Is Trustpilot Legit? The Truth About Trustpilot Reviews (2026)
You’d think checking online reviews is the safest way to decide if a company is worth your money.
After all, millions of people sharing real experiences… what could go wrong?
And when it comes to review sites, nothing is bigger than Trustpilot.
But here’s the reality… I wouldn’t rely on it blindly.
Let me show you why Trustpilot reviews aren’t always as trustworthy as they seem.
Quick Verdict: Is Trustpilot Reliable?
Factor | Verdict | What It Means |
|---|---|---|
Is Trustpilot legit? | ✅ Yes | It’s a real company and widely used |
Are reviews always real? | ❌ No | Fake and paid reviews do exist |
Can reviews be removed? | ⚠️ Sometimes | Businesses can challenge negative reviews |
Is the rating accurate? | ⚠️ Not always | Scores can be manipulated or biased |
Should you rely on it? | ❌ No | Use it as a guide, not the final decision |
What Is Trustpilot?
Trustpilot is a global review platform where customers can rate businesses and share feedback.
It’s designed to be open — anyone can leave a review, and companies can respond publicly.
On paper, that sounds ideal.
But that same openness is also where the cracks start to show.
Is Trustpilot Legit?
Yes — Trustpilot itself is a legitimate company.
But that doesn’t mean every review on there is genuine, balanced, or even written by a real customer.
That’s the bit most people misunderstand.
It’s not a scam… but it’s far from reliable.
I always say — don’t just rely on reviews. Compare prices and stack cashback where you can to get the best deal.
Why Trustpilot Reviews Aren’t Always Reliable
Fake Reviews Are Easy to Buy
This is the biggest issue.
If you search for ways to “buy Trustpilot reviews”, you’ll find services offering them for just a few pounds each. Some are even sold openly on freelance platforms.
That means a company can boost its rating quickly — without improving its service at all.
Once you realise that, those perfect 5-star scores don’t look quite so convincing.
Ironically, some of the same platforms people use for side hustles are where fake reviews get sold.
Reviews Are Sometimes Written Before Products Arrive
You’ll often see reviews saying things like:
“Great service, can’t wait for my order!”
That’s not a review — that’s a guess.
If people are leaving 5-star ratings before they’ve even received anything, how much weight should those ratings really carry?
Negative Reviews Can Be Challenged (and Removed)
This is something I’ve experienced myself.
I left a negative review for a company after a poor experience. Within days, it was challenged.
I was asked to prove I was a customer. I sent evidence. They asked for more.
Eventually, I gave up.
Had it been a glowing 5-star review, I doubt it would have been questioned at all.
That’s the problem — negative feedback can disappear, which skews the overall rating.
The Numbers Can Be Misleading
Trustpilot has tens of millions of reviews.
That sounds reassuring — but volume doesn’t equal accuracy.
Their own transparency reports have shown millions of fake reviews being removed in a single year. And those are just the ones they caught.
A Real Example: When Reviews Don’t Add Up
I remember seeing a company discussed on the MoneySavingExpert forum called “Megadeals”.
On Trustpilot, it looked solid — thousands of reviews and a decent rating.
But when you actually read them, things didn’t add up.
One review said:
“A crisp and efficient, effective service and delivery of purchase. The tracking of goods in transite was excellent and accurate.”
Who talks like that?
It reads more like a template than a genuine customer.
Even stranger, some reviewers admitted they hadn’t received their order yet… and still left 5 stars.
That alone should tell you everything.
It’s not just fake positive reviews you need to worry about. Some businesses are very good at deleting negative ones.
Several years ago, I sold some CDs to a well-known online retailer (who shall remain nameless – just don’t look at the image below). It took months to get paid, so I left a 2-star review on Trustpilot explaining exactly what happened. Within days, the company challenged my review.
Trustpilot told me to prove I was a customer, so I sent my receipt. They rejected it and asked for more “evidence”. Eventually, I gave up. Had I left a glowing 5-star review, I doubt they’d have questioned it.
This shows how easily companies can remove anything unflattering. They just claim you’re not a real customer — and your honest review disappears.
It Works Both Ways (Negative Reviews Can Be Misleading Too)
To be fair, it’s not just fake positive reviews you need to think about.
People are far more likely to leave a review when something goes wrong.
So big companies often have poor Trustpilot scores simply because:
- They serve huge numbers of customers
- More things go wrong at scale
- Happy customers rarely leave reviews
You might use a company 20 times without issue, but the one bad experience ends up online.
So, Is Trustpilot Reliable?
Here’s the honest answer:
It can be useful — but only if you use it properly.
If you just glance at the star rating, you’re doing it wrong.
If you actually read the reviews, look for patterns, and question what you’re seeing, it becomes far more useful.
How to Use Trustpilot Properly (Quick Checklist)
Before you rely on any Trustpilot rating, take a couple of minutes to check:
- How many reviews are there in total?
- Are the reviews recent?
- Do they include specific details or just vague praise?
- Do multiple reviews sound the same?
- Are people reviewing before receiving products?
- What do other platforms (Google, forums, Reddit) say?
