Trustpilot is one of the most visible review platforms on the internet. For many businesses, it shows up on page one of Google right alongside your own website. A single bad review on Trustpilot can do outsized damage, especially if you only have a handful of reviews to begin with.
Here is what actually works when it comes to getting reviews removed from Trustpilot, and what does not.
How Trustpilot's review system works
Trustpilot is an open platform. Anyone can leave a review for any business, even if they have never been a customer. That creates risk, but it also means Trustpilot has built a fairly solid reporting system to deal with fake and abusive reviews.
Trustpilot considers itself a neutral platform. They do not take sides between a business and a reviewer. Their moderation team evaluates reports against their content guidelines. If a review violates those guidelines, they remove it. If it does not, the review stays, regardless of whether you think it is unfair.
Grounds for removal
Trustpilot will consider removing a review if it contains harmful or illegal content: threats, hate speech, or personally identifiable information. Reviews that are clearly fake, meaning they come from someone who was never a customer and you can demonstrate that, also qualify.
If a review was posted by a competitor, a disgruntled ex-employee acting in bad faith, or someone with a clear conflict of interest, Trustpilot takes that seriously. Reviews containing defamatory statements, meaning provably false claims of fact rather than opinions, are another category where removal is possible. The same goes for reviews that violate Trustpilot's specific content policies, such as reviews primarily about a third party rather than the business being reviewed.
The reporting process
Log into your Trustpilot Business account and navigate to the review. Click "Report review" and select the reason that best fits your situation. Provide evidence supporting your claim. The more specific you are, the better your chances.
Trustpilot's compliance team typically responds within a few business days. Complex cases can take longer. If your initial report is denied, you can appeal with additional evidence. We have seen cases where the first report was denied but the appeal succeeded because stronger documentation was provided the second time.
What does not work
Asking Trustpilot to remove a review simply because it is negative will get you nowhere. They will not remove a review because it hurts your feelings or because you disagree with the customer's experience.
Threatening legal action against Trustpilot directly is generally ineffective and can make things worse. Trustpilot has a policy of flagging reviews that are subject to legal disputes rather than removing them.
Do not respond to reviews in an aggressive or defensive tone. Even if the reviewer is completely wrong, your response is visible to every potential customer who reads that page. Keep it professional. Acknowledge the concern. Offer to resolve the issue offline.
When self-service is not enough
If you have gone through the reporting process and the review is still up, or if you are dealing with a coordinated attack of multiple fake reviews, professional help makes a real difference. We have established processes for documenting evidence, crafting removal requests that speak Trustpilot's language, and escalating cases that get stuck in the standard queue.
We also help businesses build a review generation strategy that pushes legitimate positive reviews onto their Trustpilot profile. This dilutes the impact of any negative reviews that cannot be removed.
If you are dealing with problematic Trustpilot reviews, our review management service covers the full spectrum from removal to reputation building. You can also read our guides on removing reviews from Google, Glassdoor, and Yelp if you are dealing with issues across multiple platforms.