While we don't verify specific claims because reviewers' opinions are their own, we may label reviews as "Verified" when we can confirm a business interaction took place. Read more

To protect platform integrity, every review on our platform—verified or not—is screened by our 24/7 automated software. This technology is designed to identify and remove content that breaches our guidelines, including reviews that are not based on a genuine experience. We recognise we may not catch everything, and you can flag anything you think we may have missed. Read more

Review summary

Created with AI, based on recent reviews

Looking at 138 reviews, most reviewers were let down by their experience overall. Many people were dissatisfied with the product, frequently encountering broken bikes, flat tires, and issues with electrical assistance. Customers also found the pricing unclear and expensive, with unexpected charges and price hikes. The app was a major source of frustration, often described as laggy, buggy, and difficult to use, leading to problems with starting and ending rides, and inaccurate GPS. The service was consistently criticized for being poor, with unresponsive customer support and difficulties resolving issues. The user experience was generally negative, with many people reporting wasted time due to malfunctioning bikes and app problems. Some people also felt that the company's practices, such as charging fines for parking in designated zones or for bikes that malfunctioned, were unfair and unreasonable.

What people talk about most

Product

Customers express significant dissatisfaction with the product. Many reviewers report that bikes frequently... See more

Price

Users describe negative interactions with price, frequently citing unexpected and high charges. Many... See more

Application

Clients share negative opinions on the app, with many reviewers expressing significant frustration. Consumers... See more

Service

Reviewers highlight negative aspects of service. Many customers express frustration with deteriorating... See more

User experience

Reviewers mention negative feedback about user experience, citing numerous app issues. Many customers report... See more

Reviews shaping this summary

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

If I could give no stars i would. I lived in Brentford for a few years and would always use electric bikes to get around locally. I moved away, and returned to find forest had replaced lime for bike... See more

Company replied

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Technical issues with bikes last week. Switching on after scanning then shutting down. Tried everything to get the app to work, deleting, installing, switching off phone - nothing is working. App ha... See more

Company replied

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Unclear pricing and recent price hikes not highlighted. App laggy and GPS recognition awful. Bikes often broken and can't end ride. Stupid joke messages when waiting ages for ride to end. Stands unst... See more

Company replied

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Sadly, I'm yet another case of the app not letting me park due to bugs with their GPS system and being charged a fortune because of it. Clearly parked in a designated parking spot but the app seemed t... See more

Company replied


Company details

  1. Software Company

Written by the company

We’re Forest. You know, those shared ebikes in London that look like trees. We’re London’s most affordable and most sustainable shared eBike. We give everyone 10 minutes free riding time, every day. It doesn’t stop at 10 minutes though, we offer riders a way to get even more free minutes by watching ads from our conscious-minded partners. We power our operations with 100% renewable energy (which we have done since day 1). We then offset our manufacturing emissions by growing an actual forest, through local and responsible tree planting, in Wales.


Contact info

1.4

Bad

TrustScore 1.5 out of 5

341 reviews

5-star
4-star
3-star
2-star
1-star

Replied to 99% of negative reviews

Typically replies within 48 hours

How this company uses Trustpilot

See how their reviews and ratings are sourced, scored, and moderated.

Companies on Trustpilot aren't allowed to offer incentives or pay to hide reviews. Reviews are the opinions of individual users and not of Trustpilot. Read more

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Calamitous shambles

Seems I'm yet another victim of the GPS fault meaning the bike wouldn't dock although it was very clearly in a designated bay. From there it just got worse as there is no one to speak to about the issue apart from a bot that tells you everything is all fine while all the while you are continuing to be charged. Any time saving I had made by using the bike was lost because I was stood there scratching my head at how to resolve the issue with no support from forest. Ridiculously I went back 25 minutes later , and moved the bike out of the parking bay and onto the pavement where I was then allowed to end my ride. I was then initially refunded the wrong amount after I had to email the company, and my email back to forest to explain this was ignored. Utter shambles just don't bother with them, my first experience with forest will absolutely be my last

21 August 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Daniel,

Thank you for getting in touch and for sharing your experience with us.

