Trust & safety
Review and complaint policy
Reviews on Vianorr Education can only be submitted after a verified consultation. They cover specific dimensions of the service — not admission outcomes. Complaints are handled separately, investigated independently, and may result in provider restrictions or removal.
Verified reviews
A review may only be submitted after
- →A consultation marked completed by both parties, OR
- →A longer engagement verified by both parties (e.g. application package with documented deliverable exchange)
What is rated
Communication
Was the provider responsive, clear, and professional throughout the engagement?
Clarity of advice
Was the guidance specific and understandable — or vague and generic?
Timeliness
Did the provider deliver work and respond within the agreed timeframe?
Fee transparency
Was the fee structure disclosed clearly and consistently with the service description?
Understanding of the student's goals
Did the provider demonstrate that they understood the student's specific situation and objectives?
Usefulness of the consultation
Did the student leave with more clarity than they arrived with?
Accuracy of service description
Did the actual service match what was described in the listing — deliverables, scope, and exclusions?
An optional question asks: "Would you book this provider again?" — the answer is shown on the profile but is not part of the core dimension score.
What is not rated
✕ Admission outcome
Admission decisions are made by institutions, not by advisers. Rating a provider on whether the student was admitted encourages providers to make misleading outcome claims and cherry-pick likely-admitted students.
✕ Whether the student should have been accepted
This is an institutional decision and outside the scope of an education adviser's service.
✕ Quality of the specific institutions recommended
School quality is documented separately in Vianorr's source-grounded information layer — not derived from adviser reviews.
What neither party can do
- ✕Submit a review without a completed and verified consultation
- ✕Purchase positive reviews
- ✕Incentivise positive reviews with discounts, referrals, or gifts
- ✕Remove a legitimate review for a fee
- ✕Dispute a review on the grounds of admission outcome
Complaint system
Complaints are separate from reviews and are investigated independently. A complaint is not published as a review — it is a private, structured report to Vianorr that triggers an investigation.
Legal context — Canada's Competition Act
The Competition Act (Canada) prohibits materially false or misleading representations used to promote a service or business. Review manipulation, false success claims, and false institutional relationships are therefore treated as trust-and-safety issues — not ordinary marketing disagreements. Substantiated complaints in these categories may be referred to relevant authorities.
Complaint categories
Misleading affiliation
Provider claimed a relationship with an institution that was false or unverified.
Undisclosed commission
Provider received institutional commissions that were not disclosed to the student.
Unauthorised immigration advice
Provider offered immigration or visa advice without holding a regulated credential (RCIC or immigration lawyer).
Fraudulent document request
Provider asked the student to submit false or altered documents.
Harassment
Provider engaged in pressure tactics, threats, or behaviour that created an unsafe engagement.
Privacy breach
Provider shared, sold, or misused the student's personal data.
Service not delivered
Provider accepted payment and did not deliver the agreed service or deliverables.
Fee dispute
Provider charged amounts inconsistent with the disclosed fee schedule, or refused to honour cancellation terms.
Pressure selling
Provider used artificial urgency, false scarcity, or high-pressure tactics.
Review manipulation
Provider solicited, purchased, or suppressed reviews. This is a trust-and-safety issue, not a marketing disagreement.
Minor-safety concern
A concern about the safety or wellbeing of a minor in the care of a K–12 provider.
Other serious conduct
Conduct not listed above that the student believes constitutes a serious breach.
How to file a complaint
Complaints are submitted through a structured form linked from the provider's profile. You will be asked to select a category, describe the incident, and provide any documentation you have. Vianorr will acknowledge receipt within 3 business days and update you on investigation progress.
Complaints are confidential. The provider will be informed that a complaint has been filed and given the opportunity to respond — but personal details are protected.
Provider enforcement states
A provider's status is visible to students. Enforcement states reflect the outcome of complaint investigations — they are not used punitively for minor service disputes.
Provider is in good standing. No unresolved substantiated complaints.
One or more complaints are under investigation. The provider continues to operate but Vianorr is reviewing their account more closely.
Vianorr has paused new consultation bookings with this provider while an investigation is active. Existing engagements continue.
The provider's profile is live but specific services or capabilities have been restricted pending re-verification or remediation.
The provider's profile is temporarily removed from search results and no new bookings can be made. Active engagements are flagged for student follow-up.
The provider has been permanently removed from the marketplace following a substantiated serious breach.
What provider profiles show
Overall verified satisfaction (dimension averages across all reviews)
Number of verified engagements (not self-reported)
Individual dimension scores per review
Most recent reviews, with service type and date of service
Provider response (where submitted)
Whether the reviewer would book again
Vianorr's current enforcement state for the provider