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
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Review summary
Created with AI, based on recent reviews
What people talk about most
Reviews shaping this summary
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
I've been using Forest for over a year now, but recently have faced problem after problem. Most recent issue was that I ended a ride as usual, and somehow a new ride magically started and went o... See more
Company replied
I was a strong proponent of forest bikes because it was local. However, the customer service is as good as nonexistent. I had two broken bikes and I was never refunded, even though the app said that t... See more
Company replied
Company details
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
London, United Kingdom
- 02081577491
- cs@humanforest.co.uk
- humanforest.co.uk
1.4
Bad
344 reviews
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.
Useless customer service who never pick…
Useless customer service who never pick up!
March 2, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Adam,
We're very sorry that our phone lines were unavailable when you tried to reach us. To help us look into any issues, we’ve requested your information. If you could kindly submit it or reach out to us directly at cs@humanforest.co.uk, we'll be happy to assist you as quickly as possible.
Thank you for your patience, and we hope to resolve this for you soon!
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team 🌳
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I just cycled for 3 minutes and…
I just cycled for 3 minutes and received a £20 parking fine for parking in a designated spot where it said I was allowed to park? Ended the ride perfectly fine. And then received this charge. What on Earth is going on with your app? Please refund me immediately this is unacceptable. I used your service all the time but this will be the last if this isn’t resolved
March 2, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi there,
We're sorry to hear that!
We'd really like to look into this properly and review the parking location and the fine in detail.
Please could you reach out to our support team directly with your account details?
You can reach us via:
Email: cs@humanforest.co.uk
Live Chat: Available from 8am to midnight through the support icon on the app homepage
Phone: 020 8157 7491 (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm).
Once we have your details, we'll investigate this and work towards resolving it for you.
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team🌳
All the bikes are duds
All the bikes are duds. App always logs you out for no reason. Bikes are slow. Awful company. Lime is much better
March 2, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Greg,
We're really sorry to hear about your experience and appreciate you taking the time to leave this feedback. We understand how frustrating it must be if bikes aren't performing as expected or the app logs you out unexpectedly.
Our operations team carries out regular maintenance on all bikes, and we're constantly working to improve app reliability. Your comments have been passed to the relevant teams so they can investigate further and make improvements.
If you do decide to ride with us again and encounter any issues, please reach out to our support team directly so we can resolve them as quickly as possible! You can reach us via:
Email: cs@humanforest.co.uk
Live Chat: Available from 8am to midnight through the support icon on the app homepage
Phone: 020 8157 7491 (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm)
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team🌳
My son really wanted me to go for a…
My son really wanted me to go for a bike ride with him but I don't own a bike. I just used the forest bike for the first time to go around the arsenal stadium and, while I enjoyed having a go on the bike, I was shocked with the end cost for just 45mins of £15.52. I researched the bike options before and Google even said new users get 10-20mins free and the bike itself has a sticker saying 30 minutes for £1 so I found it disappointing to just be charged a flat rate after all. The bike was in a good condition and it was a smooth ride. I would not use this regularly as I found it too expensive.
February 28, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Austra,
Thanks for sharing your experience, and we're glad you enjoyed riding around the Arsenal Stadium with your son! 🚲
Just to clarify, our bikes come with between 1 and 30 minutes included, depending on the bike. The 30 minute bikes are shown in gold on the map and the sticker says ''up to 30 minutes for £1''.
We completely understand that pricing on first rides can sometimes be surprising, and we really appreciate your feedback. If you'd like, feel free to reach out to our support team at cs@humanforest.co.uk. We'd be happy to check your ride details and see how we can help!
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team🌳
Absolutely rubbish app that burns your…
Absolutely rubbish app that burns your paid minutes trying to end rides. If you raise this with support they don’t care or make it right giving you your minutes back.
Awful service.
February 27, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi there,
We're really sorry to hear about your experience! This is not the experience we want for our riders.
Our support team takes all issues seriously, and we'd like the chance to look into this situation to make it right. Please reach out to us at cs@humanforest.co.uk with your ride details so we can investigate and make sure any lost minutes are returned.
Thank you for your feedback!