I’ve requested your information so I can look into your ride in more detail and review what happened.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

THE WORST - 0 STARS

THE BIKES ALLOWED US TO DRIVE INTO THE RED ZONE FOR 2 MILES BEFORE THEY STOPPED WORKING. WE WERE THEN STUCK AND TOLD TO WALK THE BIKES BACK TO THE ZONE. OBVIOUSLY, WE COULDN'T DO THAT, AND IT WAS CLEARLY THEIR FAULT FOR ALLOWING THE BIKES TO WORK IN THE RED ZONE IN THE FIRST PLACE. THEY THEN CHARGED US £20 EACH AS A FINE?? NO APOLOGIES, AND THE ONLINE CUSTOMER SERVICE IS USELESS. SAVE YOUR MONEY AND USE LIME BIKES OR WALK INSTEAD.

24 August 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Tyron,

Thanks for taking the time to leave your review.

The red no-parking zone is shown in the app both before and during your ride. This information is also included in the welcome email and welcome carousel when you first join, and a pop-up appears in the app the first time you start a ride to explain these zones.

Unfortunately, we do not currently have permission from the local council to allow ride endings in these zones.

I can see you’ve also contacted our support team via email, so we’ll be sending you a map of our operational area to avoid any future issues.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Bike died mid ride and kept charging me

I had a horrible situation where the bike died in the middle of the street and the app was still showing that I was riding and kept charging me, tried calling them automated msg, then their email didn’t really explain why that happend or offered any compensation. The bike kept charging for 40 minutes when I had just been driving for 5 minutes then I had to stop a stranger’s van to help me carry it to a parking spot to end the ride, it was beeping and looked like we were thieves. Don’t use this bike ever

19 August 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Afra,

Thank you for getting in touch and for leaving your review.

We're sorry to hear about your experience.

We've requested your information, as this will help us investigate the issue further and ensure that the bike has been taken offline.

Thank you in advance for your help.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Terrible company !!

I was riding a forest bike as normal for about an hour. I was going down a normal tarmac road and my back tire started bumping up and down and when I checked the tire was flat beyond repair. I have phoned Forest about the issue and still got no refund even after stopping immediately after this happening. I would like some sort of compensation. This happened in the new area of Hounslow !!!!! (this bike was rented under the email joshuabalmer3@ gmail.com )

12 August 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Kate,

Thanks for taking the time to leave your review. Keeping our bikes in good condition is a top priority, and we’ve passed your comments on to our operations team.

Unfortunately, as your ride was quite long, we’re unable to offer a full refund for the minutes used. However, we can confirm that additional minutes were added to your account.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

App bugs cost me £40 for a 5 minute ride

Sadly, I'm yet another case of the app not letting me park due to bugs with their GPS system and being charged a fortune because of it. Clearly parked in a designated parking spot but the app seemed to think I was not. I was running late for an important meeting so didn't have time to sit around and wait for an email back from support, which seems to be their only option when countless app bugs punish innocent commuters. That's £40 down the drain and an incredibly blunt/indifferent exchange with support. Lime all the way!

8 August 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Patrick,

Thank you for taking the time to share your review.

We're sorry to hear about the issues you experienced. App stability is a high priority for us, and we’ll be passing your feedback to our tech team.

I've also requested your information and will be looking into this ride, along with your recent interactions with our support team, as soon as possible.

Best regards,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

I had at least 40 mins left on the app

I had at least 40 mins left on the app, it rained 2 days straight, only to turn on the app to find out all the minutes had been taken away!!! who does this?? what kind of a scam is this!!!

24 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Richie,

Thanks for taking the time to leave your review.

Just to clarify, all our minutes have an expiry date, which is stated at the time of purchase and can also be viewed in the app.

I've requested your information so I can take a closer look at your account and check if this was the case in your situation.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Get you bikes off pavement in benbow…

Get you bikes off pavement in benbow road w6 as I am disabled

24 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Susan,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. We’re sorry to hear that one of our bikes was left in an inappropriate location.

