Frequently Asked Questions

We are an innovative new company, passionate about combining strong UK website addresses with powerful community networking tools, all wrapped up in great design. We have a genuine desire to support local life online.

Why should I use Dudley.co.uk

Dudley.co.uk will help you find and choose the best businesses in your area, whether you're looking for a trustworthy builder or a friendly Indian restaurant. You can read reviews from real people who live or work in Dudley, and write your own reviews and recommendations to help others out.

Dudley.co.uk will also help you find or advertise properties, cars and jobs in your area and stay connected with other like-minded people passionate about Dudley and what it has to offer.

If you’re a local business you can take ownership of your listing and use it to promote your business and stay in touch with what your customers are saying about you.

But what makes us different from some of the other listings sites out there? Well, we don’t have any display advertising or annoying pop-ups for starters. We’re also proud of our clear design and easy to use tools, as well an absolute focus on what you, our users, tell us. We’re not sponsored by any big businesses so we’re totally independent and have no hidden agenda. We don’t aggregate content from others sites so all our reviews are generated by genuine users. And we also think our classified advertising is pretty good value and much easier to use than some of our competitors.

Finally, our domain name – Dudley.co.uk – is absolutely the natural home of high quality content about Dudley so we’re really easy to find online.

Is Dudley.co.uk free?

Yes, registration is free. It is also free to add your own business. We only charge for placing a classified advert, which costs from £9 for 30 days.

How can I contact Dudley.co.uk

Contact us here. Tell us what you like, what you don't like, or if you have any suggestions, we'd really love to hear them.

Your Account

How do I verify my account?

Once you have signed up, a message will be sent to the email address you provided. Click on the link inside the email, and your account will be verified. If you don't receive an email from us, please check your junk folder as it could be there. If you still don’t see the email, contact us here.

I've forgotten my password

Click the 'Log in' link that is in the top right hand corner of every page. Below the login form is a link that says 'Forgotten your password?' Click it and follow the instructions. If you don't receive an email from us, please check your junk folder as it could be there. If you still don’t see the email, contact us here.

Can I keep multiple accounts?

No. We don’t let you have multiple accounts in order to protect you and all our users from spammers and other unscrupulous web users. While we cannot directly prevent you from setting up a second account, we will find out and, most likely, delete both the accounts.

How do I close my membership with Dudley.co.uk?

You can send an email with the subject "Cancel membership" to support (at) Dudley.co.uk. To ensure it is authorised, this email should be sent from the email address with which you originally registered and should also include your username. We will then delete your profile, although it won't remove your reviews.

Your Profile

Why do I need to create a Dudley.co.uk profile?

Without a profile you won't be able to write your own reviews, rate other people's reviews, make friends, contact other users, earn points and place adverts.

How do I change my profile picture?

Go to your 'My Dudley' page and click the 'Edit Profile' button to upload a new picture.

What will you do with my personal information?

We will not resell your personal information at any time. To find out more please read our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. We will keep your personal information as secure as we possibly can.

How do I update my profile?

Reward Points

What are reward points?

Reward points allow the community to see at a glance which Dudley.co.uk users are the newbies as well as who are the most respected members on the site.

How do I earn reward points?

2 points - Writing a review

3 points - Writing a first review

1 point - Uploading a photo

2 points - Inviting a friend who registers

2 points - Helpful vote

What can I do with my points?

Every user from all the Geoware Media sites will be entered into one prize draw, which will take place on the first day of every month. The more points a user has the more chance they have of winning. For example a user with 10 points is 10 times as likely to win than a user with 1 point.

If you are lucky enough to win a prize, you will not then be eligible for the prize draw the following month. This means that in a 12 month period you could win a prize a maximum of six times (and with that kind of luck we’re going to be very interested to know your secret!)

Prizes may vary from month to month –follow us on Twitter or on our Facebook page to keep track of what’s up for grabs each month or make sure you’re signed up to receive our email alerts.

Friends

How do I add someone as a friend?

