Before I Book aims to be an independent, patient-led platform for sharing private clinic experiences, prices paid, treatment journeys and practical information before booking.
This policy explains how conflicts of interest should be handled.
1. Why This Matters
Users should be able to trust that reviews, price submissions and discussions are based on genuine patient experiences.
Conflicts of interest can mislead users, damage trust and make the platform less useful.
2. What Counts as a Conflict of Interest
A conflict of interest may exist if someone posting on Before I Book has a personal, professional, financial or commercial connection to a clinic, practitioner, product, treatment or service being discussed.
Examples include:
- clinic owners
- clinic employees
- self-employed practitioners
- contractors
- marketing agencies
- social media managers
- paid promoters
- family members of clinic staff
- competitors
- suppliers
- people receiving payment, discounts or benefits for promotion
3. Clinic Staff and Representatives
Clinic owners, staff, contractors or representatives must not pretend to be independent patients.
If a clinic representative posts or replies, they should make their connection clear.
Clinic responses should be factual, respectful and should not disclose private patient information.
4. Promotional Content
Users must not use Before I Book to secretly promote a clinic, practitioner, treatment, product, service, discount code, referral link or commercial offer.
Promotional content may be removed if it is not clearly disclosed or if it is not appropriate for the platform.
5. Reviews from Connected People
Reviews should not be submitted by people with a direct connection to the clinic unless that connection is clearly declared.
Before I Book may reject, remove or label content where a conflict of interest is suspected.
6. Competitor Reviews
Clinics, practitioners or their representatives must not submit negative reviews about competitors while pretending to be patients.
Content suspected of being competitor manipulation may be removed.
7. Sponsorship and Advertising
Before I Book may introduce sponsorship, advertising or paid clinic features in the future.
If this happens, commercial relationships should be clearly labelled.
Payment, sponsorship or advertising should not influence whether genuine user reviews are accepted, rejected or removed.
8. Editorial Independence
Before I Book aims to keep patient experiences and review moderation separate from commercial relationships.
Paid features should not give clinics the right to remove negative reviews, alter patient submissions or control independent discussion.
9. User Responsibility
Users should declare any relevant connection when posting about a clinic, treatment, product or service.
If you are unsure whether something is a conflict of interest, it is safer to disclose it.
10. Moderation
Before I Book may edit, label, reject or remove content where a conflict of interest is suspected or not properly disclosed.
The aim is to protect trust, fairness and transparency for users researching before booking.