My Review Was Removed — Why It Happened and How to Appeal

This page is for you, the reviewer. Your appeal lives on your own Maps profile. It is not the shop's Reviews Management Tool. That tool is for the business. You cannot use it. Go Postl does not log in, watch Maps, or file the appeal.

A review can vanish because it was filtered (it still exists, but it is hidden), removed for a policy or legal reason, or flagged by the business. Platforms do not owe you a public ranking. Filtered is a definition on its own page. This page is how to tell which happened, and how to appeal once from the account you already own.

It was filtered, not deleted

Check whether the review is actually gone before you appeal.

Google. Open Maps, go to Your contributions ( https://support.google.com/maps/answer/6230175), and look at the review. Google's Help ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/13780397) says removed or rejected content may still sit on your Maps profile marked "Not posted," "Private," "Not accepted," or similar. Check the listing signed out. A review you can see signed in may be invisible to everyone else.

Yelp. Yelp usually does not delete the review. Its recommendation software ( https://www.yelp-support.com/article/What-is-Yelp-s-recommendation-software?l=en_US) moves it to "not currently recommended" ( https://www.yelp-support.com/article/Why-would-a-review-not-be-recommended?l=en_US). Yelp's explainer ( https://www.yelp-support.com/article/How-We-Approach-Reviews-at-Yelp?l=en_US): those reviews stay on a link at the bottom of the page, they do not change the star rating, and staff do not override the software for one review. There is no official Yelp form to un-filter a review. Do not invent one.

BBB, Trustpilot, Facebook. A BBB customer review ( https://www.bbb.org/all/customer-reviews/reviews) is vetted and sent to the business before it is published. Two doors: a review ( https://www.bbb.org/leave-a-review) and a complaint ( https://www.bbb.org/file-a-complaint). There is no national form to appeal a rejected review. Trustpilot may hide a review while the Content Integrity Team decides. A Facebook Page owner can turn Reviews off. Check Account Status ( https://www.facebook.com/help/1392616391875085) before you assume the text is gone.

The business flagged it

Every major platform lets a shop report a review. On Google, this is what the shop used ( https://support.google.com/business/answer/4596773): a Business Profile report, then, if Google leaves the review up, a one-time business appeal. That shop appeal is their tool. It is not yours.

A flag is not proof you lied. It is a request that the platform re-read the Maps user-generated content policy ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7422880). Reviews that read as a personal account of a real visit usually survive a flag. Reviews that read as an accusation or a personal attack ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114) usually do not.

If they offered money or a refund to take the review down, that is also a problem for them. Google treats incentives to post or remove a review ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/16597280) as rating manipulation. The FTC Consumer Reviews and Testimonials Rule ( https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-reviews-testimonials-rule-questions-answers) covers review suppression. A clause that bans honest reviews can violate the Consumer Review Fairness Act ( https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/resources/consumer-review-fairness-act-what-businesses-need-know). The FTC has said it is illegal to ban honest reviews ( https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2017/02/its-illegal-ban-honest-reviews). Report that ( https://reportfraud.ftc.gov). That rule kills gag clauses in form contracts. It does not make every sentence lawsuit-proof. You post from the account you already own.

It named an individual employee

Naming "Dave in the office," a face, or a personal phone number turns a customer dispute into a personal one. Google's prohibited-content rules ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114) treat personal information and personal attacks as removable. Trustpilot, Facebook, and the BBB routinely strip or reject reviews that name staff. Refer to the company, or to "the manager on duty." What gets a review deleted or sued is in the ground rules ( https://www.gopostl.com/rules). That is not legal advice.

It stated a crime as fact

"They stole from me" is a factual allegation of a crime. Google lists unsubstantiated allegations of criminal wrongdoing ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114) among content it will remove. "I paid $840, the work was not done, and I was not refunded" is a dated account of what happened to you. Mark opinion as opinion. How to write that sentence lives on how to write a review that stays up ( https://www.gopostl.com/guides/write-a-review-that-stays-up).

