Trustpilot was born in Denmark, but it is in the UK that a one star review really ruins a Monday. Review removal in the UK means dealing with Trustpilot more than anywhere else, alongside Google, Glassdoor and the social platforms. Removal Lab helps UK businesses and professionals dispute reviews and content that break platform rules. Honest assessment first. No upfront payment on qualifying cases. This is review removal UK businesses can use safely under the new fake review ban.
Review removal in the UK in one minute
Fake reviews, competitor reviews, reviews that expose private details and posts that break platform rules can be reported and often removed. Honest negative reviews from real customers stay. We tell you which is which before anything else.
What the UK businesses ask us most
| Question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| Can I get a Trustpilot review removed? | When it breaks Trustpilot guidelines, yes. Trustpilot lists five valid reasons to flag and we build the case around them. |
| Can I get a Google review removed in the UK? | When it breaks Google policy, yes. The process is the same as elsewhere. |
| Do UK consumer rules affect this? | UK rules on fake reviews are strict for businesses. Working through platform policy keeps you on the right side of them. |
| How do we work with a firm in Toronto and New York? | By email, phone and WhatsApp. Time zones overlap your afternoon. |
Local rules worth knowing in the UK
The UK treats fake reviews and the hiding of genuine ones as unfair business practices. Trustpilot and Google both apply their global policies to UK profiles and Trustpilot in particular watches how businesses use its flagging tool. Our reports are measured, evidence based and filed only where a real policy match exists.
How we work with clients in the UK
We work with UK clients in London, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Edinburgh and everywhere in between. Send the link, get an honest read within one business day and pay nothing upfront on qualifying cases. Everything is handled by email, phone or WhatsApp, so you never need to visit an office.
Platforms we handle for the UK clients
Google reviews and search results, Trustpilot, Yelp, Glassdoor, Indeed, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, Reddit, complaint sites and mugshot sites. If it is not on the list, ask. The policy routes are similar across most platforms.
Review removal UK: the fake review ban explained
Since April 2025 the CMA has enforced a direct ban on fake reviews under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024. The ban sits in paragraph 13 of Schedule 20. Every review removal UK case now runs alongside it, so it helps to know what it says.
| What Schedule 20 bans | What it means in plain English |
|---|---|
| Submitting, or commissioning someone to submit or write, a fake consumer review or one that hides that it was incentivised | You cannot write, buy or arrange fake reviews, or hide that a reviewer was paid |
| Publishing consumer reviews in a misleading way, for example removing negative reviews while publishing positive ones | You cannot quietly bury the bad reviews on your own site |
| Publishing reviews without reasonable and proportionate steps to prevent and remove fake ones | If you show reviews on your website, you need a process for spotting fakes |
| Offering services to traders to do any of the above | A service that writes reviews or hides genuine ones is itself breaking the law |
The Act defines a fake consumer review as one that purports to be, but is not, based on a person’s genuine experience. The CMA says it can fine businesses up to 10% of global turnover for breaking consumer protection law. That is why we never post reviews and never offer to make genuine ones disappear. If someone offers that, read why paying to remove reviews backfires.
The ban protects you too
The legal test for a fake review is simple: it claims to be based on a genuine experience and it is not. That is the same thing platforms check. A review from someone who never bought from you fits the definition. That gives your review removal UK report a clear footing.
Defamation in England and Wales: serious harm and section 5
Most review removal UK work never reaches a lawyer. When it does, two parts of the Defamation Act 2013 matter. Section 1 says a statement is not defamatory unless it has caused, or is likely to cause, serious harm to reputation. For a business that trades for profit, harm is not serious unless it has caused, or is likely to cause, serious financial loss.
