Scout Score & Ranking Policy

This Scout Score & Ranking Policy explains how Takeaway

Scout™ calculates, displays and maintains its proprietary Scout Score,

and how takeaway businesses are ranked using that score.

**Takeaway Scout™ is a trading name of Brecon Take Aways

Limited, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17052659**,

whose registered office is:

21 Bryn de Winton, Brecon, Powys, LD3 9HL

This Policy should be read alongside our **Website Terms

& Conditions, Review & Rating Policy, Privacy Policy and Website

Disclaimer**.

1. What Is the Scout Score?

The Scout Score is Takeaway Scout's independent

scoring system designed to help consumers discover and compare takeaway

businesses using a consistent 100-point framework.

Rather than relying solely on a simple customer star

average, the Scout Score combines customer opinion with other defined

indicators.

Every business is assessed using the same scoring framework

applicable to its listing status and available information.

The maximum Scout Score is:

100 POINTS

The Scout Score is a comparative assessment produced by

Takeaway Scout™. It is not a guarantee, certification or warranty concerning a

takeaway's food, service, safety or future performance.

2. How the Scout Score Is Calculated

These components are combined to produce the takeaway's

overall Scout Score.

3. Customer Score — Maximum 40 Points

**Customer Score is the largest individual component of the

Scout Score.**

Maximum: 40 points

Customer opinion therefore carries the greatest weight

within the overall scoring framework.

Takeaway Scout™ uses a **confidence-weighted customer

rating rather than simply converting the takeaway's displayed star average

directly into points**.

This is designed to avoid treating every headline star

rating as equally reliable regardless of the amount of approved customer

evidence supporting it.

For example, a very high rating supported by only a small

amount of customer evidence should not necessarily be treated as equivalent to

a similarly high rating supported by a substantial body of approved customer

evidence.

The detailed mathematical calculation and safeguards used

within the confidence-weighting system may remain proprietary to Takeaway

Scout™ to protect the integrity of the scoring system and reduce opportunities

for manipulation.

4. Review Confidence — Maximum 15 Points

Maximum: 15 points

Review Confidence rewards a **stronger body of approved

customer evidence**.

This component recognises that the reliability of customer

feedback is affected by the amount of qualifying evidence available.

A takeaway with a stronger body of approved customer reviews

may therefore achieve a higher Review Confidence component than a business with

very limited review evidence.

Review Confidence does not mean that Takeaway Scout™

guarantees every statement contained within every customer review.

Reviews are subject to the separate **Takeaway Scout™

Review & Rating Policy**.

5. Recent Performance — Maximum 15 Points

Maximum: 15 points

Recent Performance measures the takeaway's current approved customer performance while retaining appropriate historical context.

This component activates once the takeaway has at least 5 approved reviews within the current 12-month scoring window.

Each qualifying review is time-weighted so that newer customer experiences carry more influence. The live engine uses a 90-day half-life: a review approximately 90 days old carries half the recency weight of a new review, approximately 180 days old carries one quarter, and so on.

The recency-weighted customer rating is then stabilised against the takeaway's confidence-adjusted overall customer rating using a five-review equivalent prior before being scaled to a maximum of 15 points.

This design allows genuine recent improvement or decline to affect the Scout Score without allowing one isolated recent review to dominate an otherwise established review history.

6. Consistency — Maximum 10 Points

Maximum: 10 points

Consistency measures how reliably a takeaway performs across its approved customer ratings.

This component activates once the takeaway has at least 5 approved reviews within the current 12-month scoring window.

The live engine measures rating dispersion using population standard deviation. Lower variation indicates a more dependable customer experience; greater variation indicates less consistent performance.

The raw dispersion result is normalised to a 0–10 point scale. To avoid treating a small sample as statistically settled, the measured result is progressively released from a neutral midpoint as review volume grows. At the five-review activation point the component begins at the neutral midpoint and becomes increasingly evidence-led as more approved reviews accumulate.

Consistency therefore measures dependability separately from the headline Customer Score: two takeaways can have the same average customer rating but different Consistency scores if one produces much more variable experiences.

7. Food Hygiene — Maximum 15 Points

Maximum: 15 points

Where successfully matched, Takeaway Scout™ uses the

takeaway's official Food Hygiene Rating as part of the Scout Score.

