Anger as critical Barratt reviews are deleted

Residents in a south London block of flats have accused review website Trustpilot and housebuilder Barratt Developments of unfairly deleting negative comments.

The reviewers, who face millions of pounds of cladding repair costs, complained flats were unsellable and said the builder should fix the fire safety problems.

Barratt flagged the criticisms to Trustpilot, forcing the residents down an onerous path to prove legitimacy.

Benedict Lam, a 38-year- old pharmacist who bought his flat in 2011, said he sent invoices and emails, but because the latter was dated after the date of the review, it would not count.

“I don’t have anything in date. That doesn’t mean I’m a fraud. I live in a Barratt home. I’m living in this nightmare,” he said. Fellow resident Anne Claudel said she sent proof of purchase, but this was also rejected by Trustpilot as it was not within 12 months of the review.

“Trustpilot should be balanced. If it needs evidence for one-star reviews, it should for five-star ones,” she said.

The residents face a £ 5.9m bill to remove dangerous cladding and are paying £450,000 a year for 24-hour fire wardens. Trustpilot said legitimate reviews could be reinstated and it demands reviewers have engaged with a business in the past 12 months to “ensure reviews remain relevant for other consumers and reflect recent experiences”. Businesses that break the rules can be punished, it said.

A Barratt spokesman said it only flagged reviews where it “cannot identify the reviewer as being a recent customer”, in line with Trustpilot’s rules.

He added: “We are aware of the difficulties being faced by residents at Kennington Park Square, and appreciate how concerning this must be for them.”