Around 39.7 million UK adults, roughly seven in ten, have either never checked whether a trust mark, badge or certification they saw online was genuine, or say they would not know how, according to new research: ‘Britain’s £5 Billion Trust Problem’ from UKAS-accredited certification body, British Assessment Bureau.

The study finds that 31.9% of UK adults, almost one in three, wrongly thought they recognised at least one of three fake trust marks the researchers had invented. The cost of that gap is around £5 billion, the amount UK adults say they spent in the last twelve months on products and services that turned out to be worse than their online reviews suggested. 72% had at least one such let-down in the year, and only 36% recovered the money in full.

While established review platforms and accredited certification schemes continue to play an important role in helping consumers make informed decisions online, the research highlights growing consumer confusion around how different trust signals, verification systems, and certifications operate.

Anyone shopping in 2026 sees trust signals at every turn. A row of stars under a restaurant name. A Food Hygiene Rating sticker in the chip-shop window. A Gas Safe ID card in a heating engineer's hand, telling you that somebody, somewhere, has checked. Most of us click, glance and decide in seconds. Almost none of us look beyond the badge.

‘Britain’s £5 Billion Trust Problem’ is the first UK consumer study to test fake trust badges alongside real ones while measuring how verification habits and misleading online information are costing consumers money.

UK adults' annual spend on items that turned out worse than their reviews suggested. 7 in 10 had at least one such let-down in the year.

Almost 1 in 3 Britons (31.9%) wrongly thought they recognised at least one of three fake trust marks that simply don’t exist.

Around 39.7 million Brits have either never checked whether a trust mark is genuine, or say they wouldn't know how to.

Among Britons whose view of online reviews has shifted in three years, those whose trust has fallen outnumber those whose trust has grown by more than five to one.

Around 27 million UK adults, and roughly two-thirds of under‑35s, have used an AI chatbot to help research a product. Yet almost no one ranks it as their most trusted source.

67% of UK adults agree it's becoming nearly impossible to know what's genuine online. Half of them blame AI and bots first.

In the UK, anyone can set up a certification body and start issuing marks, and there is no law requiring them to be accredited to do so.

What separates a meaningful certification from a convincing logo is whether the certification body behind it holds accreditation with a recognised accreditation body, such as the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), the Irish National Accreditation Board (INAB), the ANSI National Accreditation Board in North America, or a local equivalent. To gain and keep that status, certification bodies are independently assessed to make sure they work competently, consistently and impartially. Worldwide, the Global Accreditation Cooperation Incorporated (Global ACI) unites Accreditation Bodies worldwide, ensuring accredited certificates are recognised internationally through Multilateral Recognition Arrangements (MLAs). It is the layer of checking that sits behind the badge, and the research suggests it is largely invisible to the people the badge is meant to reassure.

There is a newer safeguard too, this time in law. Since April 2025, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act has allowed regulators to fine businesses up to 10% of global turnover for commissioning fake reviews, and in March 2026, the Competition and Markets Authority opened its first five investigations under the new powers. Yet just 5.5% of UK adults knew the law existed.

As part of the survey, researchers invented three entirely fake trust marks, TrueReview, RESA (Residential Electrical Safety Authority) and UKPAS (UK Plumbing Assessment Scheme), giving them plausible names and logos, alongside ten genuine ones in the survey. 31.9% of UK adults claimed familiarity with at least one of the three. 

*Real trust marks were included in the study solely as reference examples to test consumer recognition and trust in certification logos. The organisations whose logos appeared in the study were not involved in the research, and their inclusion does not imply endorsement of the findings.

As part of the survey, researchers invented three entirely fake trust marks, TrueReview, RESA (Residential Electrical Safety Authority) and UKPAS (UK Plumbing Assessment Scheme), giving them plausible names and logos, presented alongside ten genuine ones. 31.9% of UK adults claimed familiarity with at least one of the three fakes. 

The Britons most confident they could spot a fake trust mark were the ones most likely to have fallen for one. Those who said they were ‘very confident’ were over three times more likely to have wrongly recognised one of the invented marks than those who said they were ‘not at all confident’. Overconfidence in one’s ability to safely navigate the trust landscape could prove costly, the data suggests.

Among the seven in ten Britons let down by a business with strong reviews, 87% reported at least one negative emotion, and 17% said they felt embarrassed. Over a third never tried to recover the money, almost as many as got a full refund. 

Millennials (aged 25-34) reported the highest average losses, and frequent online shoppers experienced nearly four times more disappointing spend than occasional buyers. 

AI is making it harder for consumers to judge what’s genuine online

Around half of UK adults have used AI to research a purchase, yet almost no one ranks it as their most-trusted source. 67% of UK adults agree it is becoming increasingly difficult to judge what is genuine online, and when asked for the main reason, 48% cited concerns around AI-generated and automated content increasing the volume of misleading information online, ahead of deceptive people (23%) and volume of information (15%)

Caroline Plumb, Group CEO at Amtivo says, "Almost everyone now leans on trust signals at every turn, whether that’s a row of stars under a restaurant name, reviews on a clothing website or the badge on a tradesperson's van. What this research shows is that many consumers don’t check or verify these trust marks to make sure they are genuine - and for the first time we've been able to show that this is costing Brits billions of pounds in disappointing products and services.

“As AI-generated content makes it harder to judge what information online can be trusted, accredited, independent certification has an important role to play in helping consumers shop with confidence - both online and in-person. In fact, most review platforms publish information about how reviews are collected and verified, so it's worth taking a moment to understand those processes.” 

Before you go…

➡️ Have you joined the Kent Business Community yet? - https://kentbusinesscommunity.co.uk
➡️ Don’t miss the latest networking events near you - https://www.kentbusinessevents.co.uk
➡️ Do you have news or announcements you’d like to share about your business?

Contact us today - [email protected]

If you enjoyed this article, please subscribe and pass it on to another Kent business owner who might also like it! Thanks.