Why I'm Behind About This Business and the Principles of Business DNA

For more than 15 years, I have worked to help unravel and address the consequences of bad information that led to bad decisions.

Through KwikChex, that has meant investigating misleading business practices, working with enforcement agencies, providing evidence in court proceedings and helping people who have suffered serious financial and personal harm.

Some of the cases have been heartbreaking. Some have taken years to investigate and resolve. Behind the financial losses are people whose lives, livelihoods, families and futures have been profoundly affected.

We have also seen good businesses suffer because misleading information, manipulated reviews and undeserved reputations have distorted the choices people make.

One of the most frustrating aspects of this work is knowing how much of that harm might have been prevented if better information had been available at the outset.

For too long, people have been encouraged to rely on online reviews, promotional claims, trust badges, accreditations and purported endorsements as indicators of business credibility. Yet our investigations have repeatedly demonstrated how these signals can be manipulated, misused or presented in ways that create dangerously misleading impressions.

I have seen situations where people have placed their trust in businesses that appeared entirely credible, only to discover too late that there were serious problems behind the reassuring image.

And I have seen the difficulties of achieving justice and redress after the damage has been done. Investigations, enforcement proceedings and legal action can take years. Even successful outcomes cannot always undo the harm suffered.

We need to do more than help people after things have gone wrong. We need to make it harder for things to go wrong in the first place.

That is the motivation behind About This Business and the wider KwikChex Probity initiatives.

I believe there is a better way to establish business credibility: not through the volume of favourable opinions, the prominence of promotional claims or the display of impressive-looking badges, but through evidence, independent scrutiny and demonstrable accountability.

I also believe that good businesses deserve better. Those genuinely committed to high standards, clarity, transparency and fair and honest conduct should have meaningful opportunities to demonstrate their strengths and distinguish themselves from businesses that merely claim such qualities.

This is what we are seeking to achieve through Business DNA, Probity Checks and Transparent Reassurance Systems.

Our approach is not simply about identifying dishonesty or exposing shortcomings. It is about encouraging improvement, recognising excellence and intervening early enough to prevent avoidable harm.

We believe in prevention through intervention, wherever possible.

After more than 15 years of seeing the consequences of bad information, I believe the time has come to fundamentally improve the information people rely on before making important decisions.

I am behind About This Business because I want fewer people to experience the harm I have witnessed, and more good businesses to receive the recognition they deserve.

Our mission is to make reassurance a matter of fact, and give people better information to make better decisions.