Section 5 covers the operators of websites. An operator has a defence if it shows it did not post the statement. You can defeat that defence only if you could not identify the poster, you gave the operator a notice of complaint and the operator did not respond as the regulations require. A notice of complaint must include:
| The notice must | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Give your name | Anonymous complaints do not trigger the process |
| Set out the statement and explain why it is defamatory of you | A general complaint about tone is not enough |
| Say where on the website the statement appears | The operator has to find the exact post |
The Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013 then set tight timings. The operator has 48 hours to send the poster a copy of the complaint. The poster has until the fifth day after that notice to reply. If the poster does not respond, the operator has 48 hours after that period ends to remove the statement. Weekends and bank holidays do not count. These rules cover England and Wales, so a review removal UK case in Scotland or Northern Ireland needs local advice. Our defamation removal page explains when this path is worth it.
How to flag a Trustpilot review from the UK
Trustpilot sits at the centre of review removal UK work. Trustpilot says you flag a review through your business account or by contacting its Content Integrity team. It accepts five reasons. Here is how each one tends to look for a UK business.
| Trustpilot reason | Typical UK example |
|---|---|
| Harmful or illegal content | A review that threatens a named shop assistant or calls the owner a criminal |
| Personal information | A review that gives a staff member’s full name and mobile number |
| Advertising or promotional content | A review that pushes a rival firm or adds a discount code |
| Not based on a genuine experience | A review from someone with no order, booking or account on record |
| About a different business | A review meant for a firm with a similar name in another town |
Trustpilot says flagged reviews stay visible while it investigates, unless they are flagged as harmful or illegal. If it needs the reviewer to change the review or send documents, it gives them three days. It also says it does not tolerate misuse of flagging. It lists penalties such as a Consumer Warning on your profile. Our Trustpilot removal guide covers each screen.
A review removal UK example
This is a made up example to show the steps. It is not a client case.
A dog grooming salon in Manchester finds two reviews in one week. A Trustpilot review complains about a grooming van that never turned up. The salon has no van. A Google review says a groomer hurt a dog, but there is no booking for that name or that week.
| Review | Route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot, the van | Flag as about a different business | The details point to a mobile groomer, not this salon |
| Google, the injury claim | Flag as not a genuine experience, then appeal once if refused | No booking matches. Google says contributions should reflect a genuine experience |
| Legal action | Not yet | The salon would need to show serious financial loss under section 1 |
In this example the salon replies once to each review in a polite tone. It keeps the booking records ready. That is how a review removal UK case should run: on platform rules, with facts. For Google specifics, see Google review policy violations and our fake review removal service.
Review removal UK law: what the CMA fake reviews guidance says
Schedule 20 sets the rule. The CMA guidance, known as CMA208, explains how the CMA reads it. It talks to businesses and to the sites that publish reviews. These are the paragraphs that matter most when you want a review taken down.
| CMA208 paragraph | What it says | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| 4.3 | A trader may break the law if it suppresses genuine negative or positive reviews. | You can report fakes. You cannot hide honest criticism. |
| 4.4(a) | Traders should not interfere with people leaving negative reviews. That includes threats of harm or legal action. | No threatening letters to put reviewers off. |
| 4.4(b) | Traders should not limit access to negative reviews by editing, withholding or removing them. | Honest one star reviews stay, including on your own website. |
| 7.1 | Offering services to traders that help with banned practices is itself prohibited. | A firm that buries genuine reviews puts you and itself at risk. |
| 8.19(c)(i) | Publishers should give consumers, traders and third parties a public way to report suspected banned reviews. | Every review site you deal with should have a report route. Use it. |
| 8.22(b) | Genuine reviews are not removed merely because a trader objects to the reviewer’s assessment. | Disagreeing is not a ground. A rule breach is. |
Put simply, paragraph 13 of Schedule 20 and CMA208 point the same way. You can ask a platform to remove a review that is fake, hides a paid incentive or breaks the site’s own rules. You cannot make honest criticism disappear. Every review removal UK case we take sits on that line.
How to word a UK report
Lead with the rule, then the facts the site can check. A fake review under paragraph 13(5) is one that claims to be based on a genuine experience and is not. Show why the experience could not have happened: no order, no booking, no visit on record. Leave out how unfair it feels.