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team🌳
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so many problems
I have had so many problems with the forest App- it’s starts rides when I’m just looking for bikes or won’t end rides. I have emailed previously to ask for support with this and have tried everything suggested. This morning I have rented a bike by accident because of a glitch in the app. I could then not find it as it no longer shows as rentable and have walked around looking for it- not being able to find it or end it. I have been charged and been significantly late for work, stressed, frustrated and out of pocket. I really want to support Forest, but this is hugely disappointing. I went to the effort to reach out for support previously. I feel really let down by your service and am now sat in an £15 Uber, I would not want to recommend this product to others due to the ridiculous unreliability. I would give 0 stars if possible and they don’t support you for what advertises itself as a friendly and supporting company
February 26, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Stephanie,
We're really sorry to hear that you've been having app issues! That's not the experience we want you to have.
We'd really like to look into this properly for you, if you haven't already, please could you contact us directly at cs@humanforest.co.uk?
We genuinely appreciate that you want to support Forest, and we're sorry this experience has had the opposite effect. We'd love to help make this right.
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team🌳
The worst E-Bike I’ve ever used
The worst E-Bike I’ve ever used , scammers charge you without letting u know , and won’t pick up their phone please don’t use them
February 25, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Ubyed,
We're really sorry to hear that you've had a bad experience!
We'd like to look into what went wrong and see how we can make things right. Our phone lines are generally open from 9am to 5pm on weekdays, but can sometimes be closed due to staffing. Would you kindly reach out to our support team at cs@humanforest.co.uk? We are also available via live chat from 8am to midnight every day.
Best wishes,
Gareth
Forest Team 🌳
Random Loss of Power
I've found the bikes to be in better condition than limes. and I find they have better avaliablility in my area because less people use them. However I've had at least 5 bikes that will just lose power randomly down to 18km/h or even 13km/h and then go back up to normal randomly. which I've found to be dangerous having random speed jumps. Obviously a software issue.
February 25, 2026
Unprompted review
Pain of my life
This used to be a solid 4, but your services have deteriorated so much. Not only do you greedily increase the rates and prices, but the vast majority of your bikes are in such poor condition, and you do nothing to ensure proper maintenance. So many mornings I’ve started having to go from bike to bike until I can finally find one that doesn’t have a broken brake, a broken engine, a broken seat, or a flat tyre, wasting so much time. I give you the feedback, and what do you do? Give me back the minutes I wasted? Nope. “Please ensure you check the bike before you start the ride”. How am I supposed to know the engine is broken or a brake is not working without actually starting the ride??? If you are going to increase the prices, AT LEAST invest them in properly maintaining your bikes!!! Thank you for convincing me to buy a bike so I never have to use this horrible service ever again, and I hope more people do this as well until you realise you are just not doing enough or even the bare minimum. Not to mention the lagging app. I’ve put a 2 just cause you could provide a good service if you wanted to and a 1 is always a silly protest rating. This rating is meant to be genuine with positives included in that it is convenient and when a bike works it is great (but they almost never do). I hope you actually take this feedback into consideration.
February 24, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Antonis,
Thank you for taking the time to leave such detailed feedback. We’re really sorry to hear how frustrating your recent experiences have been and to hear we haven’t met the standard you expect, and that genuinely matters to us.
On pricing, we understand how changes can feel frustrating. At Forest, we aim to keep our pricing as sustainable as possible, balancing affordability with the need to ensure the viability of our service. When we do make adjustments to our bundles or pricing, it's only when the previous structure is no longer sustainable for us as a business. We understand how valuable the balance between competitive pricing and accessibility is to our users, and your feedback on this topic is genuinely appreciated.
Regarding bike condition, we're really sorry to hear you've encountered issues with bikes. We understand how important it is for our eBikes to be reliable. That's why we now ensure all eBikes receive a service at least every 3 weeks. We’ll take your feedback on board to improve further. Please do get in touch ASAP if you experience any problems, and our Support Team will be happy to help. 🚴🔧 Just to let you know, you can also create a damage report in the app when you come across an issue. We then go over the reports manually and ensure the bikes are taken offline. This year, we will be expanding our fleet, and we're hoping to have a high number of new bikes on the roads.
We’re also sorry to hear about the app lag; that’s not the experience we want anyone to have. Improving reliability across both hardware and software is a major focus for us.
We truly appreciate that you highlighted the convenience and the positive experience when a bike works well. That’s exactly the level of service we’re working to deliver consistently. Your feedback has been shared with the relevant teams, and it does help shape improvements.