Visit the profile page belonging to the person you'd like to add and click the 'Add as friend' link, which appears under their profile image. Alternatively, search for a person on the site, using the Find Friends feature. Once the user accepts your invite, they will become your friend. To find a friend now click here.

How do I invite other people onto Dudley.co.uk?

You can invite people, who aren't already on Dudley.co.uk, by using the Invite Friends feature. To invite a friend now click here.

What are the advantages of making friends?

You will be able to make contact with them using the Message feature. You will also be able to quickly access their profile page, and see what they've been up to. To find a friend now, click here.

Reviews, Ratings & Tags

What can I review?

Any business, service or place as long as it has a real physical location. For example, you might want to write a review of your local Indian takeaway, a favourite florist, a reliable builder, who's never let you down, or a place you visited that your children loved. If a business, that you would like to review, isn't listed, then you can add it to our database.

How do I submit a review?

Once you've found the listings page of a business you'd like to review, click the 'Add Review' button. After you've written your review, awarded a rating and added a couple of tags, click the 'Submit' button, and your review will be instantly added.

How do I find a business to review?

Click on the 'Add Review' button, that appears at the top of every page. To find the place you're looking for, type the name of the place in the left hand search box, and select the location from the drop-down menu on the right. Click 'Search' and Dudley.co.uk will try and find the business you're looking for in the database. If you can't find the business you're after, try repeating the search, without selecting a location. If it you still can't find it, then you can add the business yourself. After the business has been added, you will be able to review it.

Can I edit a review?

No, we don't allow users to edit their review. If you have changed your opinion about the business, we suggest you write another review explaining why.

Someone has unfairly reviewed my business or a business I’m connected with. What should I do?

Unless a review has broken our Community Guidelines or Terms and Conditions it will not be removed from Dudley.co.uk. However, if you genuinely feel that your business has been defamed on Dudley.co.uk, and the comments are breaking our Terms and Conditions, simply use the 'Report this Review' link at the bottom of the review and we will investigate the issue.

What is a tag?

A tag is a word that you can add to a business to give it meaning personal to you or helpful to others. For example, you could tag a restaurant as: romantic, friendly, cosy. When other users search for something specific, Dudley.co.uk will find any business that matches those tags.

How do I add a tag to a business?

When you are reviewing a business, you will also have the opportunity to add a tag.

What does the 'Helpful' button show?

It indicates how many users thought the review was helpful. The user who wrote the review receives two points each time someone clicks the 'Helpful' button. We encourage our users to rate reviews in this way as it helps us to ensure the usefulness of our listings and the quality of reviews.

Adding and claiming a business

How do I add a business?

Either click the ‘Add a Business’ button on the Home page, or if you’ve searched for a business and cannot find it, click the ‘Recommend a new business’ button that appears below the search results. Complete the form, adding as many details as you can about the business, and one of the Dudley.co.uk team will check that the information is accurate. Your suggested business will usually go live within 48 hours.

Who can claim a business?

The owner of the business, or someone who works for the business.

How do I claim a business?

Click the 'Claim business' icon that appears under the main photo on the business listing page, and follow the instructions. If your business isn't listed, you can claim it, when you complete a 'Suggest a Business' form.

What are the benefits of claiming a business?

You will be able to edit all the details associated with the business, including the description, website address and contact details.

My business has been claimed by someone else. What can I do?

Contact us, explaining who you are and what your relationship is with the business, and it may be that we can help resolve the issue.

I want to claim my business but my email address has a different domain to my business website. What can I do?

As a basic security measure, to prevent unauthorised users from attempting to claim a business which doesn’t belong to them, we only permit users to claim businesses if they have an email address with a domain name shared by the business’ website. We know there will be times when this rule doesn’t always make sense so Contact us to let us know and we will verify your claim a different way.

Buying

How do I contact a seller?

Most sellers include a contact number on their adverts. Alternatively, click the ‘Contact the seller’ button, on the bottom of the advert and use the form.

I've found an item I want to buy. How do I pay for it?

