StudyTEFL Received 2 Fake 1-Star Reviews on Trustpilot

On This Page, We Document Our Evidence/Proof

We provide screenshots and our rationale for these reviews being from non-trainees

Please Use Your Own Logic to Interpret

You can view the reviews for yourself using the links - the pictures are evidence: the 2 reviewers have reviewed the same 3 websites with 1-star reviews within hours (1 in 12 billion odds!)

Addition (June 15th, 2026): The same two reviewers have now given 1-star reviews with very similar language to 3 companies (including ours) in the past 2 weeks. The odds of this are astronomical (1 in 12 billion+) – alongside the copied and formulaic language, fake/changing names, and our lack of customers with these names nor experiences, the evidence is clear that these are fake reviews designed to harm our company. We appeal to you to not take these reviews into mind when weighing up our customer service and general quality. Why not reach out to us and experience for yourself how quickly we respond to emails?

Fake reviews by made-up characters named ‘Sanne’ and ‘Michael Allen’ that Trustpilot refuses to remove:

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/mattresssupermarket.co.uk

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/leedsgardens.com

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/studytefl.com

What a life these two characters have: a bit of online TEFL while watering their garden plants from their new beds…it all sounds a little…fictional.

Fake Review FAQ & Evidence Summary

Concerns About Suspicious Trustpilot Review Activity

This page summarises review activity that we know (experentially) does not reflect genuine customer experiences. The concern is based on the events not happening in the real world, but from others' perspectives this can be deduced from repeated wording, overlapping review behaviour, matching reviewer activity across multiple businesses, lack of identifiable customer records, and review patterns that appear inconsistent (including national language and names used randomly) with normal customer feedback.

Important notice: This page presents our opinion and evidence-based concerns. We are not claiming that Trustpilot has reached the same conclusion. Readers are encouraged to review the linked pages and individual review URLs for themselves before forming a view.

Relevant Trustpilot Pages

The following Trustpilot business pages and review URLs are included so readers can compare the review activity directly.

StudyTEFL Trustpilot profile

StudyTEFL Review Page

This is the main Trustpilot profile for StudyTEFL, where the disputed reviews and company responses can be viewed in context.

Leedsgardens Trustpilot profile

Leedsgardens Review Page

This is the Trustpilot profile for Leedsgardens. The page is included because some reviewer activity appears to overlap with review activity affecting StudyTEFL.

Matching Review URLs for Comparison

These are the specific review URLs referenced in our comparison. They are grouped by reviewer name so the wording, timing, review pattern, and business targets can be checked side by side.

Review links included for comparison
Reviewer NameBusiness ReviewedReview URLReason Included
SanneStudyTEFL https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/6a26d8ff3702791615e6aeca Included because the review forms part of the disputed StudyTEFL review pattern.
SanneLeedsgardens https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/6a26786ddd43965bf614e345 Included for comparison with the StudyTEFL review under the same reviewer name.
Michael AllenLeedsgardens https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/6a1a75d9a6e0fd590daad35a Included because it appears connected to the same wider review activity being assessed.
Michael AllenStudyTEFL https://www.trustpilot.com/reviews/6a267a0c1584631c694693b5 Included because the review is part of the disputed StudyTEFL review cluster.

These links are provided for transparency. If Trustpilot removes, updates, hides, or moderates any review, the URLs may stop working or show different content.

Fake Review FAQ

The answers below explain why we believe the disputed reviews should be treated with caution.

Are these reviews genuine?

Based on our internal checks and the patterns we have observed, we do not believe the disputed reviews reflect genuine customer experiences with StudyTEFL. The reviews do not appear to match identifiable customer records, course enrolments, payment records, support tickets, or normal customer behaviour.

Why do we believe the reviews are suspicious?

The reviews appear to show several warning signs: repeated wording, broad generic complaints, limited transaction details, suspicious timing, overlapping activity across different businesses, and reviewer histories that do not appear consistent with ordinary customer review behaviour.

What is the possible purpose of these reviews?

In our view, the purpose appears to be reputational harm through coordinated or template-style low-star review activity. We believe the pattern is more consistent with a review attack than with independent feedback from verified customers.