Best wishes,
Gareth
Forest Team 🌳
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Horrible app
Horrible app, Horrible bikes, dont get cycle to work plan you will be stuck with them.
February 9, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Jack,
We're really sorry to hear that you've had a bad experience!
We'd like to look into what went wrong and see how we can make things right. Would you kindly reach out to our support team at cs@humanforest.co.uk?
Thank you again for sharing your feedback, we're always working to improve both our bikes and our app!
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team 🌳
I would like to share my experience…
I would like to share my experience which I have recently experienced by Forest e-cycle. This is so EXPENSIVE. To start I scanned barcode for 1 time then it didn’t work. Then, again I had scanned barcode for 2nd time on forest cycle to ride it but e-cycle didn’t start to ride it. However, it’s charged me £12 I was shocked though, I didn’t ride even for 1 minute but only for 5-7 minutes paused situation. This is so strange. I don’t want to use again Forest e-Cycle. But Never Mind if it’s felt not good.
Thanks,
February 9, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hello Musthaq,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.
I'm really sorry to hear you had issues on your first ride with us.
Would it be possible if you could kindly reach out to us via email at cs@humanforest.co.uk regarding this, and we can help you out right away.
Best wishes,
Gareth
Technical issues with bikes last week
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 has been buffering since last Thursday. No help via emailing customer service or live chat, phone lines were strangely closed when I tried calling several times within opening hours.
Spent £18.99, used it once so far due to an app problem which has never happened before. No help or support at all. Emails ignored, no follow up to live chat.
February 5, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review. I'm really sorry to hear that you're having issues with the app.
Would it be possible if you could kindly reach out to us via email at cs@humanforest.co.uk regarding this, and we can help you out right away. If you could kindly address the email to Gareth and let us know you've also left a review on trust pilot, then the team can escalate this to me.
Best wishes,
Gareth
Forest Team 🌳
Dreadful
Dreadful. Bikes strewn across pavements, driveways and roads. Nightmare for parents and those in wheelchairs. Dumped all over the place. Ugly and malfunction. Appallingly bad.
February 7, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi John,
We're really sorry to read this. Poorly parked bikes causing obstructions, particularly for parents and wheelchair users, is not acceptable and we're very sorry for the inconvenience caused!
We do not allow bikes to be left in a way that blocks access. When bikes are reported as badly parked, they're flagged to our operations team to be relocated as quickly as possible, and we take action with riders who leave bikes inappropriately.
If you come across a bike causing an obstruction, we would really appreciate your help in keeping our community safe and enjoyable for everyone. The quickest way to report it is by scanning the “Report a Badly Parked eBike” QR code on the handlebar or phone holder. This opens a live chat so we can respond quickly. Bikes can also be reported via email or phone, I've included our contact details below.
We're continually working to improve parking compliance to reduce these issues. Thank you for raising this.
You can reach us via:
Email: cs@humanforest.co.uk
Live Chat: Available from 8am to midnight through the support icon on the app homepage
Phone: 020 8157 7491 (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm)
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team 🌳
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Used to get 10 free minutes and bundles…
Used to get 10 free minutes and bundles cheaper, once upon a time you could even get 5 mins free by watching videos. Gone from being a company that had some integrity to no better than lime. Once I had a brake handle snap off and I got “20 minutes free”. Bikes are consistently broken or damaged, and still show up on app even if reported as damaged. You literally put people’s lives in danger, soon someone is going to get severely injured and it will be due to your negligence.
* their reply is untrue, I can provide screenshots now to show it’s a lie
*sending screenshots to their email now and will update accordingly. This thread also can be screenshotted and demonstrated as a breach of the consumer rights act
* their replies have been edited and still evading answering the question truthfully. You can report a bike as broken and it still be available to hire. Reporting a bike does not mean it is immediately taken offline, they are actively endangering riders lives. I have video evidence proving as such.
January 24, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Lili,
Thanks for your feedback, we're sorry to hear about your experience with the faulty bike! We go over damage reports manually and any bike reported as damaged is taken offline until it has been inspected and repaired by our team. All bikes also undergo a thorough check every three weeks. We have passed your feedback on to our operations team.
While the free minutes and bundle pricing have changed over time, you can still earn three free minutes daily by watching ads in the app. We appreciate your input and will pass this on to the relevant teams!
