The Choice comments section is, unfortunately, long in need of updating. As it stands one cannot edit their review but they can add a new review.
Part of the issue at Choice is reflected in how to address this long standing topic I moved your post into so it appears they have become roos in the headlights - not wanting to expend resources on something they may change.
Still, maybe @helegante and @BrendanMays could ask for an editing function to be added, but noting a number of subsequent reviews reveals more than one that has been edited the same number of times; history gets lost in the latter since comment posts are freeform and history often matters whether + or -.
I am not following , I wish to rescind my previous positive comment as it no longer applies and do not want anyone to use it as a reason for using that product
Tried adding an additional review but was stopped as site told me I had already [posted
As I responded above, comments are inflexible but as @grahroll added, a new post can effectively reverse or update your prior post BUT as you have discovered
If you wish your comment on Choice.com.au to be removed I suggest you contact Choice at [email protected] with the details. (The Community is separate from Choice.com.au although Choice sponsors the Community and some Choice staff monitor it.)
If there is a change in a position on a product and you wish to have a post removed, you are welcome to message @BrendanMays/@helegante to have a post deleted.
In any request, please include the URL (link) for the post.
No worries, I have never tried to post a second comment in the same productās area. I did not realise that a second post was not allowed. I would even think that not being able to later edit a post/review is counter productive to providing up to date feedback about products or services (which many do change over time including because of recipe alterations or pricing structure).
Assume the product review edits would also be subject to approval as it has been for the original content?
For the Choice approval of any edits, would it also be appropriate the original review content remains accessible for comparison with the proposed edit?
I can see the benefit in being able to post feedback on a product as a first time user, and the opportunity to offer more informed comment after greater use. Generally when I see a benefit in posting a product review I defer from sharing early experiences knowing some products take some time (months) to get to know the product. Especially true of washing machines and ovens getting around to trying out the various cycles and settings. Being able to update a review - first impressions and lived experience? A bit like the motoring reviewers who post most reviews based on a track day or shared vehicle over a day at most. Those written based on a 2-3 month loaner offer a fuller experience for the journalist and hopefully a more considered review.
Hi Michelle (@mguinea), I recently subscribed to Choice again but was unfortunately very disappointed by the mistakes I found Choice had made when reporting results in reviews.
I appreciate Choiceās independence and hard work preparing reviews, and understand mistakes can and will always occur, so cancelled my subscription and will now do my own research.
Unfortunately I just didnāt realise there would be so many mistakes thus I wasted countless hours going through reviews and narrowing down my purchase choices, and it was only when I was just about to remove a product from a list due to Choice listing it as not having a certain attribute I needed, that I realised it was a product I already buy and love and Choiceās review was clearly incorrect.
I then discovered further mistakes in other reviews, so had to throw out all my notes and research for many products and start from the beginning yet again with my own research because I couldnāt trust products Iād previously dismissed for certain attributes had actually accurately had their attributes recorded by Choice.
The worst case was deciding to buy a robot lawnmower because Choice said it didnāt need boundary wire, which as I explained to Choice when cancelling my subscription unfortunately not only wasted a huge amount of my time but also caused me even further inconvenience. If I hadnāt eventually discovered obvious mistakes that I knew were indeed incorrect information provided by Choice that I was about to base my purchasing decisions on, I could have wasted even more time and caused myself even further inconvenience choosing products based on Choiceās misinformation.
Again I understand mistakes will always occur, but all I hope now is that Choice finally 200% ensures all reviews have correct information (especially given subscribers pay for it so it should indeed be correct). Because to me thereās no point doing anything else with Choiceās website until all reviews have correct information - as unfortunately I found this time subscribing to Choice for the reviews was unfortunately an ultimately useless and painful waste of time for me personally, so I will not be subscribing again any time soon again because of this.
Regardless, I do genuinely appreciate everything Choice and their hard working staff members do for us all, and thank you for giving me the opportunity to make this comment for consideration.
I have moved your post into this topic about improving CHOICEās testing and reviews. Thank you for your feedback, I will tag @BrendanMays into this so it can be passed back to the relevant teams.
Thank you for the feedback @icky41 , Iāll make sure to pass it on to the relevant teams. We have a dedicated fact checking team, but occasionally errors do still occur. Weāre sorry that in this case it has left you feeling that your time was wasted, and weāll make sure the reviews you mentioned receive additional attention.
Thanks Brendan, but as I wrote this was all explained to Choice at the time I cancelled my subscription - so obviously thereās no need for you to report it yet again as that will just waste staff membersā time. Can I also please respectfully point out I do not just āfeelā my time was wasted after paying for this Choice subscription, I know for a fact countless hours of my valuable time was indeed totally wasted due to the mistakes Choice made after I paid to see their test results, thus I had to repeat countless hours of research all over again. Unfortunately I can never recommend a Choice subscription to anyone now as a result, and believe thatās a huge shame.
When Choice does reviews of TVs, Fridges, Washing Machines etc I used to be able to see Member Reviews too. Have they temporarily disappeared or does Choice no longer permit members to post their experience with the product?
Member reviews are still a thing as far as I know. During this current period there have been some changes to the site and reviews may have not been available. It has been a bit of a challenge to get to be able to write reviews in the past, maybe the changes to the site will improve the experience.
I visited one page about a fridge, I didnāt see an option there at the moment to add a review, hopefully it will reappear soon. I gave feedback about the current lack of member review choice. It may be that my Pi-hole and cookie control is blocking an element on the page that allows the reviews to show or allow placing a review (if this has been a change implemented on the site how member reviews are presented).
I merged your topic into this older one dating from 2017. If you peruse it, it includes aspects of testing, especially problems of addressing reliability, and also subscriber comments that have long been a problem for Choice. It was not friendly, to be kind.
There is a content management update while I type and the comments such as they were hosted have gone missing. It would be a shame if Choice has not included a functional, friendly, relevant comments facility for subscribers in this major update.
I encountered the ad blocker hostilty too a few weeks back when trying to leave my review about a fridge that Choice had reviewedā¦.. I lost all my beautifully written review, I am disappointed that all member reviews have now disappeared totally! Lab reviews are helpfulā¦. but there are often mistakes and the real world owners can clarifyā¦. like Choice is wrong there is a warning when the fridge door is open etc. I will not be happy at all if members real world expereinces are not allowed. Should not Choice be giving their subscribers what they want to see?ā¦.. not āeat this it is good for youā? I am not happy with Choice at all at the moment to be honest. Choice need to remember that they are primarily funded by subscribers.
I noticed that the member reviews and the ability to submit member reviews has disappeared. Is there any reason for removing it as I found they provided further information on the product, and at times issues that hadnāt been raised during the official Choice review.
I merged your post into this existing one that includes member comments.
If one peruses this topic Choice has been aware the āoldā comment system was lacking, but it seems to have gone into the āsome dayā or even a ātoo hardā basket such as we can glean from outside wondering what is (or is not) happening.
Maybe @BrendanMays can provide an update on the what, why, and hopefully when member commentary will be restored?
Weāre doing a number of updates to the choice.com.au site. We werenāt getting a lot of member reviews to the product pages, and we felt there were also some issues with the way they were displayed on the pages. It was causing some confusion for some members and when weāre talking about user reviews, itās generally more useful if there is a minimum amount of volume to get a better reflection on peopleās experiences.
For these reasons, weāre changing the way we display some of the information on the site and removing the current product reviews format. Weāre still inviting member reviews using extensive surveys via Voice Your Choice, which also informs things like our reliability ratings or for some insurance products, claims ratings. Youāre also welcome to leave your reviews here in the Community, youāll notice the categories here mirror the choice.com.au website.
