1. Start here

This is the short, friendly version of how to write a review on Ratecrest. It is not a contract. The full rules sit in the Review Policy. The point of this page is simpler: to help you write a review that is honest, useful to other Nigerians, and welcome on the platform.

You do not need to be a great writer. Most of the best reviews on Ratecrest are short, plain, and specific. Tell people what happened.

2. What makes a good review

A useful review tells a reader two things: what your experience was actually like, and whether you would do it again. Everything else is a bonus.

2.1 Be specific

"Great service" is not very useful. "I ordered jollof rice at 7pm on a Friday, it arrived in 35 minutes, hot, with extra fried plantain I had asked for" is. Specific details help readers picture your experience and decide whether it matches what they want.

2.2 Cover the basics

You do not need to cover everything. The most useful reviews usually answer one or two of these.

• What did you buy or use?
• How did it go?
• What stood out, good or bad?
• Was the price what you expected?
• Would you go back? Why or why not?

2.3 Match the rating to the words

If you rate 1 star, the review should explain something serious. If you rate 5 stars, the review should match that energy. A 5-star rating with a review that only complains feels off, and readers will notice.

2.4 Photos help

One photo of what you actually received, the receipt, the storefront, or the meal in front of you adds a lot of credibility. Photos pulled from somewhere else, or photos that do not match your story, hurt your review's credibility.

3. Opinions are protected. Facts should be true.

You can share your opinion freely. "I did not enjoy this restaurant" is an opinion. So is "I will not be returning" and "I thought the staff were rude". Nobody can have an opinion removed because they disagree with it.

Facts are different. If you say "they charged me ₦25,000 for a service that costs ₦5,000", that is a factual claim. It should be true to the best of your knowledge. If a business disputes a factual claim, we may ask you for support, like a receipt or a screenshot. You do not need to provide proof to post a review, but if a specific claim is challenged, evidence helps.

4. Who can write a review

The short version:

• You must be at least 18.
• You must have actually used the business. Not heard about it from a friend, not seen its ad, but used it.
• You cannot review a business you work for, own, are related to, or have a close relationship with.
• You cannot review your own competitor.
• You cannot be paid, given a discount, or otherwise rewarded for the review.

The full rules sit in the Review Policy.

5. What not to include

Some things will get a review removed, no matter how strongly you feel.

• Threats of violence against the business, staff, or anyone else.
• Insults aimed at someone's tribe, religion, nationality, gender, or disability.
• Names of staff alongside their home addresses, phone numbers, or photographs taken without consent.
• Other people's identity numbers, including BVN, NIN, or bank details.
• Sexual content or sexual harassment of staff.
• Anything illegal under Nigerian law.
• Promotion of an unrelated business, including links and contact details.
• Reviews you were paid for or that you copied from elsewhere.

Strong feeling is fine. Strong words are fine if they reflect what really happened. Abuse, slurs, threats, and personal data of uninvolved people are not.

6. If things went seriously wrong

Sometimes a transaction goes beyond "bad service". You might have lost money to fraud, been threatened, or had your personal data mishandled. A review is the right tool to warn other Nigerians. It is not always the right tool to get your money back or your problem solved.

• For fraud, also report to the business's bank, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), or the Nigerian police as appropriate.
• For broken consumer rights, the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (FCCPC) handles complaints. The FCCPA rights guide explains what is covered.
• For privacy misuse, the Nigeria Data Protection Commission handles complaints.

Your review on Ratecrest can sit alongside any of these complaints. It does not replace them.

7. Updating your review

You can edit your review at any time from your account. If the business reached out and fixed the problem, you can update both the words and the star rating. If things got worse after you posted, you can update for that too.

You can also delete your own review if you change your mind. Repeatedly deleting and re-posting similar reviews about the same business is a fraud pattern, so our systems may flag the repost.

8. When a business replies

Business owners can reply to any review on their profile. A good reply addresses your specific points, takes responsibility where they should, and explains what they will do about it. You will see the reply appear directly under your review.

If a reply is rude, threatens you, or shares your personal information, flag it. Replies are bound by the same rules as reviews.

9. About using your real name

Ratecrest does not require you to post under your full real name. Your display name is the name that appears on the review. Many reviewers use a first name and a last initial. Some are verified through Nigerian ID and carry a badge that tells readers the person is real, even if the display name is short.

Whatever name you choose, it should not be the name of someone else, the name of a business, or an obviously fake handle designed to mislead.

10. What happens if we remove your review

If we remove a review you wrote, we tell you and explain which rule it breached. You can appeal once, and a different member of our team will look at the appeal. The full process sits in the Content Moderation Policy.

Most removals are not personal. They are usually about a specific phrase, a missing detail, or an unverifiable factual claim. Reading the reason carefully usually shows what to change if you want to post again.

11. Questions

The contact form is the right way to reach us about anything in this guide. Write "Reviewer guidelines" in the subject so the right team picks it up.