- Original Poster
- #1
As an online retailer with over 20 years of experience, we have relied on Trustpilot for the past eight years, believing it to be an honest reviews platform. However, our experiences have raised significant concerns about Trustpilot's ethics, particularly regarding their handling of fraudulent and defamatory reviews.
Frustrated, we left a review on Trustpilot's page, expressing our anger and accusing them of siding with scammers over reputable businesses. We suggested they change their name to "ScamPilot." This review was promptly found to be in breach of their guidelines and was never published. Despite questioning this decision multiple times over the years, including as recently as April this year, the review remains offline six years later.
Despite flagging these reviews, only my name was removed from one review, while the defamatory content remained. The customer continued to leave additional reviews, all repeating the same unfounded complaints and personal attacks. His latest review went so far as to compare me to Paula Vennells, accuse me of being a criminal, and call me a narcissist. Trustpilot has refused to remove these reviews, despite their clear defamatory nature. In his latest review my name is still clearly visible and and the review in main is aimed at me.
While we understand and accept legitimate negative reviews, it is infuriating to see Trustpilot allowing baseless, personal vendettas to tarnish our reputation. Something needs to be done to ensure that Trustpilot cannot continue to allow deranged customers to bully companies and the people who work for them. Trustpilot should take responsibility for the reviews they publish and ensure they do not enable malicious attacks on businesses.
I can see on Trustpilot's own reviews page im not the only one in this situation but they seem to be getting away.
The 2018 Incident
Our first major issue with Trustpilot occurred in 2018. A fraudster attempted to make a £2,000 purchase from our store, which was flagged by both Stripe and Shopify as potentially fraudulent. Fortunately, we were able to stop the order before it was delivered. Despite this, the fraudster left a damaging review on Trustpilot, claiming our products were of poor quality and advising others not to buy from us. We reported this to Trustpilot, fully expecting the review to be removed. To our amazement, they refused, stating it would only be removed after the chargeback process was complete, which could take up to three months. Despite numerous email exchanges, Trustpilot would not budge.Frustrated, we left a review on Trustpilot's page, expressing our anger and accusing them of siding with scammers over reputable businesses. We suggested they change their name to "ScamPilot." This review was promptly found to be in breach of their guidelines and was never published. Despite questioning this decision multiple times over the years, including as recently as April this year, the review remains offline six years later.
Recent Challenges
More recently, in July 2023, we faced another issue with Trustpilot. A customer, who had previously been abusive towards our staff in 2020, lodged a complaint about a faulty item that was three years old. Recognizing the customer's name and considering his past behavior, we decided to offer a fair-use refund, which was more than compliant with the Consumer Goods Act. However, the customer demanded a replacement and, unhappy with our response, left multiple scathing reviews on Trustpilot, personally attacking me and making numerous false allegations. The customer has also been sending very unhinged emails and also sending emails to the CEO. To add its pretty serious and we are now looking at an injunction due to his behavior.Despite flagging these reviews, only my name was removed from one review, while the defamatory content remained. The customer continued to leave additional reviews, all repeating the same unfounded complaints and personal attacks. His latest review went so far as to compare me to Paula Vennells, accuse me of being a criminal, and call me a narcissist. Trustpilot has refused to remove these reviews, despite their clear defamatory nature. In his latest review my name is still clearly visible and and the review in main is aimed at me.
Ethical Concerns
This situation raises serious ethical questions about Trustpilot's practices. Why does Trustpilot have the right to publish untrue allegations without requiring proof? These false and derogatory reviews can have a severe mental and financial impact on business owners. Trustpilot seems to run a company at profit from the controversy, allowing reviews that can seriously damage businesses without taking adequate action to verify their truthfulness.While we understand and accept legitimate negative reviews, it is infuriating to see Trustpilot allowing baseless, personal vendettas to tarnish our reputation. Something needs to be done to ensure that Trustpilot cannot continue to allow deranged customers to bully companies and the people who work for them. Trustpilot should take responsibility for the reviews they publish and ensure they do not enable malicious attacks on businesses.
I can see on Trustpilot's own reviews page im not the only one in this situation but they seem to be getting away.
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