Ad description
The website hotpoint.co.uk, seen in May 2026, stated on the homepage, “The UK’s Most Trusted Appliance Brand”. Next to the text was a Trustpilot logo with 4.6 stars. The page featured another Trustpilot logo and the text, “TrustScore 4.6 33,375 reviews”.
When the logo was clicked on, the consumer was taken to another page, hotpoint.co.uk/trustpilot. Text stated, “Hotpoint. THE UK’S MOST TRUSTED major domestic appliance brand*”. Smaller text stated, “Based on Trustpilot five-star rating among the leading Major Domestic Appliances (MDA) brands with published Trustpilot reviews specific to MDA and to the UK, as of December 2025. To verify, visit www.hotpoint.co.uk/”.
Further text stated, “At Hotpoint, we have the highest number of 5* Hotpoint reviews on Trustpilot in the major domestic appliance industry, helping make us the UK’s most trusted major domestic appliance brand. Our thoughtful home solutions have been relied on for generations to help protect you from mishaps. From cooking appliances that prevent pans from boiling over, to washing machines that remove more than 100 stains at low, protective temperatures. We're industry experts who are there for you throughout the entire journey - you can count on us when you need us most, and that's why we've been the trusted partner at home for more than 110 years.
What is Trustpilot? Trustpilot helps you shop with confidence by making it easy to find companies you can trust. Their independent platform is dedicated to real-life experience and insights, so you can discover the most trusted brands around the world - including us!” Text near the bottom of the page stated, “How has Hotpoint worked out who the main UK major domestic appliance brands are? We have used data based on the Kantar 2023 top brands for awareness, consideration and preference to work out who the main UK major domestic appliance brands are. We included the leading major domestic appliance brands with published Trustpilot reviews specific to this industry. To see full breakdown of results press here”.
Issue
Two complainants, including BSH Home Appliances Ltd, challenged whether the claims, “The UK’s Most Trusted Appliance Brand” and “Hotpoint. THE UK’s MOST TRUSTED major domestic appliance brand” were misleading.
Response
Hotpoint UK Appliances Ltd t/a Hotpoint said they had been using the claims on their website since March 2024 and they were developed in conjunction with Trustpilot and with their authorisation and approval. They said that Trustpilot used the volume of 5-star reviews as their approved methodology for making “most trusted” claims. The claims were not based on the overall Trustpilot score out of 5, which could be based on a very small number of reviews, and which could also fluctuate regularly, and was therefore an unstable basis for “most trusted” claims. They were instead based on the volume of 5-star reviews that Hotpoint had received on Trustpilot among leading major domestic appliance (MDA) brands. The claims were reviewed and approved by Trustpilot prior to launch and were ratified ahead of campaign updates. Trustpilot, as the platform provider and authority on their own review metrics, used the volume of 5-star reviews as their approved methodology for making “most trusted” claims. Hotpoint included evidence of Trustpilot’s initial and ongoing approval of Hotpoint as the UK’s most trusted appliance brand in their response.
They said the use of 5-star review volume as a metric for “most trusted” claims was well-established and had been used in Trustpilot case studies. They provided evidence of other UK brands also using the same and/or similar basis for “most trusted” claims.
Hotpoint said they provided full transparency to consumers by including detailed information accessible directly from the website, where consumers could explore and fact-check the claims for themselves. They said the page was updated regularly and clearly showed the volume of 5-star reviews and how that compared to the MDA market as a whole.
They said the data demonstrated that Hotpoint held the largest share of 5-star reviews among MDA brands in the UK, accounting for 22.4%. The fact that different metrics existed did not render that methodology established by Trustpilot as misleading, as it was clearly evidenced. They said it would be more misleading to focus on overall scores as the basis for “most trusted” claims, rather than the volume of 5-star reviews in relation to the MDA market as a whole, as a much smaller brand with a low total number of reviews but a high overall score could claim to be the “most trusted”, when in reality that would not reflect the market as a whole. A higher overall score might validate a “highest scoring” claim but would not necessarily also validate a “most trusted” claim.
Assessment
Upheld
The claim “The UK’s Most Trusted Appliance Brand” appeared alongside a Trustpilot logo and star rating. We considered consumers were therefore likely to understand that it related to Trustpilot data. While consumers were likely to infer from the Trustpilot logo and star rating that the claim related to Trustpilot reviews, we considered they were not likely to understand that it was based specifically on the volume or share of five-star reviews, rather than overall Trustpilot score.
The ASA noted that, when consumers clicked on the Trustpilot logo, they were taken to a page which featured the claim, “Hotpoint. THE UK’S MOST TRUSTED major domestic appliance brand” and stated that the claim was based on Trustpilot five-star ratings among the leading major domestic appliance brands with published Trustpilot reviews specific to the industry and to the UK, as of December 2025. We also noted that the page stated Hotpoint had used Kantar 2023 data on awareness, consideration and preference to identify the main UK major domestic appliance brands, and that consumers could access a further breakdown of the results. However, we considered consumers would be unaware, before clicking the logo, that further information about the basis of the claim was available and that the basis of the claim on the homepage was in any case not clear.
In addition, the click-through page included a TrustScore and total review number. We considered that presentation was also likely to be understood as meaning the claim related to Hotpoint’s overall Trustpilot performance. However, Hotpoint’s methodology depended on a specific measure, namely the number or share of five-star reviews, and we considered that was also not clear from the second webpage.
We acknowledged Hotpoint’s response that the claim was not based on overall Trustpilot score, but on the number of five-star Trustpilot reviews held by Hotpoint compared with those held by selected leading UK major domestic appliance brands. We understood, from Hotpoint’s response, that its methodology involved two stages. First, it identified what it considered to be the leading UK major domestic appliance brands by reference to Kantar 2023 data on awareness, consideration and preference. Second, within the selected major domestic appliance brand group, it compared the volume and share of five-star Trustpilot reviews and concluded that Hotpoint ranked first on that basis. Hotpoint said that, on 1 June 2026, it accounted for 22.4% of five-star reviews among selected brands, which was higher than the competitor brands. We therefore understood that the claim was based on Hotpoint having the greatest share of five-star reviews within a defined comparator set.
However, while the click-through page included the claim that referred to the most trusted “… major domestic appliance brand”, on the homepage the claim itself, “The UK’s Most Trusted Appliance Brand” was broad and unqualified. We therefore considered consumers were unlikely to appreciate that the comparison depended on a prior filtering exercise and was not a comparison with all appliance brands in the UK, or when the data was last checked for validity.
For the reasons given, we considered the basis of the comparison was not made sufficiently clear, and therefore concluded that the claims were misleading.
The ad breached CAP Code (Edition 12) rules 3.1 and 3.3 (Misleading advertising) and 3.32 (Comparisons with identifiable competitors).
Action
The ad must not appear again in its current form. We told Hotpoint UK Appliances Ltd to ensure future comparative claims did not mislead by omitting information about the nature of the comparison.