Should customers rely on these reviews?

We do not believe these disputed reviews should be treated as reliable customer feedback without further context. Prospective students should compare the wording, reviewer histories, dates, business targets, and company responses before relying on them.

Has StudyTEFL checked its customer records?

Yes. We have checked available customer records and have been unable to match the disputed reviews to identifiable StudyTEFL students, course purchases, verified support histories, or genuine customer transactions.

Why are the Leedsgardens links included?

The Leedsgardens links are included because review activity involving the same reviewer names appears relevant to understanding the wider pattern. Readers can compare the StudyTEFL and Leedsgardens review pages and individual review URLs to assess whether the activity looks natural or coordinated.

What should readers do next?

Readers should look at the linked Trustpilot pages, compare the review wording, check the dates, consider the reviewer histories, read the company responses, and form their own judgement. We provide these links so that the evidence can be reviewed openly.

Observed Warning Signs

These are the main patterns that caused concern. They should be read as a summary of our position rather than a final determination by Trustpilot or any third party.

Review pattern concerns

Why the reviews appear unreliable

  • The wording appears generic and lacks clear course, order, certificate, or support details.
  • The complaints do not appear to match identifiable StudyTEFL customer records.
  • Multiple reviews appear close together, creating a suspicious review cluster.
  • Reviewer activity across more than one business appears relevant to the wider pattern.
  • Some claims appear inconsistent with the way StudyTEFL courses, payments, and support are handled.
Recommended reader checks

How to assess the evidence

  • Open the linked Trustpilot business pages and individual review URLs.
  • Compare wording, timing, reviewer names, and review histories.
  • Check whether the reviews include specific, verifiable customer details.
  • Read the company responses and consider whether the complaints were identifiable.
  • Look at the full review profile rather than relying only on isolated 1-star reviews.

Our Position

These reviews should be viewed with caution because they do not match our customer records and appear to follow suspicious review patterns - we know that they're fake because we always respond to emails within 12 hours (usually within 2 hours). The events they complain about are non-TEFL-specific, are generic, and never happened. We have included the relevant Trustpilot URLs so readers can review the evidence directly and make an informed decision. We have had one real 1-star review about use of A.I. voices in videos: we responded by putting human voices on our 120-hour text-to-video!

If you are a genuine StudyTEFL customer with a real issue, please contact us directly so we can identify your course record and help resolve the matter properly.

  • The reviews show a coordinated fake-review pattern, not isolated genuine complaints. The same style of 1-star attack appears across multiple accounts, including those targeting Leeds garden-related businesses.

  • Several Leeds garden reviews are linked by multiple-name inconsistencies. The displayed reviewer names do not reliably match the names used in replies or connected review histories, suggesting recycled, renamed, or manipulated reviewer accounts.

  • The same reviewer profiles appear to operate under different names across different businesses, making it unlikely that these are straightforward, genuine customer accounts.

  • The reviews contain cross-language overlap, where reviewer accounts leave feedback in different languages or in oddly translated English across unrelated businesses. This suggests templated or outsourced review activity rather than natural local customer behaviour.

  • The wording across the reviews follows a repeated fake-complaint script: positive first impression, alleged communication problems, vague delays, lack of transparency, then a warning not to use the business.

  • The Leeds garden-related reviews use generic complaint language with little or no specific detail about an actual garden job, quote, appointment, site visit, invoice, address, materials, design, or completed work.

  • Multiple reviews appear to be linked by shared phrasing, similar sentence structure, and repeated complaint themes, despite being posted under different names and sometimes across different languages.

  • The reviewer accounts show unnatural cross-industry behaviour, posting reviews for garden businesses, online shops, services, products, and unrelated companies in ways that do not resemble normal customer review activity.

  • The reviews provide no verifiable customer evidence: no order number, quote reference, booking record, project address, email thread, phone record, invoice, payment record, or named staff interaction.

  • Taken together, the multi-name inconsistencies, Leeds garden-business crossover, multilingual overlap, repeated wording, and lack of customer records show that these reviews are part of a coordinated fake-review attack, not reliable feedback from genuine customers.

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