How we check, order and review

A provider is Verified only when a person finds all four parts met. A strong part cannot make up for a weak one. The parts, and the evidence asked for, are on Requirements.

1. The provider applies: official business details, the people behind it, links to real work and one client reference.
2. Automated checks prepare a report for the reviewer, with a reason for every flag: the website loads and names the business, how old the domain is, the contact email matches the business, evidence links work, the client reference is complete, no duplicate accounts. The report never approves or rejects anyone.
3. A reviewer reads the report and the evidence, contacts the reference (or records why an approval goes ahead without one) and records met or not met for each part, with a line on how we know.
4. The record goes public when all four parts are met. It lasts 12 months, shows a dated history and can be withdrawn.

Re-evaluation is due 30 days before a record ends; if it lapses, the record and the badge say so at once. What a provider shares stays private to our reviewers. Renewal and statuses: How verification works.

The directory, category, city and top-list pages all use the same order. Verified providers are listed first. Verification comes with the paid Pro plan and a person decides it: the fee pays for the review, never the result, and is refunded if we don’t approve. Sponsored places are always marked "Sponsored". Nothing else about the order can be paid for.

The Pro plan is $20 a year for one person, $249 for a team of up to 5 people or $449 for 6 or more. From the top:

Matches your search (first)

When you search, profiles that match more of your words come first.

A current verification (next)

Providers with a valid Few Found verification come before those without. A person decides it; the Pro fee is refunded if we don’t approve.

Each endorsement (3 points)

Only possible after both members confirm they worked together.

Stars on a rated review (+2 to −2)

A 5-star review adds 2 to its endorsement, a 1-star review takes 2 away.

Each member worked with (2 points)

A collaboration or brief the other member accepted.

A complete profile (up to 5)

One each for a description, website, picture, services and location.

Each portfolio project (1 point, up to 3)

Projects the provider added to their profile.

Name (last)

Ties are broken alphabetically.

A sponsored place (above the list)

At most 3 on a category, city or search page, each marked "Sponsored", and never on a Top 10 list. It changes nothing else in this order and no badge. See Sponsored places.

In the directory you can also sort by newest or by name, and show only verified providers or providers with a track record.

• A review is only possible after both members confirm they worked together, through an accepted collaboration or brief.
• Each review says what the project was and can rate it overall, for quality of work, on time and communication, with the results and whether the reviewer would recommend them.
• A provider cannot hide a rated review about itself. If it thinks a review breaks the rules, it reports it and a person decides.
• Reviews are screened for spam and abuse like every other public text, and Few Found may contact the reviewer to confirm it.
• After every review we look for loops of members reviewing each other, the same business on both sides, and quick mutual five-star swaps. A review that looks like part of a ring stays visible but stops counting in ranking until a person clears it.
• Providers never choose who reviews them, and nobody is paid to write one.

Top 10 verified

Only providers with a current verification, in the order above. With fewer than 3 to compare, the page says why and stays out of search results. Never sold.

The Rising Lane

One separate seat for a newcomer: not verified yet, joined in the last 90 days, profile at least 3 of 5 complete. It moves to the next newcomer every day in name order. It is not a ranking and is never sold.

"Answered X of Y" on a profile

How many quote requests the provider replied to, and how fast. It appears once they have had 3 requests.

Messages, comments, posts, briefs, reviews and applications are checked by fixed rules before anyone else sees them. Ordinary business talk always goes through. The rules look for:

• Insults, slurs and threats.
• Asking for money to apply or join.
• Link dumping and hidden links.
• The same message to many members.
• Several members reporting the same account.

Refused content gets a reason. Strikes are only for spam, scams and abuse towards other members; an incomplete profile never earns one. A first strike is a warning, a second pauses messaging and posting for 7 days, and 3 strikes suspend the account until a person reviews it. Each strike expires after 90 days. A person reads every appeal, and strikes found to be wrong are removed.

Reports go to the Few Found team, never to the member reported. Members see their own standing, and appeal, under Account standing in the dashboard. The full rules are in Terms §9.

Accounts are protected too:

• Every email is confirmed with a one-time code before an account works.
• Passwords are never stored, only a slow, salted hash (bcrypt).
• Sign-in, sign-up, messages, posts, reports and appeals are rate limited.
• A password reset signs out every device, and a suspended account loses access at once.
• HTTPS only, a content security policy, and no framing by other sites.

Fixed rules and automated checks run the same way for everyone and explain what they flag. People make every decision about a business. Every refusal and appeal becomes a labelled example for future checks.

Four-part verification

Live. Decided by a person; automated checks only prepare the report.

Spam, scam and abuse screening

Live, with strikes and appeals.

Reviews only after both sides confirm the work

Live. A rated review cannot be hidden by the member it is about.

Fake-review ring detection

Live. Checked after every review; a person can restore a review that stopped counting.

What we never do:

• Sell a check result, a review, a Top 10 place or a faster decision.
• Let automated checks approve or reject a business on their own.
• Use what members write to each other for advertising, or show it to other members.
• Keep more of refused content than a short excerpt, for the notice, the appeal and the learning record.
• Leave out what we did not check.

• Profiles, the directory and briefs are free. Providers never pay to see or answer a brief.
• Verification comes with the Pro plan: $20 a year for one person, $249 for a team of up to 5 people or $449 for 6 or more, charged as a fixed ₹1,999, ₹21,999 or ₹39,999. The fee pays for a review by a person and is refunded in full if we don’t approve. Nothing renews automatically.
• Groups with several companies get an Enterprise offer. See Groups.
• Companies can sponsor a place at the top of category pages and search, always marked "Sponsored".
• Researched shortlists have a fixed fee agreed in a proposal before any work starts, and a variable fee per agreed event only when the proposal includes one and the business accepts it.
• We never sell reviews, ratings, Top 10 places or profile views, and providers never pay per lead.

Prices are on the plans page; refund rules on Refunds.

What does "Verified" mean?

A person checked four parts and found all four met: client delivery, team and capability, registration and tax, and commercial transparency. The public record shows each part and how we know.

What does "Not verified yet" mean?

Only that Few Found has not reviewed the provider yet. It is not a negative judgement; most new providers start there.

Do you check results such as sales or rankings?

We check that the work happened and was delivered: contract or invoice excerpts, campaign data and clients we contacted. We do not promise what a provider will achieve, so ask for results in your brief.

Can a provider lose its verification?

Yes. A record is withdrawn if standards slip or evidence turns out to be false, and its dated history shows when.

What is public and what stays private?

The public sees what was checked, when, met or not met for each part, and a short line on how we know. The documents a provider shares stay private to our reviewers.

Some records say "verified under the earlier method"

They were decided before the four-part seal started, and show the four parts at their next re-evaluation.

How do I check a record myself?

Every Verified badge links to its public record. Any record opens by its ID at fewfound.co/verify.