21 September 2023 , 08:07
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Trustpilot likes to boast about how sophisticated it is when it comes to spotting and removing fake reviews.
“We use unique software to detect fake reviews and maintain the trustworthiness of our online review community,” says the platform.
“It runs independently, 24/7 across our platform, examining a large range of different behavioural parameters - such as, for example, IP addresses.
“The system then uses an algorithm to calculate the likelihood that reviews are fake.”
Shame that the algorithm couldn’t spot a fake as blatant as a review of investment firm New Capital Link that gave the maximum five stars.
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The reviewer, Gangesh Pathak, wrote that he was “really impressed” and went on: “I’m excited about my investment journey with them and believe it’s going to be successful.”
It’s odd that anyone would give five stars to a company like this before they know how their investment has performed – but that’s not the blatant part.
Gangesh Pathak has a LinkedIn profile with the same thumbnail picture that he used on Trustpilot in which he says he is a director of marketing at New Capital Link.
It took about a minute searching online to find what Trustpilot’s algorithm never spotted.
Worse, Trustpilot took no action even after being warned about the fake review at least twice.
The first time was via Twitter, now irritatingly called X, when the account @Consumer_gripes flagged it, prompting Trustpilot to ask him to report the review directly on its platform.
That proved impossible because the whistleblower does not have a Trustpilot account and the email address it gave – [email protected] – didn’t work.
Then I reported the fake, along with the evidence that the impressed “customer” of New Capital Link was in fact on the payroll.
An automatic reply promised: “We’ll now take a closer look at this business’s profile to see if there are unusual patterns or suspicious behaviour.”
Nothing happened.
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I tried reporting it again but got a tetchy automated response: “There’s no need to flag more reviews for this business.”
The review was only removed after I contacted the Trustpilot press office and New Capital Link, which says it is based in central London although the Mayfair address it uses is a virtual office.
Bogus happy customer Pathak (Facebook)Its director of operations Luke Smith told me: “Gangesh Pathak did work for us as a freelance marketer however he doesn’t any more.
“We have asked him to remove the review and update his LinkedIn profile.”
Pathak, who founded Saletancy – “India’s most trusted sales and marketing company”, did not reply to me.
Back to Luke Smith who, according to his LinkedIn profile, used to work as a senior consultant at Keystone Property Group Ltd, which sold property “high quality property investments” with claimed average annual returns of 20.7%. Its website is now down and the accounts that it should have filed to Companies House are almost three years overdue.
Director Desmond Conway (Facebook)The director of Keystone is 51-year-old Desmond Conway from Sheffield, who is also a director of The Pinnacle Grp Ltd, which claims to have “unique access to a wide range of investment strategies”.
Neither of these companies are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The accounts for The Pinnacle Grp are also overdue and a notice for its compulsory liquidation has been filed at Companies House, yet it is still marketing itself on Facebook.
It has a couple of interesting endorsements on Trustpilot.
On July 3, someone called Maria Kia wrote: “Their professionalism, knowledge and commitment to their clients’ success make them a top-notch partner in the financial world. I highly recommend their services to anyone seeking reliable and strategic investment advice. I am grateful for their expertise, which has significantly contributed to my financial growth and security.”
These exact words appeared on another review, supposedly by a different person, three days later.
I’ve asked Mr Conway if the reviews are genuine but he hasn’t replied.
The Trustpilot algorithm didn't spot anything odd with these copycat reviews, however all reviews of The Pinnacle Grp were removed after I raised them with the platform.
A spokesperson insisted that all reports of suspect reviews are investigated, adding: “We continue to monitor activity by all the business on Trustpilot and should we identify any further misuse by them on the platform we will not hesitate in taking further enforcement action.”