HomeStars – News and Updates

Wow.
I have to say that I am impressed that Homestars has taken such bold steps to stop review fraud on the site.
I think it will be interesting to see how this affects the site, use of the site, and homeowner responses specifically.
It seems drastic, but hopefully these measures will seriously deter people from this practice.

Good call guys,

Sarah Taylor
Lakeshore Home Maintenance

I don’t agree with the original post which criticizes a company being able to be viewed forever. On another site like this we had a disgruntled employee who knew our company well and kept posting bad comments about our reputable company. The people who ran that particular site refused to remove the review saying it was freedom of speech. Since we had no way to verify who was writing these reviews ( they claimed they did not know where they came from either) we had no control over how our company was being harassed. We posted a review asking the person to identify themselves so that we could correct any issues they may have had with our company. We have since chosen not to be part of most web sites who will not remove malicious reviews when requested.

I think its great that Homestars is going to such lengths to validate reviews. This will most definitely add value to each review and further credibility to the site.

Raffy

Elite Designed Concrete Inc.

I also think this is a great move. I sometimes wonder whether some reviews are legitimate on other company’s profiles. I’m just not sure how you can validate a review only by email though; are you also going to be calling them? Someone can set up a fake email address and respond to an email attempting to confirm it, but perhaps a phone call is a better way?

Peter Solti
Green Apple Landscaping

I couldn’t agree more with Peter – a phone call is the only fool proof way to confirm if a review is legitimate and not a fake email account. Well, using Skype would be better, but not efficient I guess…I question a company who consistently receives 10 star reviews – that should be a red flag for Homestars.

Hi Gordon,

It was decided that the notice will go up for two weeks but if the same
fraudulent activity continues then the time will be extended. The point of
this feature is to rectify inappropriate behaviour so we want to provide
companies with the opportunity to do so.

thanks for your comment!

^zs
community manager
@HomeStars on Twitter

Hi Thoroughly, thanks for posting. We had to remove the post from Mitch O for the time being because the situation was being taken to court. It is our policy to remove reviews when a situation between a contractor and a homeowner is in litigation. Once the matter is resolved, so long as the court allows, we will re-publish the review. The post has been down for a few weeks now so I have emailed the author to see how things went/are going, to see if it is ok to publish this review again.

After giving your situation further thought I should mention that The Ministry Of Consumer relations should also be contacted and a formal complaint lodged, they can be very helpful and fair. In the future I would also suggest that any consumer considering having work done on their residence or commercial property obtain a physical photo copy of the chosen contractor’s liability insurance and call the insurer to have your address pasted on the proof of insurance. By doing this you will validate whether or not the contractor is actually insured for the work to be done. Too many times I have seen poor workmanship resulting in interior damage to the property. The company that performed the work is out of business or was paid cash resulting in the client being denied coverage due to “there is no coverage for faulty workmanship leaving the property owner in shock. However if the property owner provides a copy of the copy they cleverly kept in a file jacket with a copy of the contract that states the warranty terms, it will now save them because the contractor was insured at the time the project was done. This little tip could save the property owner $$$ thousands of dollars. Due dillegence was performed. Another tip is to ensure that all licenses are up to date and the trade being performed is actually being done by the license holder, for example; electricians, plumbers and chimney repair persons. Recently I was misled by my previous chimney repair company, The license holder would send workers to do the work when in fact he himself (the license holder) was the only person allowed to repair the chimney or employees that hold the same chimney repair license. This company if caught by enforcement would face fines between $25,000.00 to $50,000.00. This does not include the risk the client’s would face ( fire, carbon monoxide poisoning). Believe no one, demand proof,do not learn the hard way.
In conclusion I will add that under no circumstance should a property owner having their roof replaced that leaks during or after the roof is complete consider contacting their insurance company to repair the damage as this should fall under the roofer’s policy. If a warranty is for 10 years and a leak occurs due to poor workmanship then it is their responsibility to repair the damage. By making a claim (if your covered) you will lose your “no claims discount” and have to absorb the deductible. This is unfair for the property owner as I would assume “peace of mind” was a factor in choosing the roofing contractor.
Truly, Gordon T. Bailey of Academia Roofing And Renovations B-10467

Hi Guest,

It’s helpful if you identify yourself in the comments so we know who we are talking to, just like you suggest above.

We do allow homeowners to submit reviews anonymously, because some homeowners don’t want to be identified. But the company is free to ask us to cross check the reviews. With thousands of submitted reviews each month and a small, start-up staff of course we can’t cross check every invoice with every homeowners.

In the future we’ll introduce more messaging features so both companies and homeowners can communicate and hopefully be able to verify the reviews one-on-one, which keeping the required anonymity – which is important to our privacy policy.

We really thank you for your feedback and we’ll keep these thoughts in mind.

Brian Sharwood

President,

HomeStars.com

why does Homestars remove customer comments about the work performed when the client takes the Company to small claims court ? as i think people using this site should know when someone is that unhappy ,that they have gone so far as to start legal action against thier contractor >>

Colleen removes everything that might point out a bad contractor

Bluebird. Do you mean respond as a company? or respond and talk to other homeowners on the site?

Approve.

I recently posted a critical review of a service, but the company I criticized flagged my review, and Homestars contacted me for verification info. I subsequently contacted the company by filling out a form on their site, including a copy of the letter I was sending Homestars.

One of the management team phoned me within minutes, and was very angry. He said that a review like mine was taking the food out of the mouths of their employees, that a review like that was costing them thousands of dollars. That I shouldn’t have relied on their employees letting management know what had happened (so that they could make amends), that it was up to me to call them.

He did not disagree with what had happened (one of their ladders had fallen on our railing and eavestrough, damaging both).  He was very upset that I had posted the negative review, and should have let them have a chance to make amends first.

By the end of the phonecall, I felt terrible. He was right — I should have contacted the company first before posting a negative review. I have requested that Homestars remove my review.

But the incident did get me wondering about how many other times people have posted a negative review and ended up removing it after being contacted by the company.

I still appreciate Homestars as a valuable resource for home service reviews, but I do admit that I’m going to be a wee bit more cynical. I know that in my case, I’m far less likely to post any negative reviews, but only post when I like a company’s services.

I’m also going to be much more hesitant about identifying myself. Of course this will have the effect of making my reviews less trustworthy, but there’s doesn’t seem to be an easy solution.

Debbie