 hours of receiving the reply from the Author.
Please note that if we are unable to remove the Review because the Review has already been removed from the Checkapayer Services, we will be deemed to have complied with our requirements to remove the same.
If the Review has been amended by the Author and not removed, we will remove the amended Review.
3.4. The Author replies within the Response Period indicating that they do not want the Review to be removed and consent to us sending their contact details to the Complainant
In such circumstances, we will inform the Complainant in writing within 48 hours of receiving the Author’s response:
- that the Author does not want the Review to be removed;
- that we have not removed the review from the Checkapayer Services, and
provide the Complainant with the Author’s contact details so that the Complainant can engage with the Author directly to resolve the matter.
We may (at our discretion) continue to assist the parties in resolving the dispute.
3.5. The Author replies within the Response Period confirming that the Review is not to be removed and that they refuse to permit us to provide their contact details to the Complainant
In such circumstances, we will inform the Complainant in writing within 48 hours of receiving the Author’s response and confirm that:
- the Author does not want the Review to be removed;
- we have not removed the review from the Checkapayer Services;
- the Author does not consent to the release of their contact details.
If you are the Complainant and wish to take this matter further, then you will need to obtain a court order for the disclosure of the Author’s contact details. If you are successful in obtaining a court order, please forward the same to us. It is entirely the Complainant’s decision as to whether they wish to take further action in such circumstances and Author acknowledges that where a court order has been obtained, we are obliged to comply with the terms of the same which may include disclosing the Author’s contract details and personal information.
4. Reposting of Reviews
Where a Review has been the subject of a Complaint and removed following a Notice, please do not repost the Review or any information that is substantially the same as that in the original Review.
What if a Review or similar information is reposted following a Complaint?
Where we receive a Complaint about a Review, having previously removed an identical or similar Review from the same Author (or where we believe the Reviews are from the same Author) in accordance with our Complaints Procedure, we will provide the Author with a further opportunity to remove the Review (in accordance with our Complaints Procedure). This is intended to cover circumstances where for example the Author may not have been aware of the original Complaint and the reasons why the review has been removed.
However, if we believe the Author is uploading Reviews that have been the subject of our Complaints Procedure, then we will remove such subsequent Reviews that the Author posts within the Checkapayer Services within 48 hours of receipt of a valid Notice in respect of such further Reviews.
If you are the Complainant – you must notify us of the previous Reviews you have complained of.