Common complaints in health brand reviews: questions and answers

In our September 2026 sample of 15 telehealth brand profiles with about 118,000 reviews, roughly 13% were 1-star. On profiles with more than 100 reviews the share ran from 3% to 39%. The figures come from the star percentages shown on each public profile, so the counts are estimates.

Because TrustScore is not a simple average. Recent reviews weigh more, and a steady flow of invited reviews can outweigh older complaints. In our sample, one profile with a 39% 1-star share still showed a TrustScore of 4.1. Source: TrustScore explained.

No. In the profiles we read, most 1-star reviews described billing, cancellation, shipping, support or prescribing decisions. Those are genuine experiences under Trustpilot's rules. A smaller group breaks a rule and can be flagged.

Only partly. Removal takes out the reviews that break Trustpilot's rules. The larger effect comes from fixing the causes of real complaints and inviting every customer to review, because the formula weighs recent reviews most.

Yes, if the reply never confirms that the reviewer is a patient and never mentions treatment. Reply about your policy in general terms and offer a private channel. HHS settled a case for $30,000 over patient details disclosed in review replies. Source: HHS announcement.

Usually Trustpilot. Online brands have no local listing for customers to find on a map, and Trustpilot profiles are created by consumers for any website. In our September 2026 samples, online telehealth and GLP-1 brands held thousands of Trustpilot reviews each. Clinics with physical locations are the opposite.

Only reviews that break its content policies, such as fake engagement, harassment, personal information, off-topic content and conflicts of interest. Google's help page says not to report a review just because you disagree with it or dislike it. Sources: Google's prohibited and restricted content and reporting reviews.

Yes. We remove reviews on both platforms, and one pack covers both at the same price. See the Trustpilot page and the Google page, or send both profile links through the audit request form.

Each platform only handles its own reviews. If the same person posts on both, each review has to be assessed against that platform's policy and reported through that platform's tool.

Report it from your Google Business Profile for breaking one of Google's content policies. Google says evaluation typically takes several days and allows a one-time appeal. It asks businesses not to report a review just because they disagree with it. We take down Google reviews that break those policies. Source: reporting reviews.

It is open, so people can review you without buying and without an invitation. You cannot delete your profile once it has reviews. Small profiles swing easily, because every score includes 7 neutral reviews. And your flagging record is public for 12 months. Each of those is a published Trustpilot rule, covered in our guides.

We do not rank review sites, and no neutral body does. Each platform has its own rules on who can post and what is removed. For an online health brand the practical answer is to look at where your customers already review you. For most direct-to-consumer brands that is Trustpilot.

Usually not. The customer bought from you, and the pharmacy is part of your service. Trustpilot's different business reason is for reviews that clearly describe another company, not for a supplier's mistake. Source: flagging reasons.

No. The review describes a wait that happened. A later fix does not make it false. You can reply, and the customer can update the review if they choose to. Do not ask for an update in exchange for anything.

It can. Another person's name with contact details falls under personal information, unless those details are already public on your site or profile. Trustpilot first asks the reviewer to edit, and they have 3 days. Source: how to flag.

No. That confirms the person is a patient and says something about their care. Reply in general terms and move the conversation to a private channel. See the reply guide.

They stay visible, and they count for less as newer reviews arrive, because TrustScore weighs recent reviews more. Source: TrustScore explained.

No. The customer is describing their experience of your billing, and a dispute about the facts does not make the review fake. Reply in general terms, check the case in private, and refund if one is owed.

Refund them if they are owed a refund. Do not tie it to the review. Trustpilot bans incentives for editing or deleting reviews, and the FTC described refunds conditioned on removal in its NextMed complaint. Sources: Guidelines for Businesses and the FTC announcement.

Not for Trustpilot. A chargeback is between you, the customer and the card network. The review is still a genuine experience. Do not mention the chargeback in a public reply.

Only those that break a rule for another reason. Examples are a named agent with contact details, a rival's discount code and a charge from a company that is not yours. A writer who says it happened to someone else is another. The table in this guide lists them.

No. It reduces the new ones. TrustScore weighs recent reviews more, so the mix improves month by month once fewer new complaints arrive. Source: TrustScore explained.

No. On-time delivery does not show that the parcel was cold when opened, and the customer is describing their own experience. Trustpilot keeps those reviews. Reply in general terms and handle the replacement in private.

Almost never. A person describing their own side effects is sharing an experience and an opinion. Trustpilot's defamation sub-reason is for false statements of fact that cause significant financial loss, and it decides each case. Source: flagging reasons.

