ComplaintCensus

The ratings-integrity index

Trustpilot labels whether each review was company-invited or arrived organically. Ranked below: the gap between how invited reviewers score a company and how uninvited ones do, in our recent census windows (minimum 30 reviews of each kind). A large gap doesn’t prove wrongdoing — it shows how much of the headline score rests on invited reviews.

Cross-company pattern: 2 reviewer accounts in our recent windows posted 5★-leaning reviews across 10.0 companies on average (highest 13), averaging 5.00★ per review over a typical span of about 1 month. Reviewer identities are never published; this is an aggregate signal only — a prolific, mostly-positive reviewer is not itself evidence of anything.

Does our reading match Trustpilot’s own?

Trustpilot publishes its own automated summary of each company’s reviews. Across the 1082 companies where we have both, grouping by the tone of their summary and averaging our independently-computed complaint rate:

Tone of Trustpilot’s summaryCompaniesOur complaint rate (avg)
negative4581.0%
mixed44810.4%
positive5893.3%

The two automated readings track each other closely, which is a check on our classifier as much as on any company. Where they diverge sharply, the company page says so.

Paid features and TrustScore

Trustpilot’s own profile data records whether a company uses its paid features. Among companies with at least 20 classified replies, those using Trustpilot’s paid features average a TrustScore of 4.64 (n=576); those that do not average 4.09 (n=105). This is a correlation, not evidence that paying raises a score — successful companies can afford and want reputation tooling, and Trustpilot’s paid features include review-invitation tools that can raise a score on their own.

First-and-only reviews among 5★ ratings

Trustpilot records how many reviews an account has ever written. Across 1350 companies with at least 50 recent 5★ reviews, the median share of a company’s 5★ reviews that came from an account that had written only that one review when we captured it is 39%. A genuine first-time customer also has one review — a high share here is a signal worth a look, not evidence of fake reviews. The table lists only companies with at least 200 recent 5★ reviews, so that a share reflects the company rather than a small sample.

721 of 1823 tracked companies publish no phone number on their Trustpilot profile.

CompanyTrustScoreInvited avgOrganic avgGap
Wowcher44.77★ (1082)1.20★ (190)3.57
Uphold4.64.68★ (167)1.13★ (93)3.55
MailerLite4.14.91★ (202)1.39★ (95)3.52
TheTravelMakers.co.uk44.76★ (146)1.27★ (92)3.49
AXA UK Car and Home4.44.60★ (404)1.13★ (39)3.47
IONOS | ionos.co.uk4.74.81★ (738)1.36★ (88)3.45
Bluevine4.74.90★ (385)1.47★ (36)3.43
Prosper4.54.93★ (270)1.51★ (45)3.42
Headout4.44.90★ (1084)1.50★ (199)3.40
Oleaia34.63★ (30)1.29★ (41)3.34
Remitly4.64.73★ (2220)1.41★ (116)3.32
PaysafeCard4.64.84★ (583)1.56★ (48)3.28
Virgin Media1.84.66★ (610)1.39★ (812)3.27
Hostinger4.64.91★ (747)1.65★ (224)3.26
OVO4.74.82★ (2866)1.58★ (131)3.24
ScottishPower4.44.62★ (2884)1.41★ (116)3.21
viagogo3.94.78★ (517)1.57★ (174)3.21has collected incentivised reviews
Gelato - production on demand for global creators 4.24.90★ (197)1.70★ (70)3.20
British Airways1.54.75★ (40)1.55★ (392)3.20
O22.84.72★ (592)1.57★ (416)3.15
Revolut4.74.80★ (2884)1.68★ (114)3.12
IONOS | ionos.com4.64.83★ (897)1.76★ (95)3.07
Appliances Direct4.34.60★ (1011)1.54★ (78)3.06
HelloGov AI4.74.94★ (459)1.88★ (43)3.06
Pipdance3.54.63★ (146)1.60★ (30)3.03
SumUp 4.24.53★ (1544)1.50★ (116)3.03
CheapOair.com4.14.24★ (615)1.27★ (49)2.97
A1 Tech Deals4.74.89★ (2195)1.91★ (206)2.98
Emma Sleep UK3.24.25★ (213)1.29★ (105)2.96
BudgetAir.co.uk3.94.27★ (683)1.35★ (37)2.92
BT4.24.31★ (2804)1.41★ (97)2.90has collected incentivised reviews
ASAP Tickets4.84.93★ (649)2.04★ (77)2.89
OnBuy.com4.44.59★ (2765)1.70★ (180)2.89
British Gas4.44.91★ (2085)2.04★ (624)2.87
Capital on Tap4.64.75★ (309)1.88★ (60)2.87
Use AI44.16★ (1801)1.31★ (164)2.85
JustPark4.44.45★ (2952)1.61★ (46)2.84
EE4.34.38★ (2587)1.59★ (111)2.79
Holborn Assets4.14.76★ (71)1.97★ (31)2.79
HostGator4.64.92★ (334)2.14★ (44)2.78
transfergo.com4.64.77★ (238)2.00★ (37)2.77
Starling4.34.81★ (827)2.06★ (84)2.75
Monzo4.64.89★ (1562)2.16★ (188)2.73
uk.vtoman3.64.46★ (134)1.74★ (34)2.72
loveholidays UK4.44.61★ (2777)1.90★ (223)2.71has collected incentivised reviews
StockX4.24.10★ (2563)1.41★ (37)2.69
Rakuten (USA)4.64.75★ (376)2.06★ (54)2.69
Santander3.54.68★ (1108)1.99★ (292)2.69
Wayfair UK3.94.26★ (1420)1.58★ (107)2.68
Atolea Jewelry4.74.84★ (695)2.17★ (64)2.67
NetCredit4.74.86★ (204)2.21★ (43)2.65
Freedom Mortgage 4.84.93★ (722)2.29★ (31)2.64
us.vtoman2.74.03★ (94)1.41★ (68)2.62
Staysure Travel Insurance4.74.66★ (2753)2.07★ (46)2.59
TUI4.64.74★ (2760)2.17★ (235)2.57
Hive4.14.52★ (395)1.96★ (93)2.56
OneMain Financial4.64.89★ (916)2.34★ (132)2.55
Taptap Send4.74.71★ (1669)2.16★ (148)2.55
TUI.com Deutschland43.85★ (34)1.32★ (69)2.53
World of Books4.64.70★ (2738)2.20★ (61)2.50