TrustList is only useful if you can trust what you read. These are the principles and checks behind every rating on the site.
Verified reviewers
We verify reviewers wherever possible and clearly badge verified reviews so you know they come from real users. Verified reviews carry more weight than unverified ones.
Moderation
Every review is screened for authenticity before it counts. We remove reviews that break our guidelines, flag suspicious activity, and take action against attempts to post fake or incentivised reviews.
Independence
Ratings are driven by user reviews - vendors cannot pay to change their score, reorder organic results or remove honest criticism. Editorial rankings and category positions are earned, not bought.
How rankings are ordered
Every ranking is ordered by the TrustList Score: one number out of 100 from published criteria (what clients say, whether the business has been checked, its track record, what it commits to in writing, recognition and responsiveness). Businesses answer our questions; an answer counts for more once they send evidence, and in full once we verify or measure it. A listing gets a rank number only when something about it has been checked. Every criterion, weight and scale is published on how TrustList ranks.
Sponsored content is labelled
Vendors can pay for clearly labelled Sponsored placement. It always sits beside organic results rather than reordering them, and it never impersonates another listing. If something is paid for, you will see it marked as such.
Vetting, awards & expert reviews
The Verified badge is earned through vetting, which is free: we check a business's registration, website and clients against a fixed checklist, and paying us for anything else changes nothing about the result. Award entry is free too, and judged on evidence. Commissioned expert reviews pay for an independent assessment, with the score and decision left to the reviewer - disclosed as commissioned, and never counted in a listing's TrustList Score.
Questions about how a rating was reached? Contact us - we are happy to explain.