This takes minutes — but can save you from making a bad decision.
My Honest Take
I still use Trustpilot, but I don’t trust it.
It’s just one piece of the puzzle.
If something looks too good to be true, a 4.8-star rating on Trustpilot won’t convince me otherwise.
And honestly, some of the worst companies I’ve come across looked great on there.
Final Verdict: Can You Trust Trustpilot?
Trustpilot isn’t a scam.
But it’s not as reliable as most people think.
Use it as a starting point — not your final decision.
And always double-check before spending your money.
FAQ: Trustpilot Reviews Explained
Is Trustpilot legit?
Yes, Trustpilot is a legitimate review platform used worldwide. However, that doesn’t mean every review on the site is genuine or reliable.
Are Trustpilot reviews fake?
Some are. Fake and paid reviews do exist, and while Trustpilot removes many of them, not all are caught.
Can companies remove Trustpilot reviews?
They can’t directly delete reviews, but they can challenge them. If a reviewer can’t provide enough evidence, the review may be removed.
Is Trustpilot reliable in the UK?
It can be useful, but it shouldn’t be your only source. Always cross-check with other platforms before trusting a company.
Should I trust Trustpilot ratings?
Not on their own. Ratings can be influenced by fake reviews, biased feedback, or removed negative reviews.
Completely agree with this,
Trust pilot has removed many of my negative reviews for not having enough proof etc.
The thing is, it’s in trust pilots interest to remove negative reviews to ensure businesses (both good and bad,) keep using it. After all, why not just use Google reviews? Google doesn’t remove or investigate negative reviews, but Google doesn’t solely rely on them for a profit.
I’m amazed trust pilot hasn’t been more exposed, to be honest.
@Kyle, for me it’s the other way around strangely. My 3 and 4-star reviews were removed while a 1-star review of a company was left up. The removed 3-star rating was for Trustpilot itself. I think it’s their business to manipulate ratings to make a company look good or bad so they can make a business out of it
@Ariady, Yes. TrustPilot has done the same thing with my reviews.
Trust Pilot is an unreliable source which always backs up the companies which pay for membership. So, when the review is harmful to the company’s reputation they will complain and your review will be removed. Often they will say it is defamatory to scare the writer who would have said nothing but the truth. I have lost £1,500 because a former employee had reached out to me to help boost the sales of my book. He did not ask me for this much money but when British Book Publishing contacted me they told me that they wanted more money so I ended paying £1500. LinkedIn. Actually they wanted £3000 but I couldn’t afford it. After all the book had been edited and laid already. It also had an introduction and cover. All I asked for was to provide it in POD and to push it on the global markets. After about five months waiting they started messing around with my MS and asking for photos. I am old fashioned but if the imagery of the poetry is right, photos ruin the book. In other words they wanted an excuse to make the book more expensive.
I kept insisting that I did not want photos and they they started to capitalise certain words which looked plain stupid an unnecessary. I still have the MS as proof of the mess they made of it. Finally I gave up and asked them for a refund after all they had not done any work except ruin the MS submitted If anything I should have been the one to charge them fees for ruining the MS submitted. The editor’s response was typical: “We are well beyond a refund”.
So I complained and told TP that I had been robbed. And that is the truth but the answer was as if I was the criminal and the thief! They said they were removing my writeup because it was defamatory! But the truth is out and recently I was advised to make complaints on other sites where they really care about the consumer.
Trustpilot is practically owned by large organisations including xe money and e bay and Amazon on line.
It’s got an oversize ego.
while writing a negative review about a large energy company yesterday I was kicked out of trust pilot unlike many I value my integrity
I totally agree 100% with this article. I just knew the company who I wrote a bad review on told Trustpilot to remove it and they did. They asked me for proof of purchase and I gave it to them plus all my emails but in the end they said their decision is final and they considered my case closed. They were very polite but still it was very infuriating to say the least. I deleted all my reviews and it was time to move on. They cannot be trusted as they are removing valid reviews with proof of purchase. What a scam and shame on them. Also many of the companies on Trustpilot are questionable as being legitimate but that’s another story. Just don’t trust all those 5 star reviews as Trustpilot can remove all the bad valid reviews even with proof of purchase and make a scam company look legit with mostly all 5 star fake reviews. Buyer beware and read reviews elsewhere before purchasing anything just based on Trustpilot reviews as that was my big mistake as the company is not even legit that I was dealing with and I told Trustpilot that but they just don’t seem to care.And that so called company is still on there with a 4.4 rating out of 5 which is total lies which makes Trustpilot no better than the scammers I was dealing with.
@Larry,
Thank you for your posting. I am currently writing reviews as an issues I have with, lets call it Neverebelo. I have requested a refund due to first not being able to locate my order on their site, and delay tactics after they could. But I had astrong feeling they are used to this due to the bold and willilful obfuscation. Yet Trust pilot has a very positive rating for them. If asked for proof I will give them the order number and a view into my profile on the site of the vendor. If they don’t except I will add my efforts to expose them
Published a “verified review” after being invited to leave a review following a purchase at the UK company Tool Station. Nearly 1 year on and trust pilot state that their “software flagged an issue” and my review had been removed, I was asked to provide further proof that I was a customer. I did this including information/screenshot proving the online issue my review highlighted.
