What "verified" means here
Trust labels are only worth what sits behind them, so here is exactly what sits behind ours — and, just as importantly, what doesn't.
Two kinds of listing
Every listing carries one of two marks, and the difference matters more than anything else on this page.
A green Verified mark means we did all of the checks below ourselves, and they passed on the date shown beside them — nothing more, and the one exception is spelled out further down.
An amber Unclaimed mark means none of that has happened yet. The listing was put together from the business's own website and public social profiles, nobody there has claimed it, and we have confirmed no detail on it with anyone. We publish these so a business can find its own entry and claim it — claiming is free, and it is what starts the checks. Until then, an unclaimed listing is a signpost, not a recommendation, and it is kept out of search engines.
What we verify, in full
Before a listing is marked Verified, we do all of the following ourselves.
- Trading identity confirmed. We speak to the business directly and confirm its trading name, phone number and the area it works from. Where the business is a limited company, we check the name against the Companies House register.
- Public reputation read. We read the business's public reviews across Google and Facebook and look for a consistent pattern of genuine local recommendations. We do not copy, republish or score those reviews — we link to them so you can read them yourself.
- Genuinely local. The business must be based in, or demonstrably and regularly working in, Greater Manchester.
- Registrations recorded, not verified. This is the one item on this list we donot verify. For regulated work we record what the business tells us — for example a Gas Safe registration for gas work or NICEIC registration for electrical work — and note it on the listing as stated. Those registers are public and authoritative, and we would rather you confirm the number yourself than take our word for it: always check it directly with Gas Safe or NICEIC before work starts.
A verified listing shows the date it was verified and the specific checks made for that business. If a listing doesn't say a check was made, it wasn't — and an unclaimed listing says no checks were made at all, because none were.
What "verified" is not
"Verified" is not a guarantee of workmanship, insurance, price or outcome, and Manchester Locals does not endorse or take responsibility for any work a listed business carries out. It means the checks above were made on the date shown, nothing more and nothing less. Always get more than one quote for significant work, ask to see registration cards and insurance certificates, and trust your own judgement.
How listings are ordered
Verified listings appear most recently verified first, and unclaimed ones sit below all of them, since there is no check date to rank them by. That is the one ranking signal we both own and can evidence — we did the check, on the date shown beside it — and it is the most useful thing we can tell you: a business confirmed a few weeks ago is likelier to be trading, on that number, than one confirmed two years ago.
We re-verify every listing at least once a year, and sooner if something changes or you tell us it has. Position therefore rotates on its own. No business can buy it, ask for it or keep it: the only route to the top of a page is to have been checked recently, and that route is free and identical for everyone. Where two listings were verified on the same day, the one that joined earlier goes first.
We deliberately do not rank by review score. As above, we read reviews but never copy, republish or score them — ranking by a number we did not gather, and cannot stand behind, would make the order look precise while resting on someone else's data.
Nobody pays to be listed
Inclusion is editorial and free. There are no paid placements, no featured slots and no charge to businesses — which also means no listing has ever been influenced by payment. Businesses can apply, and anyone can suggest one, but applying does not guarantee acceptance.
Something wrong?
If a listing is out of date, misleading, or you've had a genuinely bad experience with a listed business, tell us at eric@ownthepatch.co.uk and we will look again — including removing a listing where our criteria are no longer met. Businesses can ask for their own listing to be corrected or removed at any time.