The Food Hygiene component contributes a maximum of **15

points**.

Takeaway Scout™ does not itself conduct food-hygiene

inspections and does not replace the relevant food-safety authority.

The underlying Food Hygiene Rating is issued through the

applicable official food-hygiene rating system.

Where Takeaway Scout™ displays or uses an official rating,

users requiring the latest authoritative information should consult the

relevant official source.

Food hygiene information may change following inspections,

reassessments or updates to official records.

8. Verified Information — Maximum 5 Points

Maximum: 5 points

Verified Information rewards **verified, complete

customer-facing business information**.

Relevant information may include, where applicable:

• correct business name;
• address;
• telephone number;
• website;
• opening information;
• cuisine information;
• customer-facing business details; and
• other information used by Takeaway Scout™.

This component is intended to recognise the usefulness and

reliability of information available to consumers.

The maximum contribution from Verified Information is

limited to 5 points out of 100.

9. Provisional Scout Scores

Takeaway Scout™ distinguishes between New, Provisional and Full scoring status.

A business with no approved reviews is treated as New.

A listing with:

1–4 APPROVED REVIEWS

is treated as Provisional.

Customer Score and Review Confidence may begin responding from the first approved review, but both are confidence-controlled so that a very small review sample cannot be treated like an established review history.

Recent Performance and Consistency require at least 5 approved reviews before they activate.

A business reaches Full status at:

5 APPROVED REVIEWS

and can then participate in the full competitive ranking using all six evidence streams where qualifying source data exists.

Full listings are ranked ahead of Provisional listings, and Provisional listings are ranked ahead of New listings. Within each status group, the highest applicable Scout Score ranks first, subject to the stated tie-break rules.

10. What Is an Approved Review?

For the purposes of the Scout Score framework, an **approved

review** is a review accepted by Takeaway Scout™ for use within the

applicable review and scoring systems.

Reviews may be assessed in accordance with the **Takeaway

Scout™ Review & Rating Policy**.

Reviews may be excluded where they are identified as, for

example:

• fake;
• duplicated;
• manipulated;
• submitted deceptively;
• improperly incentivised;
• associated with prohibited conflicts of interest;
• spam;
• otherwise invalid; or
• in breach of the Review & Rating Policy.

A review being negative does not prevent it from

becoming an approved review.

Genuine positive and genuine negative customer experiences

can both contribute to the system.

11. Full Competitive Ranking

Once a takeaway has accumulated at least 5 approved reviews, it becomes Full and enters the full competitive ranking.

Ranking priority is applied consistently as follows:

1. Full listings;
2. Provisional listings;
3. New listings.

Within each status group, businesses are ordered by Scout Score from highest to lowest, followed by review evidence strength and the consistently applied tie-break rules where required.

This prevents a business with only one or two customer reviews from being treated as directly equivalent to a business supported by sufficient approved review evidence, even where the visible provisional score is high.

12. Insufficient Source Data

Takeaway Scout™ will not invent source information merely to complete a Scout Score.

Review-derived evidence is handled according to defined activation and confidence rules. Customer Score and Review Confidence can begin responding from the first approved review, while Recent Performance and Consistency remain inactive until the five-review threshold is reached.

Where official Food Hygiene information is genuinely unavailable or cannot be reliably matched, the missing hygiene component is not treated as a zero hygiene rating. Instead, the overall score is normalised across the components for which a valid maximum is applicable.

This is different from a business simply having no approved customer evidence: the absence of reviews legitimately produces no customer-review points and is reflected in New or Provisional status.

13. Missing Data Is Not Automatically Negative

The absence of information should not automatically be

interpreted as evidence of poor performance.

For example, Takeaway Scout™ should distinguish between:

information showing poor performance

and

information that is simply unavailable or insufficient.

Where the methodology specifies neutral treatment, missing

information is treated accordingly rather than being replaced with an invented

negative or positive result.

14. Review Volume and Confidence

The Scout Score intentionally distinguishes between the **customer

rating itself and the strength of the evidence supporting that rating**.

This is why Customer Score and Review Confidence are

separate components.

A takeaway with a very small number of reviews may have an

excellent headline rating while still having relatively limited evidence from

which to assess broader customer experience.

