GS1 UK Omdömen 

I think this 'company' is farcical. Where to start?

Upon receiving an annual renewal invoice we tried to change our turnover online as encouraged to do so in the renewal email if necessary, only for the website to then tell us that we have to call.

I called 5 days ago and spoke to a lady who told me she had amended details but also, told me we had too many numbers being charged. After 30 minutes or so on the phone, she told me she hd amended the legacy error they had made (and which I had been charged for on previous years) and she said they'd resend the latest invoice that evening after it had gone 'through finance'.

We didn't receive the invoice that day, or the next, or the next so we called again. We were told this time that there was no record of last weeks call and conversation. No details had been changed. This time, the lady said she's go away to speak to colleagues and she called back and left a message to state I'd have to go through all this again.

I called straight back, again, and spoke to yet another monotone employee who said I would have to email in now with what services I'd like cancelled - even though it was them telling me last week, and having told me they'd already done this anyway. I said I didn't know as it were them that had set all this up verbally and it was them stating I'd been overcharged last week. So the employee is now going to (allegedly) email me telling me which services to cancel, so I can email her back to ask her to cancel something they said they had cancelled last week.

You couldn't make this up.

How this organisation is allowed to hold a monopoly and grossly overcharge for a business necessity is beyond comprehension. What a shameful and disgusting situation.

Used GS1 for 7 years for my business, only found out in the last few years about their community - they have a great set up for small businesses to network and share.

GS1 UK is determined to destroy my small family business.

They've cancelled all my barcodes making all our products invalid Worldwide. My business won't survive this and is likely to declare bankruptcy soon as a direct result.

There's nothing in their terms and conditions that enables them to do this - but they've done it anyway.

This is the worst organisation to ever exist. Not only is is way overpriced and they force you into buying way more codes than you need, but it's also a disgusting user interface that is virtually inoperable. The organisation exists to give you some codes which you legally need to have in order to sell, yet when you log onto their website, it's full of random junk and it's so difficult to find your codes. I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR STUPID EVENTS THAT YOU HOLD OR "NEWS AND INSIGHTS" I just want to get a GS1 code and apply it to one of my SKUs. But of course this review won't matter because ultimately this organisation is a monopoly and tehy will continue to get away with offering a terrible service and interface because they've somehow managed to lobby enough companies and governments to force them to use GS1. What a utter waste of space.

Very Disappointing Customer Service – Account Frozen Over Numbers We Don’t Need

We have been a GS1 customer for many years and currently have approximately 1,600 GS1 numbers allocated to our products. We are now approaching our existing limit and realistically expect that we may require around 2,000 numbers in total.

Instead of being offered a sensible increase appropriate to the needs of our business, we have automatically been allocated an additional 10,000 numbers – something we simply do not need and are therefore not prepared to pay for.

As a result, our account has now been frozen.

We are not refusing to pay for the GS1 numbers we use or genuinely require. We are simply asking for a reasonable level of additional capacity rather than being forced into paying for thousands of numbers that our business is unlikely ever to use.

What has made the situation particularly frustrating is the lack of meaningful communication. Our attempts to resolve the matter have not resulted in a satisfactory response, yet our account remains restricted.

For an organisation whose services businesses rely upon, I would expect a more proportionate and customer-focused approach. There should surely be a sensible solution for a business requiring approximately 2,000 numbers without forcing it into a 10,000-number allocation.

We would be very happy to resolve this directly with GS1, but unfortunately our attempts to do so have got us nowhere. Hopefully posting this review will finally encourage someone to contact us and discuss a reasonable solution. “We’re willing to pay for what we need, but not 10,000 numbers we don’t need”

We've been chasing a support case for weeks with no success. Yesterday a director was asking a very simple question and a GS1UK phone support staff member put the phone down on him. Shocking customer service!!

