Community Guidelines

GarageSeeker exists to help people find trustworthy auto repair shops and to empower users and Shop Owners to share honest, useful experiences. To keep the community safe, fair, and helpful, all users—including Shop Owners—must follow these Community Guidelines. Violations may result in content removal, account suspension, or permanent bans.

1. Be Honest and Authentic
   Reviews must be based on a genuine interaction with the shop.

   Not allowed: fake reviews, paid/incentivized reviews, reviews written for someone else, reviews of competitors you’re affiliated with, or reviews to boost your own shop (Shop Owners).
2. Keep It Respectful
   Strong opinions are welcome; hate, harassment, and threats are not.

   Prohibited: hate speech, slurs, discriminatory language, personal attacks, harassment, targeted profanity, threats, bullying of shops/users/staff.
3. No Harmful or Illegal Content
   Prohibited: defamation, knowingly false statements, copyrighted material you do not own, photos of people without consent, illegal activity, sexual/adult content, weapons/drugs (unless legal/reporting context).
4. Keep Photos Relevant and Appropriate
   Allowed: shop exterior/interior; vehicles/repairs (avoid license plates when possible); waiting room/service area; receipts with personal info removed.

   Not allowed: irrelevant images; faces without consent; graphic injuries; violent/disturbing content; sexual content; images from restricted areas. We may crop/blur/remove violating images.
5. No Conflicts of Interest
   Do not review a shop you own/work for, a family-owned shop, or a competitor to harm reputation; no paid/bribed reviews.

   Shop Owners must not request or pressure for positive reviews or post fake positive/negative reviews.
6. Shop Owner Responsibilities
   May update info, upload photos, respond professionally, and report violations.

   Not allowed: retaliation, intimidation, bribing for reviews, fake positives for own shop, fake negatives for competitors, misrepresenting services/credentials. Misuse may revoke Shop Owner status.
7. Don't Spam or Manipulate the Platform
   Prohibited: repeat posts, bots/automation, keyword stuffing, commercial ads, malware links, multi-account manipulation.
8. Respect Privacy
   No posting others’ personal info (addresses, phones, emails, IDs, license plates when avoidable, financial info, faces without consent). We may remove/blur identifying content.
9. Reporting Problems
   Report fake reviews, fraudulent claims, incorrect info, inappropriate content, safety concerns, copyright issues.

   Include the review, the rule you believe it violates, and any evidence you can lawfully share. A report starts a review; it does not guarantee removal.
10. Keep Shop Information Accurate
    No false/misleading details, no impersonation, only claim shops you own/manage, notify us of changes/errors. We may modify or remove pages.

    Certification, licence, warranty, guarantee, savings, durability, effectiveness, and other performance claims must be current, specific, and supported before they are published. Do not make broad claims from anecdotal experience, unrelated evidence, or tests that do not support the overall impression of the claim.

    GarageSeeker may request documentation and may label, correct, or unpublish unsupported claims. Shop Owner status confirms authority to manage the listing only; it is not an endorsement and does not verify quality, licensing, certification, performance, or workmanship.
11. Shop Listing Moderation Criteria
    We assess the specific reported statement, the overall impression of the listing, public business records, evidence supplied by the shop or reporter, and whether a certification, licence, or performance claim was supported before publication.

    A report may be closed with no violation or the listing may be unpublished while preserving the report, listing snapshot, evidence note, moderator, decision time, and any appeal outcome. A report alone is not proof of a violation.
12. Review Moderation Criteria
    We assess the reported content, report details, relevant account and activity patterns, disclosed relationships, and supporting information. We may ask the reviewer, reporter, or shop for more information.

    We may remove a review when the available information reasonably supports a guideline violation, including a fabricated experience, undisclosed conflict of interest, paid or incentivized content, coordinated manipulation, spam, harassment, threats, hate, exposed personal information, or illegal or harmful content.

    We do not remove a genuine negative review merely because a business disputes it, dislikes its rating, cannot match the username to a customer record, or disagrees with the reviewer's opinion. Critical language, a low rating, or the absence of a receipt is not by itself proof that a review is fake.

    When the evidence does not establish a violation, the review remains published.
13. Decision Records and Repeat-Offender Enforcement
    GarageSeeker records reports about reviews and shops, a snapshot of the reported content, the outcome, rule applied, moderator note and time, action taken, and any later appeal decision. These records support consistent enforcement and dispute review.

    A first confirmed review violation results in a formal warning.

    A second confirmed violation results in a 7-day suspension from posting ratings or reviews.

    A third confirmed violation results in a 30-day suspension. A fourth or later violation results in a 90-day suspension.

    Severe or coordinated abuse may also lead to content removal, a longer restriction, loss of Shop Owner privileges, or account disablement after manual review. Reports that are rejected do not count as violations.
14. Appeals
    To appeal a review-removal decision, contact support through the Message Center or email [email protected]. Include your username, the shop, the approximate review date, why the decision was incorrect, and any supporting evidence you may lawfully provide.

    To appeal a shop-unpublishing decision, use the same support channels and include the moderation reference, the specific disputed listing statement, and current evidence supporting the claim. If the appeal succeeds, the prior listing visibility is restored unless the shop was separately removed or restricted for another reason.

    We will review relevant new information and may use another moderator where practicable. If an appeal succeeds, the violation and restriction caused by that decision are removed, and the archived review plus any available archived rating and attachments are republished. If the shop or reviewer account no longer exists, republication may not be possible. If the reviewer has already posted a newer review, that review is left unchanged. Appeal timing and reversal are not guaranteed.
15. Updates to Community Guidelines
    Guidelines may change; effective when posted; continued use means acceptance.
16. Contact Us
    Legal name: GarageSeeker Inc.

    Operating name: GarageSeeker

    Jurisdiction: Ontario, Canada

    Business mailing address:
    1435 Celebration Dr #1010
    Pickering, ON L1W 0C4
    Canada

    Support: [email protected]

    Designated privacy contact: GarageSeeker Privacy Team, [email protected]