How it works

From your experience to the record — in about five minutes.

You rate the whole journey, we confirm you’re a real resident, and your review goes on the builder’s public record — good or bad. Free, and anonymous to everyone but us.

1⭐

Rate your experience

Start with the stars. Leave a review at any stage of your journey — whether you’ve just got the keys, you’re years in, or you’re still waiting on a delayed handover. Good or bad, it takes a couple of minutes, and you can update it anytime as things change.

2🔒

We check it’s really you — privately

You confirm you’re a genuine resident with a document and your address, which we cross-check against the Land Registry. That’s what keeps the record real and fake-free — and it’s only ever seen by us.

3📋

It goes on the record

Published verified but anonymous, as “Verified resident, [county].” Your builder gets a free right of reply, and you can update your review anytime as things change.

What it looks like on the record

Here’s a published review

Illustrative example · fictional builder · shown to explain the format — not a real review

Verified resident, Devon✓ Verified

Review of Example Homes Ltd · 1–2 years after handover · Would recommend: With reservations

★★★★★

3.2 / 5

Buying & handover★★★★★

Build quality★★★★★

Customer care★★★★★

How snags were handled★★★★★

Communication★★★★★

Value for money★★★★★

👍 What went well

The site manager was genuinely helpful around handover, and the fabric of the house itself is solid — no complaints on the build quality.

🛠️ What went wrong

Snagging has been the sticking point. Of 14 items logged at handover, four are still open 11 months on — including a leak to the utility room reported on 3 March. Chasing has been slow.

💬 Response from Example Homes Ltd

We’re sorry the snagging has dragged on — that’s not the standard we aim for, and these items shouldn’t still be open. Because reviews here are anonymous, we can’t identify this resident to reach out directly — so we’d warmly ask them to contact our aftercare team at aftercare@examplehomes.co.uk, quoting their plot, and we’ll get the outstanding items prioritised.

Notice what’s not there: no name, no address, no plot. Just a county, the ratings, the facts — and the builder’s reply.

Verified and anonymous — how?

It sounds like a contradiction, but think of a secret ballot: you prove to us privately that you’re a real resident, then your review is published with your name removed. Verified to us; anonymous to everyone else.

Two ways in — the same protections

However your home was built, there’s a route for you. The only real difference is which documents confirm it.

🏘️

Bought from a development

Verify with your sales contract, completion statement, or new-home warranty (NHBC Buildmark, LABC, Premier Guarantee). We can also confirm it against the Land Registry’s new-build record.

🔨

Contracted a builder

For a one-off or custom build, verify with your build contract, structural warranty, or building-control completion certificate. An owner-commissioned build won’t show a developer sale, so your build documents confirm it instead.

Fair by design

👍

Good or bad

Praise great builders, not just call out poor ones.

💬

Free right of reply

Every builder can respond publicly, at no cost.

⚖️

Reputational, not procedural

Accountability is the published review plus the builder’s reply.

🛡️ You're protected

✓

You stay anonymous

Your name, address, plot and development are never published — your public entry shows your county only, and nothing that identifies you reaches the builder.

✓

Private & secure

Your identity and documents are held in an admin-only vault — never shown to the public or shared with builders.

✓

You can update it anytime

Correct or add to your review as things change. Your review always stays yours.

Snag Scout is built around UK defamation law and the Defamation Act 2013: reviews must be factual and evidence-backed, and every reviewer is verified. This is general information, not legal advice.

Who sees what

Anonymous to the public — and anonymous even to your builder.

🔒Only Snag Scout sees

In our secure vault — shown to no one, not even your builder.

•Your name

•Your proof-of-ownership documents (for verification)

•The private link between you and your review

🏗️Your builder sees

Enough to recognise the review and reply — nothing that identifies you.

•Your review — the ratings and your summary

•The builder’s own name (so they know it’s about them)

•A reference number to track their reply

No name, plot or address from us — they reply to the review, not to a named person.

🌐The public sees

What anyone searching the platform can find.

•Your county

•The builder’s name

•The ratings, your summary and the builder’s reply

✕Never your name, development, plot or address

Your name and address are kept off the public record — so a snag can never follow your home to a future sale.

Common questions

How can a review be both verified and anonymous?

It sounds like a contradiction, but it works like a secret ballot: you prove to us privately that you’re a real resident — that’s the “verified” part — and then your review is published with your identity stripped out, shown only as “Verified resident, [county].” Verified to us; anonymous to everyone else.

Can I leave a positive review too?

Yes. Snag Scout isn’t just for problems — you can praise a builder who did right by you. Good experiences become part of their public record and help the next buyer choose well.

Will my name appear on the public record?

No. Your full name, email, address, plot and development are never published. The public entry shows your county, the builder, your ratings and your summary — and the builder’s reply.

What if I hired a builder directly, not a developer?

That’s fully supported. There are two routes — “bought from a development” and “contracted a builder” — and the only real difference is which documents verify it. The same protections apply either way.

Can my builder take legal action against me?

Snag Scout is built around UK defamation law: reviews must be factual and evidence-backed, every reviewer is verified, and builders get a right of reply. That makes a properly structured, verified review far harder to challenge — but this is general information, not legal advice.

Is Snag Scout independent?

Completely. We take no builder funding for the record — no one can pay to change, hide or reorder reviews. The platform exists to serve new-build buyers.

Ready to share your experience?

Good or bad, it takes about five minutes. You stay anonymous; your review stays yours.

Share your experience