What “verified” means here
A badge is only worth something if it is hard to get and honest about its limits. This page is both halves of that.
- Verification
- Free
The problem a directory has
Most listings in most directories are shops somebody found and added. Nobody checked whether the business exists, whether the person answering owns it, or whether the address is real. A reader cannot tell those listings apart from the checked ones, so the checked ones are worth nothing.
Three levels, and every listing says which it is
- Not verified yet
Listed, but nobody has claimed it or checked anything. This is how a shop starts if we added it.
- Owner signed up
You have claimed the listing, so it is yours to edit. Your documents have not been read yet.
- Verified business
You sent documents and somebody here read them. This is the badge a customer is looking for.
What verification involves
A shop owner claims their listing, then sends identity and business documents. Somebody here reads them against the listing. If they match, the listing is marked verified. If they do not, it is not, and we say why.
- Proof of identity for the person claiming the shop
- Proof that the business exists and that they are connected to it
- A check that the documents match the listing’s name and address
- A person reading them, not an automatic match
What the badge does NOT mean
This is the half most badges leave out, and leaving it out is what makes a badge worthless. Verified means we checked who they are. It does not mean any of the following.
- That the work will be good. We have not seen their work.
- That the price will be fair. We are not in that conversation and never see it.
- That we recommend them. We do not rank by anything we were paid.
- That they are insured or licensed for a particular job. Ask them, and ask to see it.
It is free, and that is deliberate
Verification costs nothing and cannot be bought. A badge somebody paid for is an advertisement, and a reader who works that out stops believing every badge on the site, including the ones that were earned.
Get your shop verified
Claim your listing, send your documents, and a person here will read them.