Please rest assured that we take this matter seriously and will be taking appropriate action with the last rider involved. We have also asked for the bike to be relocated as a priority.

If you encounter this issue again in the future, please email us at cs@humanforest.co.uk, this is the quickest way to reach us, and it allows us to relocate the bike as soon as possible.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The bikes are really bad quality

The bikes are really bad quality. I was late to work because the bike broke down. Sometimes the breaks are dodgy. Not comfortable using these any more.

22 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hi Ayesha,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review.

We’re really sorry to hear about your experience. If you could email us at cs@humanforest.co.uk, we’d be happy to look into your ride and see how we can help.

Thank you in advance, and we look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

They scammed me

I would like to express my disappointment with a decision forest bike had over an issue. Thats why I stopped riding forest bike, I just did it now because I received and e-mail with some free minutes. I feel like I just had been scammed. I was riding the bike and for bike issues I couldn't ride it anymore (it got to heavy as the breaks were on) and 20 pounds were taken from my bank account without even giving me a chance to explain myself. I didn't park outside the permitted area, I was ridding over a not permitted area and the bike stopped working the way it should, as I result I paused the ride while I was searching on the Internet if someone had a similar issue. After a few minutes my ride was stopped and I was charged 20 pounds.

20 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hi Raphael,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your feedback.

If you could please email us at cs@humanforest.co.uk, our team will be happy to look into your ride for you.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
The Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Misleading advertising

Misleading advertising. Says 10 minutes for free but this is not correct. It costs a minimum of £1.90 for 10 minutes. This should be made clear but is only apparent after signing up and reading all the instructions.

20 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Azza,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback with us.

We’d like to clarify the £1.90 charge you noticed. This includes a £1 unlock fee and a 90p daily service fee, both of which are clearly displayed in the app before you begin your ride.

If you're using our Daily 10, this covers your riding time and is automatically added to your account each day you ride. These minutes are activated with your first ride and can be found in the Credit section of the app.

If you don’t currently have an active Bundle or subscription, the £1 unlock fee and 90p daily service fee apply to your first ride of the day.

We’re sorry for any confusion caused. We always aim to be as transparent as possible with our pricing, which is clearly explained when you first sign up, when you log into the app for the first time, in your welcome email, and again before each ride.

If you have any more questions, please feel free to email our support team at cs@humanforest.co.uk, they’ll be more than happy to help. 😊

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Forest Bike is the worst scammer known…

Forest Bike is the worst scammer known to e-bike How to you justify £1.90 for 2 min ride. very good first and last time I would ride.

18 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback with us!

This £1.90 charge is the £1 unlock and 90p daily service fee which is displayed before starting your ride.

The Daily 10 applies to riding time, and we can confirm that this riding time is added to your account every day you ride. The minutes are activated when you take your first ride and can be found in the Credit section of the app.

If you don't have an active Bundle or subscription, there is a £1 unlock fee before each ride and a daily service fee of 90p that is applied to your first ride of the day.

We apologise for any confusion caused. We strive to be as transparent as possible with our pricing, and this information is mentioned in the app when you first sign up, in the welcome email, and also in the app before each ride.

If you’re a frequent rider or love long rides, we have another money-saving option for you: Minutes Bundles! These pre-paid packages of riding minutes are available directly in the app. They’re a great way to save money if you ride often or need longer durations, you get unlimited free unlocks and no daily service fees when using a bundle!

We also offer a 20% discount on riding minutes to students, NHS staff, pensioners, and Emergency Services.

In our Minute Builder, you can also get extra minutes every day by watching ads, further increasing your savings. 😃

Best wishes,
Gareth
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Scam company. Avoid

Scam company

Their model rests on scamming riders who get stuck in red zones - a joke to operate in London and not cover most of it. A scam company - avoid

14 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Joe,

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your feedback with us!

We’re really sorry to hear that some of your destinations have been No Parking Areas. We’re truly excited about the prospect of bringing Forest and parking bays to every corner of London, it's a dream we're passionate about!

