Standards for honest, professional, and legally compliant client reviews.
Only review clients you have had a genuine, firsthand professional relationship with. State facts, not rumors. If a client paid late, say "Payment was received 45 days past the agreed terms." Do not exaggerate, speculate, or state assumptions as facts. If you are expressing an opinion, make it clear that it is your opinion.
Vague reviews help no one. Instead of "This client was terrible," explain what happened: the scope of the project, what went wrong, and how it affected your business. Include relevant details like project type, approximate timeline, and specific behaviors. The more specific your review, the more valuable it is to the community.
Write your review as you would a professional reference — clear, measured, and factual. Avoid profanity, personal attacks, name-calling, or emotionally charged language. Focus on the professional relationship and business conduct, not personal characteristics. Reviews containing threats, harassment, or discriminatory language will be removed immediately.
Defamation includes making false statements of fact that damage someone's reputation. To protect yourself and the community, follow these principles: (a) state only what you personally witnessed or experienced; (b) distinguish clearly between facts and opinions; (c) do not accuse anyone of crimes unless there is a documented legal outcome; (d) do not make claims about a client's financial status, mental health, or personal life. Our AI moderation system screens every review for potential defamation, but you are ultimately responsible for the accuracy of your statements.
Submit one review per client per distinct professional engagement. Do not submit multiple reviews for the same project or engagement to inflate or manipulate a client's rating. If your experience with a long-term client changes significantly over time, you may submit a new review reflecting the more recent experience.
Do not review yourself, your own business, your employees, or your competitors' clients for the purpose of manipulation. Do not offer or accept payment in exchange for reviews. Do not coordinate with others to submit reviews targeting a specific client. Reviews must reflect genuine, independent professional experiences.
Clients have the right to dispute reviews they believe are inaccurate or unfair. If a client disputes your review, PuntList may contact you for additional information or evidence. Cooperate in good faith with the dispute process. Retaliatory reviews in response to disputes are prohibited and will result in account suspension.
Reviews will be removed if they contain: (a) demonstrably false statements of fact; (b) defamatory, libelous, or slanderous content; (c) threats, harassment, or hate speech; (d) personal information such as home addresses, phone numbers, or Social Security numbers; (e) content unrelated to a professional relationship; (f) spam, advertising, or promotional material; (g) content generated by AI or automated tools rather than genuine human experience.
Each review includes five rating categories on a 1–5 scale. Rate each category based on your actual experience:
Payment: Did the client pay on time and in full per your agreement?
Communication: Was the client responsive, clear, and professional in communications?
Expectations: Were the client's expectations reasonable and clearly communicated?
Respect: Did the client treat you and your team with professional respect?
Scope Changes: Did the client stick to the agreed scope, or were there excessive changes and additions?
Before submitting your review, use our AI Review Checker tool. It analyzes your review for potential legal issues and suggests improvements. The checker flags language that could be considered defamatory and offers alternative phrasing that conveys your experience while reducing legal risk. Using the checker is optional but strongly recommended.
Violations of these guidelines may result in: (a) review removal; (b) a warning on your account; (c) temporary suspension of review privileges; (d) permanent account termination for repeat or severe violations. PuntList reserves the right to take action at its sole discretion.
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