I have not heard back from trust pilot and my review remains deleted, ironically it was a 3 star review explaining that I was unable to use the company website, which I am still unable to use to this day however, in store the service is great. It would appear that Trust Pilot reviews are no longer a reliable review site with legitimate uncensored reviews.
Very helpful. I was about to engage in a business with a company because of their good rate on Trustpilot, but my cousin told me of a Law firm that took over 5K from him and then declare bankruptcy, this firm has a very good rate on Trustpilot, hence my curiosity to know more about Trustpilot itself. Thanks indeed for this helpful information
Trustpilot is a complete scam yes, they manipulate everything, lie cheat, make false and defamatory accusations.
This is more down to the companies who use it and how trustworthy they are. Trustpilot will only manipulate the reviews when asked to do so by paying clients.
there are a lot of honest trustworthy companies son there who do not get negative reviews removed.
Read my aarticle here
https://michaels.me.uk/trustpilot-can-they-be-trusted/
trustpilot is being taken to court by at least two class action lawsuits in america because it’s an extortion racket. Basically, they put up a page for company X with a negative review, then they send an email telling X there’s a negative review and offering them a “deal” to sign up for such and such a year. If they refuse, all negative reviews stay and all positive reviews disappear. If they pay, the opposite happens. One guy used a screenshot of a positive review left on trustpilot for his own site, on his own site, and trustpilot wanted money for using it. He refused, so they put a notice at the top of his page on trustpilot saying “user beware, this site is not trustworthy”. trustpilot is a scam either way.
Trust pilot (along with all main stream review sites, IMBD, rotten tomatoes) are rotten to their core (haha) they are paid by the companies they turn ablind eye to the millions of fake positives and remove millions of genuine negative reviews. I have had quiet near enough all of my negatives challenged and only managed to keep one up, I have reposted them and been threatened by trustpilot to delete my account. They have done what so many companies have done before they started out being honest to their goal, and then when it pays they now do the bidding of the companies that pay them. I probably leave an equal number of positive and negative reviews I’m a strong believer in saying it how it is regardless of it having a negative effect on a company m. That’s the only way things will get better. If companies can manipulate this then they will not care and the consumers, us, suffer for it. Ibhave had google review removed and reposted them over and over again because quiet frankly I will not back down because its the only small thing we can do in this modern world and if we don’t stick by it and make the effort then we all loose out.
I put a review on Trustpilot with a negative about a company – failing to deliver in time for a birthday. They removed it twice. They seem to only want good reviews. In which case I owuld take their reviews with a pinch of sale.
I proved my purchases, all seven of them and the reviews were there and then later removed. I suspect they are black mailing companies to have them removed. Their reviews in no way are accurate. It’s impossible to trust them knowing they deleted your honest review and allegedly keep the dishonest ones to make a corrupt company look good in the public eye. They have a terrible BBB rating.
I agree. TrustPilot makes it so difficult to have a review published I wouldn’t use it.
TrustPilot isn’t trustworthy in ways that you shouldn’t use it TrustPilot has removed my review with no good reasons. It’s a terrible website.
I agree. TrustPilot is not reliable. They’ve rejected my accurate reviews for no good reason.
It was ok until I reviewed Poole council apparently trust pilot could not find it so no review tried every combination,got a message from their dev who apologised and gave me a link I spent a long time on the review it it not post reason given in micro print was to many requests from my IP address ,then at bottom of my reviews was this has been removed as breaks our rules .
Councils / companies can pay to have any search for them removed so you can’t get to them Trust pilot is a scam to honest reviews !
Try commenting on Poole council trust pilot have algoes so you can’t search for them
It stops people from knowing what they get up to with blue badge application’s,and that is a horror story they don’t want going public !
Please dont trust Trust Pilot – they have removed my Valid reviews on British Gas and a couple of other rogue companies taking the micky out of its customers. They are supporting rogue companies. Their reviews are dictated by them and even when proof emails and all evidence provided they still wont print them. They have a hidden agenda. Their reviews are pointless. Dont trust them.
Great article. I have been seeing these companies with 4.8 and 4.9 star reviews with tens or hundreds of thousands of reviews and thought, no. No one is THAT good. Imagine how great a review score you can have when you get to delete the negative reviews! It takes the fake-review to another level. Thanks for confirming what I suspected for some time now.
hi
i find trust pilot impossible to use as they ask questions i have no idea about URL source , then if you filled in the form, you press submit but then you have to some other party, i dont do social media and hate the way googles tentacles have leached into practically all online companies.
before google owned trust pilot you just pressed send. its time the USA brought laws in to constrain there empire and make them sell off some of their companies, i always try not to deal with google at all
Just got that tee shirt. My review was challenged three times, using requests for more info after the first review was verified by documentation(after three months of asking for my refund, the ££ suddenly appeared, fancy that!) and then subsequent objections using the guidelines excuse. Is this manipulation?
My question would be, do they have integrity? I don’t know.