Trustpilot is a popular review site where customers can leave reviews for businesses. And while positive reviews can help build a company’s reputation, negative or fake reviews can harm credibility and affect sales. If you’ve seen a Trustpilot review that is unfair, fake, or misleading, then you may be wondering what you can do to make what could be damaging review content disappear.
As a result, in this article, we aim to provide step by step guidance on erasing the Trustpilot review as well as legal and ethical solutions to help you maintain your online reputation. We will also provide you with actionable insights on how you can respond to fake Trustpilot reviews and how to avoid these reviews eternally.
Understanding Trustpilot’s Review Policies
To do so, you need to be aware of Trustpilot’s rules before trying to remove Trustpilot review:
- Businesses cannot delete reviews on Trustpilot — only the platform or the reviewer can do that.
- Reviews should be based on real customer experiences.
- Trustpilot prohibits fake reviews, defamatory content, and spam reviews.
- Businesses can flag reviews that are against the platform’s policies.
Types of Reviews That Can Be Removed
Not all bad reviews qualify for removal, but here are cases where Trustpilot allows businesses to take action:
- Fake Trustpilot Reviews: If you suspect a review is not from a real customer.
- Defamatory or Inappropriate Content: Reviews that contain offensive, false, or misleading statements.
- Spam Reviews: Multiple negative reviews from the same user or bot activity.
- Competitor Attacks: Competitors posting false reviews to damage your business.
- Violation of Trustpilot’s Guidelines: If the review includes personal data, threats, or promotional content.
Can Trustpilot Negative Reviews Be Removed?
You can delete a Trustpilot review, but only under certain conditions. Trustpilot allows businesses to flag reviews that violate their rules, such as fake Trustpilot reviews.
If Trustpilot determines that a review is misleading, inappropriate, or not the result of a genuine experience, Trustpilot may take action to remove or refuse to publish the review. To keep an eye on Trustpilot, businesses should include monitoring their reviews and implement a Trustpilot remove review process if needed.
Step-by-Step Guide to Removing Negative Trustpilot Reviews
Negative reviews on Trustpilot can seriously hurt your brand’s credibility and cost you customers. However, you have options when it comes to dealing with a fake, misleading, or unfair review. Although you cannot remove Trustpilot review directly, you can take steps to report, dispute, or respond appropriately.
We’ll take you through the necessary steps to help you delete negative Trustpilot reviews and safeguard your business reputation.
Step 1: Identify Whether You Can Remove the Trustpilot Review
Before acting, check if the review breaches Trustpilot’s policies. Trustpilot lets you flag and request removal of:
- Fake Trustpilot reviews: Posted by bots, competitors, or non-customers.
- Spam or promotional content: Contains ads or unrelated links.
- Offensive or harmful language: Threats, hate speech, or profanities.
- Factual errors: False or misleading claims that can harm your reputation.
- Exposing personal data: Leaking phone numbers, addresses, or emails.
If a review fits this criterion, you are then able to contact Trustpilot to report the review to be removed.
Step 2: How to Report and Remove a Trustpilot Review
Trustpilot gives businesses the ability to flag reviews that violate their guidelines. To remove a Trustpilot review that violates policies, please follow the steps below:
- Log in to your Trustpilot Business Account.
2. Go to the “Reviews” section.
3. Find the negative review you want to contest.
4. Click the “Flag” or “Report” button adjacent to the review.
5. Select a valid reason, like “Fake review” or “Misleading information.”
6. File your request and wait for Trustpilot’s reply.
Trustpilot’s Decision Process:
- If the review was left in violation of the guidelines, Trustpilot will remove the review in a matter of days.
- If the review follows Trustpilot’s guidelines, it will always be visible.
💡 Pro Tip: If Trustpilot doesn’t agree to delete the Trustpilot review itself, proceed to the following steps to reduce its negativity.
Step 3: Respond Professionally to Minimize Damage
If the review is real but not favorable, dealing with it professionally can mitigate the damage.
How To Respond To Negative Trustpilot Reviews: Best Practices:
- Be accepting of the feedback and don’t get defensive.
- The first step to a resolution is to get them to reach out to you.
- Resume arguments, accusations, or aggressive language.
Example Response:
Hi [Reviewer’s Name], we’re sorry you had this experience. Our team would be happy to help resolve this issue, Please reach out to us at [your email]. “We appreciate your feedback and the opportunity to improve!”
A professional and solution-oriented response can sometimes prompt the customer to update or delete their Trustpilot review themselves.
Step 4: Request Proof of Purchase for Fake Trustpilot Reviews
If you believe that the Trustpilot review is false, you can ask Trustpilot to validate it.
How to Verify Fake Reviews:
- Request customer verification from Trustpilot.
- Trustpilot will request the reviewer to give the proof of purchase.
- If they cannot provide evidence, Trustpilot will potentially remove the review.