As the number of approved reviews increases, the scoring

system can place greater confidence in the available customer evidence.

15. Customer Star Ratings Are Not Scout Scores

A customer's star rating and the overall Scout Score are

different measures.

For example:

Customer star rating ≠ Scout Score

The Scout Score incorporates the six defined components

within the 100-point framework.

Consumers should therefore not expect two businesses with

identical customer star ratings automatically to receive identical Scout

Scores.

16. Scout Score Updates

Scout Scores may change over time.

A score may be recalculated or affected when:

• new approved reviews are received;
• invalid reviews are removed;
• customer ratings change;
• sufficient review history becomes available;
• Recent Performance changes;
• Consistency changes;
• official Food Hygiene information changes;
• verified business information changes;
• incorrect information is corrected;
• a business changes ownership;
• source information is updated; or
• the scoring methodology is legitimately updated.

A Scout Score represents the assessment produced from the

applicable methodology and qualifying information available at the relevant

time.

17. Independence of the Scout Score

A fundamental principle of Takeaway Scout™ is:

A BUSINESS CANNOT BUY A HIGHER SCOUT SCORE.

Takeaway Scout™ may offer commercial services to takeaway

businesses, potentially including:

• enhanced profiles;
• subscriptions;
• advertising;
• sponsored placements;
• featured positions; or
• other promotional services.

Purchasing a commercial service does not, by itself:

• increase Customer Score;
• increase Review Confidence;
• increase Recent Performance;
• increase Consistency;
• increase Food Hygiene points;
• artificially increase Verified Information points;
• remove genuine negative reviews;
• create positive reviews; or
• purchase a higher Scout Score.

A business's decision not to purchase Takeaway Scout™

services must not result in a punitive reduction to its independent Scout

Score.

18. Verified Information and Paid Profiles

The Verified Information component must not be

confused with purchasing a paid profile.

Verified Information rewards qualifying **verified and

complete customer-facing information**.

A business should not automatically receive the 5 Verified

Information points merely because it has paid Takeaway Scout™.

Likewise, a business should not automatically be denied

qualifying Verified Information points simply because it uses a free listing.

Commercial status and scoring status are separate.

19. Organic Ranking

Takeaway Scout™ may provide search results ranked according to Scout Score.

Where results are represented as organic Scout Score rankings, the status order is Full → Provisional → New.

Within each status group, the applicable organic results are ordered with the highest Scout Score first, followed by the stated tie-break criteria where required.

A paying takeaway will not secretly be moved above a higher-ranked takeaway while the results continue to be represented as purely organic Scout Score-ranked results.

This distinction is fundamental to the independence of Takeaway Scout™.

20. Sponsored and Featured Placements

Takeaway Scout™ may separately sell advertising, sponsored

placements or other promotional visibility.

These are commercial placements, not organic Scout

Score rankings.

Where a business has received increased prominence because

of payment, the commercial nature of that positioning should be appropriately

identified.

Labels may include:

Sponsored

Promoted

Featured

or another sufficiently clear description.

Payment for promotional positioning does not alter the

underlying Scout Score.

21. Search Criteria

Takeaway Scout™ may allow consumers to search using criteria

including:

• postcode;
• town;
• city;
• location;
• cuisine;
• business name;
• category;
• Scout Score; or
• other available filters.

The businesses eligible to appear may therefore depend upon

the search criteria.

Where eligible businesses are displayed specifically in **Scout

Score order**, the highest applicable Scout Score will rank first.

22. Location and Postcode Searching

Takeaway Scout™ may determine which takeaway businesses are

relevant to a user based upon postcode, town, geographic location or another

defined search area.

Geographic eligibility and Scout Score ranking are separate

concepts.

A high-scoring takeaway outside the applicable search area

may therefore not appear in a particular set of results.

This does not mean that its Scout Score has been reduced.

23. Tied Scout Scores

Two or more businesses may display the same Scout Score.

Where this occurs, Takeaway Scout™ may use a consistently

applied secondary criterion to determine their order.

This may include:

• the underlying unrounded Scout Score;
• strength of qualifying customer evidence;
• relevant review information;
• location or distance where relevant to the search; or
• another appropriate disclosed or consistently applied tie-break rule.

