“Unveiling the Deceptive Side of Trustpilot: Are Those Glowing 5-Star Reviews a Mirage?”
OVERVIEW
- Trustpilot does not know which 5-star reviews are fake. It doesn’t appear that they have a way of preventing scammers from posting 5-star reviews about their own companies.
- Trustpilot has programs for companies that range from $259-$1059/month. They also have a free program. Trustpilot makes no money from consumers posting reviews.
- Trustpilot routinely removes negative reviews. They will contact the reviewer, offer to let them edit the review if it (supposedly) violates their guidelines, or let the reviewer upload proof that the review is true. However, per my and Angela’s experiences, even if you have proof, they may still remove the review. In my experience, I had to contact their legal department and it then took them 2 1/2 months to put my negative review back up.
- There are many companies online that offer, for a fee, to negotiate with review websites to have a company’s negative reviews removed. The two we looked at today specifically mention Trustpilot on their websites. One states, “Design & Launch Removal Campaign – Our team of experts takes action using various insider connections to businesses, legal options, SEO strategies, software reporting, or a combination of multiple facets.” (The bold was added by me.) Companies can also pay to have fake positive reviews posted about them online. “Review” websites are rife with abuse.
- In my opinion, the Better Business Bureau, while not perfect, does a much better job than Trustpilot.
Seventy-one percent of US consumers surveyed in 2022 agreed that a good Trustpilot score makes them more likely to buy from a brand. Fifty-four million reviews were posted on Trustpilot in 2023.