Do not put it in a public reply. It is a health statement made by the brand in public, and it may also confirm what the customer was prescribed. Give storage guidance privately, through your clinical team.

Only those that break a rule for another reason. A review may name a pharmacist with contact details, promote another seller with a code, or describe a product you never sold. The table in this guide lists them.

No. Trustpilot's policy treats asking for an edit after resolving an issue as incentive misuse. Replace the shipment because it is right, and leave the review to the customer. Source: Action We Take.

No. They describe a real change to a service the customer was paying for. Trustpilot keeps them online. A clear, general reply that explains the change is the right response. Source: flagging reasons.

No. Trustpilot lists bulk flagging over a short period as misuse, and most of those reviews are real. Read them, pick out the few that break a rule, and flag those slowly. Source: Action We Take.

Use Request information, which Trustpilot requires before a genuine experience flag. The reviewer has 3 days to respond. Trustpilot's reviewer rules ask for a genuine experience, not an opinion about the news. Source: how to flag.

Yes, in general terms. You can say that the FDA ended the shortage period and that this changed what you can offer. Do not discuss the reviewer's own treatment, and do not make claims about one product being as good as another.

Trustpilot does not publish its time weights, so nobody can give a date. Recent reviews weigh more, so steady new reviews from invited customers move the score back. Source: TrustScore explained.

No. Trustpilot's rule protects other people, not the reviewer's own details. A person may share their own condition. You should still never confirm it in a reply. Source: flagging reasons.

It can. Another person is named and their treatment is exposed, which is the clearest kind of personal information case. Trustpilot first asks the reviewer to edit, and they have 3 days. If the review is edited, it stays online without the name.

It stays. The personal information flow is built to fix the problem, not to delete the complaint. That is the right outcome for the person who was named, and it is how Trustpilot describes the process. Source: how to flag.

No. That is a genuine experience, and a useful one. Change the packaging or the billing descriptor and reply in general terms.

Yes. Trustpilot expects you to flag the same breach whatever the star rating, and it treats flagging a type of content only in negative reviews as misuse. The named person's privacy is the same either way. Source: Action We Take.

No. It is the customer's opinion about their own results, and Trustpilot keeps opinions online. It does not matter that the treatment needs longer than the customer gave it. Source: flagging reasons.

Trustpilot will not rule on medicine. A person describing how they felt is sharing an experience. The defamation sub-reason is for false statements of fact that cause significant financial loss, and a symptom report rarely fits. Do not argue the science in a reply.

Keep it general. A specific success rate or time frame in a public reply is a health claim, and the FTC asks for scientific evidence behind health claims in any public medium. Say that results differ and offer a private conversation. Source: Health Products Compliance Guidance.

Be careful. The FTC says you should not make claims through testimonials that you could not substantiate directly, and that a 'results not typical' line does not fix a deceptive claim. Ask counsel before using results reviews in marketing.

No. The customer bought from you, and the lab is part of your service. That reason is for reviews that clearly describe another company.

No. The customer is describing how your checkout felt to them, and a dispute about consent does not make the review fake. If many reviews say the same thing, the checkout is the problem to fix.

Refund them if they are owed it, and do not connect it to the review. Trustpilot bans incentives for editing or deleting reviews and lists refunds as an example. The FTC described the same trade in its NextMed case. Source: Guidelines for Businesses.

No. A term like that is void under the Consumer Review Fairness Act, and offering it is unlawful. See our guide to the Act.

Only those that break a rule for another reason. A review that carries a rival's discount code, names a support agent with contact details, or is clearly about another brand can be flagged for that.

They cannot be removed, so no. On a small profile the fastest lawful change is to invite every customer. Satisfied customers rarely review unless asked, and recent reviews weigh more. Source: TrustScore explained.

It can be flagged as advertising or promotional, and it is one of the clearest cases. Highlight the code and the call to action. There is no first step. Trustpilot decides. Source: flagging reasons.

No. Trustpilot says it will not remove a review just because it mentions or compares you with a competitor. The line is promotion: a code, a link, a call to action or spam.

Yes. It breaks the same rule, and Trustpilot expects the same treatment for positive and negative reviews. An affiliate is also paid by you, which raises the FTC's rules on insider and incentivized reviews. Flag it and tell the affiliate to stop.

Trustpilot publishes no number. It lists bulk flagging over a short period as misuse. A few a week, across star ratings, with the promotional words highlighted, avoids the pattern. Source: Action We Take.