The visible score may be rounded for presentation.

24. Claiming a Business Profile

Takeaway businesses may be able to claim their listings.

Claiming a listing may allow an authorised representative to

provide or verify customer-facing information.

However:

**Claiming a listing does not automatically increase the

Scout Score.**

**Paying for a listing does not automatically increase the

Scout Score.**

**Refusing to claim a listing does not automatically

decrease the Scout Score.**

Any information supplied through a claimed listing must

still satisfy the applicable verification requirements before being treated as

verified information.

25. Corrections

Takeaway Scout™ aims to use accurate source information.

Businesses and users may notify Takeaway Scout™ where

information appears factually incorrect.

This may include:

• incorrect business information;
• incorrectly attributed reviews;
• incorrect Food Hygiene information;
• duplicate listings;
• incorrect location information;
• closed businesses;
• ownership changes; or
• other factual errors.

Where a material error is confirmed, Takeaway Scout™ may

correct the information and recalculate the Scout Score where appropriate.

26. Challenging a Scout Score

A takeaway may request a review of its Scout Score where it

believes there is a genuine factual or calculation issue.

Examples include:

• incorrect information being used;
• reviews being attributed to the wrong business;
• invalid reviews affecting the score;
• official Food Hygiene information being incorrectly matched;
• a calculation error;
• incorrect provisional/full status; or
• the published methodology being incorrectly applied.

Takeaway Scout™ may request supporting evidence.

Merely disagreeing with a score does not establish that the

score is incorrect.

27. What a Business Cannot Require

A takeaway does not have an automatic right to require

Takeaway Scout™ to:

• increase its Scout Score;
• increase its ranking;
• remove genuine negative reviews;
• ignore accurate information;
• disregard legitimate approved reviews;
• match a competitor's score;
• increase its score because it purchases advertising;
• increase its score because it purchases a subscription; or
• suppress lawful information merely because the business considers it commercially undesirable.

Credible allegations of factual, review or calculation

errors will nevertheless be considered.

28. Score Review Procedure

Where a credible challenge is received, Takeaway Scout™ may:

1. 1. identify the disputed component;
2. 2. review the underlying information;
3. 3. verify relevant source information;
4. 4. examine affected reviews where appropriate;
5. 5. request supporting evidence;
6. 6. check whether the scoring methodology was correctly applied;
7. 7. correct confirmed errors; and
8. 8. recalculate the Scout Score where necessary.

Where appropriate, the outcome may be communicated to the

business.

29. Review Manipulation

Businesses and users must not attempt to manipulate the

Scout Score.

Prohibited activity includes:

• fake reviews;
• purchased reviews;
• fabricated customer accounts;
• deceptive owner or employee reviews;
• competitor review attacks;
• coordinated review campaigns;
• undisclosed prohibited incentives;
• falsified business information;
• falsified verification evidence;
• attempts to interfere with Takeaway Scout™ systems; or
• other artificial attempts to influence the score.

The Review & Rating Policy contains the detailed

rules governing reviews.

30. Consequences of Manipulation

Where invalid or manipulated information is identified,

Takeaway Scout™ may take proportionate action.

This may include:

• removing invalid reviews;
• excluding affected ratings;
• recalculating Customer Score;
• recalculating Review Confidence;
• recalculating Recent Performance;
• recalculating Consistency;
• recalculating the overall Scout Score;
• restricting accounts; or
• taking other reasonable measures necessary to protect the integrity of the platform.

A business should not benefit within the Scout Score from

information confirmed to have been artificially manipulated.

31. Business Ownership Changes

A genuine change in business ownership may affect the

relevance of historical information.

Where Takeaway Scout™ becomes aware of a material ownership

change, it may determine how existing information should be treated.

Depending upon the circumstances, this could involve:

• retaining relevant historical information;
• separating historical information;
• identifying the ownership change;
• recalculating the Scout Score;
• returning the business to provisional status; or
• applying another appropriate treatment consistent with the methodology.

A simple change of company name or legal entity does not

necessarily establish that an entirely new takeaway business exists.

32. Closed Businesses

Where a takeaway permanently closes, Takeaway Scout™ may

identify the listing as closed and remove it from current competitive results.

