A new customer review website claims it will create a transparent and level playing field in the recruitment industry.

Founder and chairman Brad Liebmann officially launched Bview.co.uk, which he describes as a directory service like Yell.co.uk with the social networking capabilities of Facebook, earlier this month.

Bview lists the details of 2.3m UK companies, including over 23,000 recruiters, giving free company credit ratings, customer reviews and ratings, which is unlike opt-in business directories and review sites which use targeted advertising.

Customers rate the quality, reliability and value of the products and services they received and give a regularly updated 'Bview Score' to every business.

Bview provides a ready-made web page for every UK business and managers are encouraged to take control of their reputation by uploading photographs, videos and relevant information about the business.

Serial entrepreneur, Liebmann who also founded insurance and finance site www.simplybusiness.co.uk, told Recruiter: "Bview enables companies to manage their reputation online — whether they have positive or negative feedback from reviewers companies can control the perception of their brand online."

Liebmann conceived the idea for Bview in 2006 after becoming exasperated at the inefficiency of government watchdogs.

He said: "People who engage in unscrupulous business practices ... need to be named and shamed."

"There are some great recruitment agencies out there but there are also some not so great ones. Bview will create a level playing field and help to improve the recruitment industry through transparency."

Rowan Sallows, head of technology and finance at recruiter Anson McCade, which received positive and negative reviews on Bview, told Recruiter: "I believe it is a great tool to signpost clients and candidates to your business as well as providing a mechanism for improvement."

Meanwhile, executive recruiter, Chase Zander, has signed up to an independent customer feedback system Feefo, which provides an online interactive forum for feedback and is designed to be transparent and comprehensive.