02.07.2026 zakupiłem 1000 kodów GTIN. Dokonałem natychmiastowej wpłaty przez google pay. Dodatkowo, wysłałem do gs1 potwierdzenie przelewu z mojego banku. Do dziś nie otrzymałem, ani kodów, ani jakiegokolwiek wyjaśnienia. Od 03.07 moja sprawa nie została nawet rozpoczęta! Zwyczajnie, po ludzku, czuję się okradziony! Pisząc do nich, czuję, jakbym pisał w próżnię. Nikt się nie interesuje rozwiązaniem problemu! Czytają pewnie maile i mają z nich niezły ubaw....
Nigdy nie spotkałem się z takim lekceważenie, ze strony jajkiejkolwiek organizacji.

Really need to test changes ...you made a change to allow printing of barcodes on type of paper which messed up the QR code production. It says quite clearly you can change the target URL at any stage (your words not mine) That doesn't work for 4 of my GTINs that were caught in the middle of this process, those ending 30,85,92 & 115. Your helpdesk know about it. I am a very unhappy bunny

UPDATE: I have now provided endless screen shots and video evidence thru out the day

Its not that complex, over to you folks, let me know when you have an answer, best keef

Open the GTIN 5065026014030 from the dashboard, i trust you have already done that?
Click on Review and Download your QR code
You will see that the target URL is blank
Fill in the target URL (your text says you can alter to whatever you want, whenever you want)
Download the QR code
Scan it , it gives you a 404 because it did not add the target URL
Go back into the Review and download and you will see even after you have saved the changes that the target URL is still blank... This got messed up when i could see the screen change so an update was done, it featured paper type for barcodes

Search issue fixed. Great site.

I think GS1 have one of the best customer services I've dealt with, they have always been polite and professional

I bought some barcodes to sell on Amazon and now they are trying to make me pay for an annual subscription to use them! Appalling behaviour and extortionate business practices. Even trying to cancel my account resulting in a lengthy customer survey. Appalling and disgraceful company

After being with this company for several years we decided to cancel our subscription. 4 weeks later we received an email saying payment is due today!? I noticed another review had the same issue further down, and GS1 replied sorry it was an admin error. Obviously not because they are still doing it, and they have now emailed me demanding I give them a reason why I want to cancel the subscription, before they will cancel it!! I cancelled it a month ago!

We've used GS1 for our barcoding and information QR for a few years now. They are helpful, responsive and have built a community of founders within what they do. I highly recommend them and feel secure knowing my business is crossing the t's and dotting the i's when it comes to packaging compliance, traceability and customer ease.

The team are so lovely and always incredibly helpful! They provide useful industry invite and make us feel valued as members.

Fantastic service from GS1 UK! I was struggling with barcode issues on Amazon and their team went above and beyond to assist me. Their webinars are informative and easy to follow, offering valuable insights that made all the difference. The tools available to members are extremely useful and helped me get my products listed without hassle. Couldn't ask for better support – thanks GS1 UK!

As a small independent business, I’ve found GS1 UK extremely frustrating.

I only need 146 barcodes, yet I’m required to pay for 1,100, with no option to pay for what I actually use or to pause sensibly during periods with no wholesale sales. Being charged hundreds of pounds for codes I will never need feels completely disproportionate and unsupportive of small businesses.

The support experience made this worse. I spent multiple emails trying to get a clear answer to basic questions about what happens to existing barcodes and data if an account is closed and later reopened. Despite asking repeatedly, the responses were vague, inconsistent, and failed to address the practical scenarios I raised, making it impossible to make an informed decision.

GS1 may work for large companies, but for small independents it feels rigid, expensive, and poorly supported, and I wholly agree with the 1-star reviews here.

Edit: Hi Kate, nowhere did I state my first name in my review. I consider your reply addressing my first name a breach of GDPR and I will be reporting you.

Excellent and very easy to learn

First word is HELPFUL! They spent a lot of time helping me. I had used GS1 UK before and I got confused with my company's original information and the current information. Thank you GS1 UK for sorting everything out. Very much appreciated!

GS1 is an effective service and promptly responds to the customer, which truly makes it different.