However, dockless parking is subject to regulation in each borough, and the rules can vary significantly. If you find that we’re not currently operating in your specific area, it’s because we haven’t yet secured the necessary permissions from that borough. We understand how frustrating this can be, but please know that we’re tirelessly working to expand Forest’s reach!

We would always advise checking the map before starting your ride to ensure your destination is within our operational area and is not a No Parking Area. The red zone marking the outside of our operational area is always visible and the No Parking Areas within our operational area can be viewed before you start your ride by clicking on a bike on the map.

When first signing up and before your first ride you are also informed that you can't end your ride in red or grey areas on the map.

Best wishes,
Gareth
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

- Impractical re-zoning of parking…

- Impractical re-zoning of parking areas (For example, the car park and bike racks outside my gym in Mitcham Industrial Park being non-parking and subsequently the closest parking zone being removed two weeks later)
- Insufficient information about this at the start of journeys
- Terrible live customer service experience
- Bad bike maintenance

- All of this is tolerable without excessive parking restrictions and the membership pricing model would’ve kept me a customer but this has made it impractical and Im going to stop using forest

Edit (In response to reply)
- The in-app experience is a significant factor in this. If you do look at my account, you’ll see that I’ve been on the receiving end of a significant number of hugs as a result. 1.) Taking over a minute to surface the option to end journeys (Sometimes even when app has been restarted multiple times) 2.) Not fully ending journeys despite the ‘Ending ride’ splash screen appearing 3.) The support is not in app, it diverts to a webpage which is, in itself, not exceptionally intuitive or user friendly and - for me at least - Has led to multiple instances of beginning a complaint and then abandoning it and using the bus instead for a time 4.) Searching for other areas within the app to verify the general parking status rather than parking spots does not appear available.

- On the parking spot issue. The (Massive) car park and the bike racks were zoned out and instead there was a parking spot 5-10 mins away. After about two weeks, that parking spot was also removed and now the closest one is a further 5-10 mins away. Irrespective of your communications, that is not practical and simply not a good enough service. Especially when there are times when the nearest spot will have no bikes and the next nearest one is even further.

It’s not just about communication, it’s about availability of the bikes and availability of parking such that the service is practical.

The car park (with bike racks) for example outside Lidl is also now zoned out, so I also can’t do shopping on the way back from the gym unless I park 5-10 mins away and drag the shopping with me.

If you’re going to advertise this as a cycle to work option, this needs to be sorted out. And if you’re going to charge the fees that you do, you need a much better customer portal.

14 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello,

Thanks for your feedback.

We recently had to update our parking map following directives from the local council. These changes were communicated via email and through an in-app message, but we understand they may still have caused some inconvenience.

For future trips, the nearest available parking bays are always visible in the app, and you can check no-parking zones by tapping on any bike before starting your ride.

We're also sorry to hear about the recent issues you’ve experienced with our bikes. I’ve requested your information so I can review your recent rides and follow up directly.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

AVOID - SCAM

Think it's rather odd that the app doesn't let you delete your card - every other app lets you unlink your cards. Furthermore, even tho i used apple pay to encrypt the card - the app has taken the last 4 digits of the the physical card which is very very dodgy indeed. I do not want this app to store my card detail at all.

7 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello John,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review.

We do need to keep at least one payment method linked to your account to ensure you’re ready to ride whenever you want.

Regarding Apple Pay, we do not store your full card details. However, Apple may share limited information with us, such as the last four digits of your linked card, to help with payment identification and fraud prevention. Rest assured, your full card number is never visible to us nor stored on our servers.

If you wish for your account to be deleted, please let us know as this will remove all card details from your account.

If you have any further concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us at cs@humanforest.co.uk. We’re here to help.

Best regards,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

Garry .t who delivered our shed was…

Garry .t who delivered our shed was very polite and helpful and a credit to your company.

11 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hey Richard,

Thanks so much for taking the time to leave a review.

