How we rate

Each trade we rate has its own checks, because the registers and the things worth checking differ: a buyers agent needs a real estate licence, a mortgage broker needs a credit licence. Every method follows the same rules.

Methods by trade

• Buyers agents (method v1.0)

The same rules for every trade

• Public sources only. Every fact comes from a firm's Google profile, its own website or a public register, with the date we checked it.
• Unpublished means unconfirmed. A check we can't confirm from a public source scores zero and shows as "not confirmed". We don't accept private claims.
• Nothing commercial is an input. Sponsored listings and paid profile extras are kept in a separate record the scoring code never reads. Sponsored listings are labelled and sit outside the ranking.
• Published eligibility. Each method states who gets ranked. Firms that don't qualify still get a profile and a score, with the reason shown.

Keeping it honest

• We re-score every firm at least monthly from a dated snapshot, and keep the inputs.
• We watch for review patterns that look unnatural, such as sudden bursts. A flagged firm is held for a manual check and marked "Review pattern under check". It isn't penalised automatically.
• Changes to a method are versioned, announced 30 days before they apply, and apply to every firm in that trade at once.

What a score can't tell you

A score measures what can be checked in public. It can't tell you how a particular person will handle your purchase or your loan. Use it to build a shortlist, then talk to two or three firms and get their fees in writing.