In response to your edited review: please feel free to share the screenshots with us via cs@humanforest.co.uk and we'll be happy to look into this further!
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team🌳
App very unreliable
App very unreliable, wouldn't recommend the cycle to work program just too much hassle contacting them all the time with faults, occasionally use is fine but now opened in different areas I.E Hounslow making the bikes harder to find,also lottery if the bike is working 100 percent
January 14, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Stephen,
Thank you for sharing your experience. We're sorry to hear that you’ve found the app unreliable and that ongoing faults have made the Cycle to Work scheme frustrating for you!
Reliability of both the app and our eBikes is something we continue to work on, and we will share your feedback with our tech and operations teams to help prioritise improvements.
We also understand your point about expansion into new areas making bikes harder to find at times. This is something we actively monitor as we balance coverage and availability. If you'd like to let us know which areas you're having trouble finding bikes in, we will feed this back to our operations team straightaway.
You can reach us via:
Email: cs@humanforest.co.uk
Live Chat: Available from 8am to midnight through the support icon on the app homepage
Phone: 020 8157 7491 (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm)
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team 🌳
Significant deterioration in service despite increasing costs
So many issues over recent months including deterioration in quality and functioning of bikes, frequent issues with the app (problems starting or ending rides leading to lots minutes), significant increase in pricing over the past 6 months and without any transparency (they used to email about planned changes to the cost of minute bundles or other changes, now they seem to keep reducing the number of minutes in a given bundle without any advance communication). I've had several serious issues recently with bikes disconnecting mid-ride (in the middle of a busy road) forcing me to halt and physically carry the bike to the side of the ride to get out of the way of traffic. I raised this with customer support and they seemed almost disinterested and offered me 10 minutes free to compensate for the issue. The minutes had to be used within 24 hours, so completely pointless and unusable for me. Having been using Forest 2-3 days per week for my commute for the past 2 years, I'm acutely aware of the deterioration in service and the hiking up of costs. Another system wide issue today meant I was unable to use Forest (yet again). Time to change to an alternative...
January 22, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Graham,
Thank you for your feedback, we're sorry to hear about the issues you've encountered recently with bike reliability and app performance, including bikes disconnecting mid-ride and the service outage we experienced a few days ago!
We've also taken on board your feedback regarding the support you received and the compensation offered and are sorry that you weren't able to use the minutes given. If you could kindly reach out again to cs@humanforest.co.uk and mention you're reaching out about a review you left, we'd be happy to add additional minutes with a longer expiry so they can be used at a time that suits you.🙏
Reliability and safety are extremely important to us, and your feedback has been shared with our operations and tech teams as we continue working to improve both our eBikes and the app experience. We have also shared your thoughts regarding pricing changes with the relevant teams.
Thank you again for taking the time to share your experience. If you'd like us to look into anything specific in more detail, please feel free to include this in your email to us!
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team 🌳
Can't leave zero stars
Can't leave zero stars. Dangerous and fraudulent company. Bikes are wrecked. You report them and they don't refund your minutes. So now I have to report to my bank as fraud again and get a charge back. Going back to manual bike. So much cheaper and safer and better for you. Like most companies started okay ish and just gets steadily worse and worse over time. Horrible disgusting fraudulent little people at this company
Should be shut down. 1.5 stars on trustpilot says it all and thats very very generous because we're not allowed to leave the true rating of 0 stars.
January 15, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Mardy,
Thank you for taking the time to leave this review.
We're really sorry to hear you've encountered issues with bikes. I can also confirm that we've responded directly to your email regarding the issues you've faced.
We understand how important it is for our eBikes to be reliable. That's why we now ensure all eBikes receive a service at least every 3 weeks to keep them in tip-top shape. We’ll take your feedback on board to improve further. Please do get in touch ASAP if you experience any problems, and our Support Team will be happy to help. 🚴🔧
Just to let you know, we also have a feature where rides that are ended in under two minutes are refunded automatically.
Best wishes,
Gareth
Forest Team 🌳
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HIRE A BIKE AND CAUSE DAMAGE NO PROBLEM
One of your riders has rode into the back of my car causing severe damage. (£1300). After sending the dash cam footage which puts the rider at total fault I have been told there is nothing they can do. so basically you can hire a bike and cause damage to peoples property and you will be absolutely fine.. joke of a company
January 7, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi David,
We were sorry to hear about the damage to your car and understand how frustrating this situation must be.