UK review sites and their own rules
Trustpilot and Google are only part of the picture. Trades, retailers and local firms also live on Checkatrade, Yell and Feefo. Each one has its own rules and its own report button. This is what each site says in its own words.
| Platform | How to report | What breaks the rules | What stays up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trustpilot | Flag it in your business account or contact its Content Integrity team, as set out above. | The five flag reasons in the table above. | Honest reviews of a genuine experience, even harsh ones. |
| Report it from your Business Profile. Our Google review guide covers each screen. | Content that breaks the Google Maps policies. See Google review policy violations. | Reviews that follow the policies. | |
| Checkatrade | Its review guidelines describe no formal dispute process. Trades can reply to a review and Checkatrade says it will investigate a review it thinks is not right. | Fake or incentivised reviews are blocked. Reviews must avoid inappropriate, promotional or spam content and personal details such as a full name, address or phone number. | Reviews are normally permanent. Checkatrade says they are removed only in very limited circumstances, such as legal proceedings. |
| Yell | Use the report review link on the review. Yell says it investigates in a fair, impartial and timely manner. | Fake or misleading reviews, incentivised reviews, abusive or defamatory language, advertising, personal information and reviews from anyone with a financial interest in the business. | Yell will not remove a review solely because it is negative or because a business disagrees with it. |
| Feefo | Contact its compliance team. Feefo’s help pages also describe asking for a false or spam review to be moderated again in the Feefo Hub. | Its moderation categories include personal information, spam, false content, competitor or pricing comments, incentivised content and a score that does not match the comment. | A negative review that breaks none of its criteria. Feefo says it will not remove reviews a business sees as unfair unless another rule applies. |
Three details are worth knowing before you report. Yell may temporarily remove a review while it investigates and says it typically starts within 7 business days of a report. Feefo removes false content where it can be proved on the balance of probabilities. When a review mentions a sale, it asks the customer for proof of sale. Checkatrade asks for reviews of work from within the last 12 months, though it also accepts reviews within a longer warranty period.
The sites also police the business side. Yell’s policy for businesses says you must not request fake reviews, review your own business, ask friends or family for reviews, offer incentives, pressure a customer to remove a review or make resolving a complaint depend on the customer not leaving a negative review. Its sanctions run from a warning to suspending or permanently disabling reviews on your listing. Checkatrade says trades who commission fake reviews to boost their score could be removed. That is why review removal UK work has to stay on the right side of the rules: the wrong move can cost you the whole profile.
The rules are the same wherever you trade. For local detail see review removal in London and review removal in Manchester. If a review looks invented, our fake review removal page explains the evidence that helps.
Section 5 notices: the extra details and what happens next
The section above covers the basics of a notice of complaint. The Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations add five more things the notice must contain under regulation 2:
- The email address where you can be contacted.
- The meaning you say the statement carries.
- The parts you say are factually wrong, or are opinions not supported by fact.
- Confirmation that you do not have enough information about the poster to bring a claim against them.
- Whether you consent to the operator giving the poster your name and email address.
If a notice is defective but still contains a defamation complaint, regulation 4 says the operator must tell you in writing within 48 hours what is missing. Once a valid notice arrives, the operator has to send the poster a copy and the poster must say whether they want the statement removed. If they do not, they must give their full name and postal address and say whether those details can be shared with you. This is what happens next under the Schedule to the regulations:
| If the poster | The operator must | Schedule paragraph |
|---|---|---|
| Cannot be contacted privately by the operator | Remove the statement within 48 hours of your notice | 3 |
| Does not reply by the deadline | Remove the statement and tell you within 48 hours after the deadline | 5 |
| Replies without the required details, or with a name or address that is obviously false | Remove the statement and tell you within 48 hours | 6 |
| Agrees to removal | Remove it and tell you within 48 hours | 7 |
| Refuses removal | Tell you within 48 hours that it stays up, then pass on the poster’s name and address if they consented, or tell you they did not | 8 |
If the same statement keeps coming back, paragraph 9 offers a shortcut. Where you have already sent notices about it on two or more occasions, it was removed each time and you say so in the new notice, the operator must remove a repost by the same person on the same website within 48 hours. Weekends and bank holidays do not count in any of these periods. This route is for statements that are defamatory, not for reviews that are simply unwelcome, so take legal advice before you send one. Our defamation removal page explains when it is worth it.