Unfortunately, it looks like your feedback may have been intended for a different company. If you ever do need assistance from us, please don’t hesitate to reach out at cs@humanforest.co.uk, we’d be happy to help. 😊

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

A bike hit my car

I would like to know who to contact regarding a Forest bike that clipped the back of my car this morning, denting and scratching it and causing potentially hundreds of pounds worth of damage. When I tried to take a photograph of the rider, he sped off hurling abuse. It is so unacceptable. Car drivers have no re-course regards damage to vehicles. You have hundreds of inexperienced, incompetent riders, who do not follow the rules of the road, park in ridiculous places; bikes strewn all over the roads and pavements. I am sick of it. All of your riders should have to pass a proficiency test, your bikes should have identifying numbers/plates and built in cameras so that footage can be reviewed of them constantly jumping red lights, speeding over zebra crossings when people are crossing, speeding down the pavements and generally driving dangerously. It is disgusting that you and other e-bike providers are getting away with this with no accountability.

9 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Wendy,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review.

We're really sorry to hear about this incident. Would it be possible if you could kindly reach out to us at cs@humanforest.co.uk regarding this and we can investigate this further.

Best wishes,
Gareth
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The app is so bad that I am “forced” to…

The app is so bad that I am “forced” to use the sour competition which I don’t really like….looking at the reviews, the app quality is a common theme here and it appears that nobody at Forest cares about it…

4 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Bart,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. We're really sorry to hear about the issues you've experienced with our app. This isn’t the kind of experience we want for our users, and we completely understand how frustrating it can be.

App stability is a top priority for us, and I’ve shared your feedback with our tech team for further review.

If you’d like us to take a closer look at your account or investigate any specific ride, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at cs@humanforest.co.uk, we’ll be more than happy to help.

Thank you again for your valuable feedback.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

The worst app ever! app down again.

The worst app ever! Completely unreliable! The app is down again this evening and no one was able to unlock the bike! Can’t use the minutes bundles I already bought and it made me late to an appointment and had to spend money on Lime. Maybe I should stick with Lime bikes instead, much more reliable

1 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Rose,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review.

Unfortunately, our system experienced some technical issues on that day, and as a result, some riders were unable to use our service. We’re truly sorry for the inconvenience and completely understand how frustrating that must have been.

I’ve requested your information so I can take a look at your account.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

You guys should find a perfect stinky…

You guys should find a perfect stinky place to dump the app,

1 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Suman,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. We're really sorry to hear about the issues you've experienced with our app. This isn’t the kind of experience we want for our users, and we completely understand how frustrating it can be.

App stability is a top priority for us, and I’ve shared your feedback with our tech team for further review.

If you’d like us to take a closer look at your account or investigate any specific ride issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us at cs@humanforest.co.uk, we’ll be more than happy to help.

Thank you again for your valuable feedback.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

Awful service

Awful service, app never works and bikes are poorly maintained.

I have sent many emails to the customer service line and they never reply. Really shocking level of service for a London brand to be honest. No wonder why Lime does not have any strong competition

1 July 2025
Unprompted review
Forest logo

Reply from Forest

Hello Dexter,

Thank you for taking the time to leave your review.

We're really sorry to hear about the issues you have faced recently and that you haven’t received any replies from our team, this isn’t typical from our Support and Community Champions, and we completely understand how frustrating that must be.

I’ve requested your information so I can review the communication you’ve had with us and investigate the issue further.

Best wishes,
Ashleigh
Forest Team 🌳

The Trustpilot Experience

Anyone can write a Trustpilot review. People who write reviews have ownership to edit or delete them at any time, and they’ll be displayed as long as an account is active.

Companies can ask for reviews via automatic invitations. Labeled Verified, they’re about genuine experiences.

Learn more about other kinds of reviews.

We use dedicated people and clever technology to safeguard our platform. Find out how we combat fake reviews.

Learn about Trustpilot’s review process.

Here are 8 tips for writing great reviews.

Verification can help ensure real people are writing the reviews you read on Trustpilot.

Offering incentives for reviews or asking for them selectively can bias the TrustScore, which goes against our guidelines.

Take a closer look