Historical information may be retained where appropriate.

Where a takeaway subsequently reopens, Takeaway Scout™ may

determine whether it represents the same continuing business or a materially

different operation before determining how previous scoring information should

be treated.

33. Changes to the Scoring Methodology

Takeaway Scout™ may refine its scoring methodology as the

platform develops.

Reasons may include:

• improved data;
• improved statistical methods;
• new official data sources;
• increased review volumes;
• fraud-prevention improvements;
• improvements to verification;
• identified weaknesses;
• platform development; or
• changes in applicable requirements.

Where a material methodology change is introduced, Takeaway

Scout™ may update this Policy and its published explanation of the Scout Score.

A methodology change may result in scores changing even

where the underlying takeaway itself has not changed.

34. Proprietary Scoring Technology

Takeaway Scout™ publishes the **six principal scoring

components and their maximum weighting** so consumers and businesses can

understand the basis of the Scout Score.

However, Takeaway Scout™ is not required by this Policy to

publish information that could reasonably:

• enable manipulation of the scoring system;
• undermine anti-fraud measures;
• expose security controls;
• reveal confidential technical processes; or
• compromise proprietary scoring technology.

Detailed mathematical formulas, statistical adjustments,

anti-manipulation thresholds and fraud-detection techniques may therefore

remain confidential.

35. No Guaranteed Score or Position

Takeaway Scout™ does not guarantee that a business will:

• achieve a particular Scout Score;
• retain a particular Scout Score;
• maintain a particular ranking;
• remain above a competitor;
• appear in every relevant search;
• receive a particular number of reviews; or
• maintain Full rather than Provisional status.

Scores and rankings reflect the applicable methodology and

qualifying information available at the relevant time.

36. What the Scout Score Does Not Mean

The Scout Score is a comparative takeaway assessment.

It is not:

• an official government rating;
• a food-safety inspection;
• a guarantee of food quality;
• a guarantee of food safety;
• a guarantee of service;
• a professional certification;
• a guarantee of customer satisfaction; or
• a prediction of an individual customer's experience.

Consumers should use the Scout Score alongside other

relevant information when deciding which takeaway to use.

37. Transparency

Takeaway Scout™ aims to make the principal basis of its

scoring system understandable to consumers and businesses.

The core Scout Score framework is:

Customer Score — 40 points

Review Confidence — 15 points

Recent Performance — 15 points

Consistency — 10 points

Food Hygiene — 15 points

Verified Information — 5 points

Maximum Scout Score — 100 points

Businesses with 1–4 approved reviews remain Provisional. Customer Score and Review Confidence can respond from the first approved review under confidence controls. Recent Performance and Consistency activate at 5 approved reviews, at which point the business becomes Full.

Where official source data such as a hygiene result is genuinely unavailable, the system does not invent a negative result and applies the published normalisation rules.

38. Relationship With the Review & Rating Policy

The Review & Rating Policy governs how customer

reviews are submitted, moderated, approved, challenged and removed.

This Policy governs how qualifying information may

subsequently contribute to the Scout Score.

For example:

**invalid review removed → underlying review evidence

changes → affected scoring components may be recalculated → overall Scout Score

may change → ranking may change.**

This helps ensure that information derived from reviews can

be corrected where the underlying evidence changes.

39. Complaints and Appeals

A business that believes this Policy has been incorrectly

applied may contact Takeaway Scout™.

The request should identify:

• the takeaway;
• the relevant Scout Score;
• the component believed to be incorrect;
• the alleged error; and
• supporting evidence where available.

Repeated challenges concerning substantially the same issue

may be declined where the matter has already been investigated and no

materially new information has been provided.

40. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Policy as Takeaway Scout™ and the Scout

Score methodology develop.

The latest version will be published through Takeaway

Scout™.

Where material changes are made to the principal components

or weighting of the Scout Score, the published methodology should be updated

accordingly.

41. Contact Us

For questions, corrections or concerns regarding Scout

Scores or rankings, contact:

Takeaway Scout™

A trading name of Brecon Take Aways Limited

Email: admin@takeawayscout.co.uk

Registered office:

21 Bryn de Winton

Brecon

Powys

LD3 9HL

Company number: 17052659

ICO registration number: ZC099121