As we explained in our email exchange, the liability ultimately lies with the rider, and not the hiring company in this situation, so the options available remain the same:
• If details were exchanged, you can pursue the rider directly for compensation
• You can report the incident to the police: once a crime reference number and formal data request are received, we’re able to cooperate by providing relevant rider information
• Your insurer may also be able to advise on coverage and recovery options
If you have further questions, please continue the email conversation with our incident team and they’ll be happy to clarify next steps.
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team 🌳
Reply from Forest
Hi there,
Thanks for sharing your experience, we're sorry to hear that! That charge doesn't sound right, and we'd love to take a closer look for you. Please get in touch with us directly so we can investigate further! You can reach us via:
Email: cs@humanforest.co.uk
Live Chat: Available from 8am to midnight through the support icon on the app homepage
Phone: 020 8157 7491 (Mon–Fri, 9am–5pm)
Thank you!
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team 🌳
Forest Bikes: Congratulations on Turning a Bicycle Ride into a £23 Scam
Forest Bikes: Congratulations on Turning a Bicycle Ride into a £23 Scam
I would like to personally congratulate Forest Bikes for achieving something truly impressive: charging £23 for 71 minutes of riding and 19 minutes paused. That’s right — not a car, not a taxi, not even a premium service. A bike. A heavy, basic, unremarkable bike.
At no point during the ride did the app clearly warn me I was racking up charges at a rate usually reserved for luxury transport. Instead, it quietly let the meter run like a broken taxi, only revealing the damage once the ride was over. Transparent pricing? Apparently that’s not part of the Forest experience.
Pausing the ride — you know, the thing the app actively encourages — seems to be treated as an invitation to empty your customer’s wallet. If pausing costs this much, maybe it should come with a written warning, flashing lights, and a financial advisor.
Let’s be clear: £23 for just over an hour is indefensible. There is no pricing structure where this makes sense. It doesn’t promote cycling, sustainability, or trust — it promotes never using your service again.
The bike itself was mediocre at best. For £23 I expected at least a smooth ride, maybe a complimentary apology, or someone from Forest explaining in person why this is somehow reasonable. Instead, I got a clunky bike and a receipt that feels like satire.
Forest appears to be relying on confusing pricing and post-ride shock to generate revenue, which is a bold strategy for a company that depends on repeat customers. Consider this feedback a free warning: this kind of experience drives people away permanently.
I expect Forest support to explain exactly how this charge was calculated, why it wasn’t clearly communicated during the ride, and what steps will be taken to refund or correct it. Until then, I’ll be advising others to steer well clear unless they enjoy surprise bills and buyer’s remorse.
An eco-friendly transport option should not leave customers feeling robbed.
UPDATE 05/01/2026
Forest also falsely claims in public responses that my emails “bounced.” This is not true — I have received all their correspondence. Misrepresenting communication does not excuse misleading pricing or unauthorised charges.
January 4, 2026
Unprompted review
Reply from Forest
Hi Nuno!
Thanks for taking the time to share your feedback! We're sorry to hear that this ride left you feeling frustrated and that the pricing was not clear to you.
We'd like to clarify a few points and explain what's already been done to resolve this. We've attempted to respond to your emails with a full breakdown of the cost and resolution, but our replies are currently bouncing back because your email address is unsubscribed from receiving emails.
In terms of pricing: when you started your ride, 2 free minutes were applied. The total ride duration was 73 minutes, meaning 71 minutes were chargeable. At the location where the ride began, our pay-as-you-go rate is £0.33 per minute, which is how the original charge was calculated at the time. Pricing, including paused time, is explained in the app before and during the ride.
Most riders who plan to ride for longer periods choose a bundle or subscription, which significantly reduces the per-minute cost. As this was your first ride, we adjusted the charge as a gesture of goodwill and have refunded everything except £6.99, which reflects the cost of a 70 Minute Bundle that would have covered the ride.
We also shared an explanation of our dynamic pricing and paused-time charges in our email replies, which we're happy to resend if you re-enable emails or contact us through the live chat.
We hope this helps and appreciate you taking the time to leave feedback, it helps us improve how we communicate pricing and set expectations for new riders!
Best wishes,
Miri
Forest Team 🌳
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