Contact the seller, and make arrangements for viewing a purchasing with them. Dudley.co.uk does not handle any transactions between buyers and sellers.

How can I keep track of jobs, motors or properties that I'm interested in?

Click on ‘Save to watchlist’ which appears on the advert under the photo on the left hand side. To view your watchlist, go to ‘My Dudley’ and select the ‘Watching’ tab. All items you have saved to your watchlist will be listed there.

The item for sale, was not as advertised. What can I do?

Under our Terms and Conditions, Geoware Media Ltd cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the adverts that are listed. When purchasing items such as houses or cars, we strongly recommend that you view and thoroughly check that the item is as described before any payment is made. However, if you feel that an advert was misleading, please contact us, as any user who persistently posts misleading adverts, violating our Terms and Conditions and Community Guidelines will have their account deleted.

Selling

What can I advertise?

You can advertise cars, motorbikes, vans/trucks, property for sale, property to let or jobs.

How much does it cost to place an advert?

The price depends on the type of advert that you are listing. The following are for a 30 day listing:

£49 - Property for sale

£19 - Property to let

£9 - Car for sale

£9 - Van for sale

£9 - Motorbike for sale

£19 - Job

Can I cancel an advert and get a refund?

You can cancel your advert at any time, although no refunds are available after an advert has gone live on the site.

Do I have to have an account to advertise a car, job or property?

Yes, all sellers must have an account.

How do I advertise a car, job or property?

First, login to Dudley.co.uk and click on the 'Sell’ button, which appears at the top of every page. Select the type of advert you would like to place, and click 'Next'. Complete the form with a good decription which adheres to our Style Guidelines. We also recommend that you add as many photos as possible to enhance your advert. Photos are included in the price. Before proceeding to the checkout, please preview the advert. Once you have paid, the advert will immediately appear on Dudley.co.uk.

What contact details will be visible in my advert?

Your phone number; neither your postcode or email address are shown. Buyers will be able to contact you by using the ‘Contact the seller’ button, but your email address stays invisible at all times. Your postcode is used to show your location on the map that accompanies your advert.

Can I edit an advert, after its been posted?

No. Adverts cannot be edited after they have been added to the site. For this reason, we recommend that you check your advert details carefully.

How can a buyer contact me?

You can add a phone number to every advert you place, so buyers can easily get in touch by phone. Also, at the bottom of each advert, there is a ‘Contact the seller’ button. A buyer can click on this and fill in a form which is forwarded to your ‘Messages' inbox on Dudley.co.uk, and is also sent to your registered email address.

Can I advertise for more than 30 days?

Yes. All adverts are valid for 30 days. However, you can extend any advert by another 30 days simply by clicking on the ‘Extend’ button which appears in the ‘Selling’ section of ‘My Dudley’ and following the instructions on screen.

I've sold the item I was advertising. Can I remove the advert?

Yes, you can remove any advert you've listed. Login to Dudley.co.uk, go to your 'My Dudley' page and select the ‘Selling’ tab, to see all the adverts you've placed. Find the advert you'd like to remove, and click 'Delete'.

I can't find the make of car I'm selling in the drop down menu. What can I do?

If you find that the make or model of car you are selling does not appear, please contact us, and we will add it to the database. We have tried to ensure that most makes and models of car are included in the motors database.

Reporting Abuse

When a review is reported for abuse, is it automatically deleted?

Why was my review / photo deleted?

Content is removed when our Community Guidelines have not been followed. Therefore, to avoid having any of your content removed, please be sure to review our Community Guidelines. If the nature of the abuse warrants it, your account may also be deleted.

What should I do if I find something abusive?

If you feel that your business has been defamed on Dudley.co.uk, and the comments are breaking our Terms and Conditions, simply use the 'Report this Review' link at the bottom of the review and we will investigate the issue. If you find other offensive material on the site, please contact us, providing exact details of the content so we can investigate it as swiftly as possible. Any content that is found to be a violation of the Community Guidelines or Terms and Conditons will then be removed from the site.