This is a very suitable approach to eradicating Trustpilot reviews that were left by competitors or ill-disposed actors.
Step 5: Encourage Positive Reviews to Balance the Ratings
Since you can’t delete Trustpilot review entirely, increasing positive reviews can improve your rating.
Ways to Get More Positive Reviews on Trustpilot:
- Ask happy customers to leave a review after a purchase.
- Use email reminders with a direct link to your Trustpilot profile.
- Provide exceptional service to prevent future complaints.
- Highlight positive reviews on your website and social media.
More positive reviews will push negative ones down, reducing their visibility and influence.
Step 6: Consider Legal Action for False or Defamatory Reviews
You can consider legal action if the review includes false claims, defamation, or illegal claims.
When to Take Legal Steps to Remove a Trustpilot Review:
- The review includes false statements that harm your business.
- The reviewer refuses to remove it, even after you prove it’s false.
- The review violates defamation laws in your country.
Important: Legal action should be your last option. First, try working with Trustpilot’s support team to delete the Trustpilot review using their official dispute process.
How to Handle Negative Reviews That Cannot Be Removed on TrustPilot
Handling TrustPilot negative reviews that are not removable requires a strategy to protect your reputation while showing professionalism. Here’s how to handle them effectively:
1. Stay Calm and Professional
Avoid reacting emotionally. Take time to assess the review objectively before responding.
2. Respond Publicly with Empathy
A well-crafted response also demonstrates to prospective customers that you value feedback. If warranted, proactively apologize and respond to things they brought up, and take it offline.
Example:
“We’re sorry to learn about your experience. We would need to address this as our customer satisfaction is dependent on it. Please reach out to us at [email] so we can address the concern.”
3. Offer a Solution
If possible, provide a resolution. This can turn a negative experience into a positive one, and sometimes, customers may even update their review.
4. Encourage Positive Reviews
Increase your overall rating by encouraging satisfied customers to leave reviews. More positive reviews will help balance out occasional negative ones.
5. Report Fake or Malicious Reviews
If a review violates TrustPilot’s guidelines (spam, fake, or defamatory content), report it through TrustPilot’s moderation system.
6. Learn and Improve
Use constructive criticism to improve your service. If multiple reviews mention the same issue, it may indicate an area for improvement.
7. Take It Offline
Engage with the reviewer privately to understand their concerns. If resolved, politely ask if they’d consider updating their review.
Dealing with negative feedback professionally can help in creating credibility and demonstrates that your business can take care of the satisfaction of the customers.
Boost Your Trustpilot Rating and Manage Fake Reviews Effectively
Encourage More Customer Reviews
If you want to fight against fake Trustpilot reviews, one of the best approaches is to increase the number of genuine Trustpilot reviews. A robust customer feedback strategy can build your rating up and counteract any false reviews.
The secret is knowing when and how to ask for reviews. Encourage satisfied customers to share their feedback through follow-up emails, post-purchase requests, or even prompts on your website. You can also include a direct link to your Trustpilot page, which makes it easy for customers to rate your firm.
Before you do, make sure to consult Trustpilot’s rules. Breaking their rules may complicate matters, and managing your online reputation may become even more challenging.
Suppress Negative Results
Even if you cannot delete Trustpilot reviews that are false or misleading, suppressing them through search engine optimization (SEO) strategies can help decrease their effect.
By producing high-quality content, you can push the unwanted reviews down in the search results so that potential customers see the positive side of your brand before they see anything bad. Optimized blogs, customer success stories, and authoritative content can help create your internet presence while downgrading negative reviews.
It’s through long-term suppression strategies that allow your brand to develop a foundation of resilient digital realty that can withstand any new challenges that may come your way.
Is There an Easier Way to Handle Fake Reviews?
Dealing with fake Trustpilot reviews can be frustrating, time-consuming, and expensive. And there’s no guarantee that a profile will come down, even after it’s reported. So, rather than spend hours going back and forth, use a more strategic approach to Trustpilot’s remove review processes.
Professional Review Management: The Best Solution
A well-planned review management strategy is the most effective way to protect your brand and ensure your online reputation remains strong.
With professional support, you can:
- Request the removal of fake Trustpilot reviews
- Develop strategic responses to negative feedback
- Generate positive reviews to improve your rating
- Suppress harmful search results
- Remove Trustpilot reviews that violate platform policies
A proactive approach doesn’t just help in handling bad reviews—it puts you in control of your brand’s online presence, allowing you to dominate search results and build trust with potential customers.
Need Help Managing Trustpilot Reviews?
We’ve got you covered.
From review removal and suppression to strategic review generation, our expert solutions help you maintain a strong and credible online presence. Get in touch today to remove Trustpilot reviews that harm your brand and take charge of your reputation!
Want to learn more? Call 407-979-4299 or Contact us for a Free Online Review Analysis today.