It was posted from a brand-new account

A first-ever review from a fresh account, on a shop that just took a cluster of one-star hits, looks like a coordinated attack even when every word is true. Yelp's software weighs account activity. Google looks for unusual volumes or patterns ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114) and fake engagement. Use the one human account you already own. Go Postl does not create accounts, log in, or post. Opening a new profile to dodge a filter is fake-review behavior.

It wasn't your own transaction

You were there. Google requires a genuine, first-hand, unbiased ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114) experience and removes conflict-of-interest posts. The BBB is stricter: only the original consumer ( https://www.bbb.org/all/customer-reviews/faq-reviews) may leave a review. No anonymous reviews. No incentivized reviews. You cannot file both a review and a complaint on the same issue. Reviews written for a relative are removable on every platform. There is no honest appeal for a transaction that was not yours.

How to appeal from your own account

You file the appeal. Go Postl does not log in, watch Maps, or submit it. The copy-paste letter is Template: appeal a removed review ( https://www.gopostl.com/templates/review-removal-appeal). That page keeps the word Template. It is a letter you copy. It is not a filing we send.

What to attach: screenshot of the live review or status line; screenshot of the removal or "not recommended" notice; the listing URL; the date you posted and the date it vanished; proof you were the customer. Constructed example, not a customer story. Harbour Point Auto. $840 on invoice 20418. Attach that invoice and one sentence that you were the paying customer on that date.

Google. Read the Maps UGC policy ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7422880) and the prohibited-content list ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114). Google's appeal Help ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/12648169) is the consumer path: status and appeal live on your Maps profile, not on the shop's Reviews Management Tool. You can appeal a content removal once. Do not edit or delete the review after you submit ( https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7445749). That cancels the appeal. Google does not promise reinstatement. Reinstatement happens only if they decide the removal was a mistake.

Yelp. There is no official un-filter form. The software decides. Staff do not override one review. The text remains on the footer link. Keep the same account.

Trustpilot. Use the official Appeal our Decision link ( https://help.trustpilot.com/s/article/How-can-I-dispute-a-decision-made-by-the-Content-Integrity-Team) in the Content Integrity Team email. Appeal once within six months. Do not invent a public form that is not in that email.

Facebook. Open Account Status ( https://www.facebook.com/help/1392616391875085). If the Page turned Reviews off, that is the owner's setting.

BBB. Two doors, no national review-appeal form. Read the customer-review FAQ ( https://www.bbb.org/all/customer-reviews/faq-reviews). A BBB complaint ( https://www.bbb.org/file-a-complaint) is a different filing. How to file that complaint is its own guide ( https://www.gopostl.com/guides/bbb-complaint).

How to leave the review again, correctly: Google ( https://www.gopostl.com/where-to-review/google), BBB ( https://www.gopostl.com/where-to-review/bbb).

Keep a record of what you posted

Screenshot the live review, the filter or removal notice, the URL, and the date before you edit a word. Save the original text.

Log the removal yourself. Go Postl does not watch Maps. We do not post, log in, or submit the appeal.

Next step: Template: appeal a removed review ( https://www.gopostl.com/templates/review-removal-appeal). Or see the pass ( https://www.gopostl.com/#pricing) or claim a pass you already bought ( https://www.gopostl.com/claim). More guides ( https://www.gopostl.com/guides).

Questions people ask

Filtered, removed, or flagged? Filtered still exists. Removed is a policy or legal takedown. Flagged means the business reported it.

Same review, new account? No. Platforms treat that as fake engagement.

Can I use the shop's Reviews Management Tool? No. That is the business path. Your appeal is on your Maps profile, once. Do not edit after you submit.

Can they sue me? This is not a law firm and not legal advice. Read what gets a review deleted or sued ( https://www.gopostl.com/rules), then talk to a lawyer if they threaten you. Report gag clauses at https://reportfraud.ftc.gov.

Go Postl — honest reviews, properly filed. Not a law firm. Not legal advice.