How Removal Lab works
- Tell us what is out there. Send the link or a screenshot. It takes two minutes.
- We check it against the platform rules. A real specialist reads the content and tells you honestly whether it qualifies. No charge for this.
- We build the case and file it. Evidence, the right policy, the right channel.
- You pay only when it is gone. No upfront payment on qualifying cases. If the platform says no, you owe nothing.
What we will never do
- Promise a removal. Platforms decide, not us.
- Post fake reviews or pay anyone to delete one.
- Threaten or pressure the person who posted.
- Take money upfront for a case that does not qualify.
In the United States the FTC rule on consumer reviews, in force since late 2024, bans fake reviews and bans suppressing reviews through threats or intimidation. Working by the rules is the only way that protects you.
Related reading
Frequently asked questions
Does Removal Lab have a UK office?
No. Our offices are in Toronto and New York. UK clients are served remotely and the platform rules are the same.
Can a UK business delete a Trustpilot review?
No. Only the reviewer can delete it. Businesses can flag reviews that break the guidelines and Trustpilot decides.
How long does review removal in the UK take?
Trustpilot investigates flagged reviews as soon as possible. Google says several days for reported reviews. We reply within one business day.
What does it cost?
The check is free. On qualifying cases there is no upfront payment.
Do you handle personal cases in the UK?
Yes. Individuals and professionals with harmful search results, posts or personal information online.
Are fake reviews illegal in the UK?
Yes. The Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 lists submitting or commissioning a fake consumer review as a banned practice. The CMA says it can fine businesses up to 10% of global turnover for breaking consumer protection law.
What is a section 5 notice of complaint?
It is a notice under section 5 of the Defamation Act 2013 that names you, sets out the statement, explains why it is defamatory and says where it appears on the website. It applies in England and Wales and starts strict timings for the website operator.
Can a business remove a Yell review in the UK?
No. Only Yell can. Use the report review link on the review and Yell investigates, typically starting within 7 business days. It will not remove a review solely because it is negative.
Will Checkatrade remove a negative review?
Rarely. Checkatrade says reviews are normally permanent and are removed only in very limited circumstances, such as legal proceedings. It blocks fake or incentivised reviews and lets the trade reply.
Can Feefo remove a review a business says is false?
Yes, when it can be proved. Feefo says it removes false content where it can be proved on the balance of probabilities. Negative reviews that break none of its criteria stay up.
What does CMA208 say about removing negative reviews?
Paragraph 4.4(b) says traders should not edit, withhold or remove genuine negative reviews. Paragraph 8.22(b) says publishers should not remove genuine reviews merely because a trader objects.
What happens if a poster ignores a section 5 notice?
Under the website operator regulations the operator must remove the statement and tell you within 48 hours after the response period ends. Weekends and bank holidays do not count.
Is it legal to use a review removal service in the UK?
Yes, when the service reports reviews that are fake, hide an incentive or break platform rules. Schedule 20 paragraph 13(4) and CMA208 paragraph 7.1 ban services that help traders post fake reviews or hide genuine ones.
Removal Lab does not work for any platform and cannot remove content directly. Every decision is made by the platform. Offices in Toronto and New York. Serving clients in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, the UAE and Switzerland.
Sources we work from: Google Maps prohibited and restricted content, Google Business Profile Help on removing reviews, Trustpilot guidelines for businesses and the FTC rule on consumer reviews and testimonials. For this page we also checked Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, Schedule 20, CMA on the new consumer protection regime, Defamation Act 2013, section 1, Defamation Act 2013, section 5 and Defamation (Operators of Websites) Regulations 2013. We also checked CMA208 fake reviews guidance, Checkatrade review guidelines, Yell reviews policy for businesses, Yell reviews guidance and policy, Feefo content moderation, Feefo on challenging a review and Feefo on how it moderates reviews.