Transparency Test

We check to see if the business provides clear and transparent information about ownership, location, contact details and the legal entity behind the business.
In some countries such as the UK, trading businesses are obliged to provide such information on their websites in order to be legally compliant. But in our view, any business that wishes to foster trust should provide such information regardless of where they are based. Many rogue businesses do everything they can to hide or obscure such details. If there are details, we will also check with official records to determine if the information provided is accurate.

 

Official Evidence

Instances where an official government authority has arrested, charged or convicted persons acting in an executive role in a business – or action has been taken by such authorities against the business which has resulted in closures, sanctions and fines.

Note – we do not include civil actions, such as contractual issues and similar disputes as these are too commonplace in the commercial / corporate world, with many well known, established businesses often involved in such actions. In terms of criminal actions, we also do not include cases where they are at an investigation stage, since it is possible to abuse the systems with the use of unproven allegations which none the less have to be investigated. This includes, for example cases where a ‘criminal report number / reference’ has been issued, but no arrests have been made or charges brought.

Verification Contact

We may contact or attempt to contact businesses featured on this website – requesting that they review the information (or lack of information) we have and asking for a response / clarification. In some cases, this may lead to amendments to the information on this site.

Other

We may also provide further information that has been checked and verified, such as connections to other businesses, trading names and websites.

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