A few years back, one of our competitors maliciously added a negative review for our company on the Trustpilot platform. That’s all it takes for Trustpilot to force you into maintaining your account with them. This is an unethical and predatory tactic that small businesses like ours should not have to contend with.
Once a Trustpilot profile is created for a business, there is no viable way to opt out of this system. The only recourse is to claim the profile in order to respond to the negative review. However, in doing so, the business must agree to Trustpilot’s terms of service, which include a number of concerning stipulations that we find unacceptable.
Regrettably, upon claiming the profile, our company has become subject to a barrage of mysterious negative reviews from individuals who cannot be verified as legitimate customers. Despite our efforts to address these reviews, Trustpilot refuses to remove them unless we pay substantial annual fees. This is nothing short of extortion, and it is clear that Trustpilot, as a private equity-funded corporate entity, is exploiting small businesses for profit.
It is our professional obligation to make our customers aware of these predatory practices, which threaten the integrity and sustainability of our operations. We will continue to explore all avenues to address this unacceptable situation, but in the meantime, we urge our valued customers to be vigilant and not to blindly trust the reviews they find on Trustpilot.