Guinness World Records Reviews 

They allow everyone to compete regarding what they did and who they are.
🤢

Ordered on 12th Dec, well before their Xmas deadlines.
By 22nd December, I'd heard absolutely nothing.
No shipping confirmation, no tracking number, no updates.
When i chased they blamed “busy couriers".
That feels dishonest since i've received no shipping update or tracking info and doubt the item has even shipped.
A week on and still no update.
This was meant to be a thoughtful Christmas gift, and the lack of communication and transparency ruined that.
All recent reviews are terrible. Avoid like the plague.

MY EXPERIENCE:

Timeline:
Application submitted: June 4, 2025
Payment: €6.00 (stated as non-refundable)
Response received: December 2, 2025
Total: 181 days (26 weeks)

What their website states:
"Maximum 20 weeks" processing time (current wait times page)
"Individual review by Records Management Team"
"Each application carefully assessed"

What I experienced:
26 weeks actual wait time (30% over their stated maximum)
Response arrived exactly 181 days after payment
PayPal's dispute deadline is 180 days

The rejection email:
The response I received was a completely generic template that could have been sent to anyone. It contained:

Standard opening: "Dear XXX"
Generic text about "stringent criteria"
List of general requirements (measurable, verifiable, standardisable, breakable)
General statement: "your proposal is not able to be standardised"
No specific explanation about MY application
No details about what exactly was problematic
Standard closing with automated disclaimer

The entire rejection was essentially just "NO" wrapped in corporate language with zero individual assessment visible.
For a €6 fee and 26 weeks of waiting, I expected at least some specific feedback about my application. Instead, I received what appears to be a automatic copy-paste template that is possibly send automatic after 181 days.

My concerns:
The timing raises serious questions: Why exactly 181 days? This is precisely 1 day after PayPal's dispute period ends, making refund impossible through that route.
Combined with the generic rejection, I cannot verify whether my application received the promised "individual review" or was simply auto-rejected after waiting out the dispute period.

I'm not alone:
Just look around here.

What I tried:

PayPal dispute: Declined (1 day too late)
Currently contacting German Consumer Protection Authority

My assessment:
Whether intentional or not, the result is:

30% longer than promised maximum timeline
Generic rejection with no individual feedback
Timing that prevents PayPal refunds
€6 paid for essentially no real service

I find this unacceptable for a company that claims to "carefully assess" each application.
Facts anyone can verify:

GWR TrustScore: 2.3/5
Current reviews: 100% are 1-star
Their website: "maximum 20 weeks"
My wait time: 26 weeks

My questions to GWR:

Why 30% longer than your stated maximum?
Why exactly 181 days (after PayPal deadline)?
Where is the "individual assessment" in a generic template email?
What specific part of my application was problematic? (Zero details provided)

Warning to others:

Expect significantly longer than stated "20 weeks maximum"
Expect generic template responses
Response timing may prevent refund options
"No" feedback even after months of waiting. Literaly I understand just "No"

I've been a Guinness World Records holder twice now for the longest underhand basketball shot blindfolded. I set the record August 14th, 2023 and I reclaimed my record September 19th, 2024 after it was broken. While the wait times for approval were annoying choosing not to use their minimum fee of $500 for priority review, that is not my biggest issue. (The second was delayed an additional 3 months and total of 6 for one small piece of evidence that was submitted immediately) I have both of my official certificates as well as witnesses and surveyors who can testify I did things the right way. Yet now not only does it appear with no video evidence that they made up a new record holder, but also they are now trying to discredit my second record on the internet claiming it wasn't official. Then why did I get a certificate for it? Their adjunctors packages start at $16,000. I'm sure if I gave them my credit card number I would soon be the record holder again. Not going to happen though. I rather use my money to pursue suing for defamation of character. I can go out and get 3 angle videos of my "trick shots" anytime. That's something I've done 100's of times which I started doing in the first place as one of the "Guinness requirements" to prove validity. Yet not only do I see nobody else get 3, but most don't even have videos. I plan on doing a "trick shot" at Little Caesars Arena next month. With all I've done and what I still plan to accomplish, I don't need to pay a money hungry company to validate myself.

Dear @GWR / Guinness World Records Team,

I submitted my application on 18 May 2025 for the record category “Youngest Female Thriller Book Author” (Application ID: 250518105653yftb). The standard review period mentioned is 12–16 weeks, but it has now been over 4 months, and despite multiple follow-up emails and reminders, I have not received any response.

As an applicant, it is very discouraging to experience such long delays without communication. I kindly request your team to provide an update on the status of my application, or at least confirm whether it is under review.

I truly respect Guinness World Records and the value it holds globally, but applicants like me deserve timely responses and transparency.

Name: Nazneen Bukhari

I applied to set a world record for the most views for a cybersecurity course in 24 hours. I have all the evidence to support my claims. The application was rejected because I am an individual, not a company. This is because companies charge higher fees than individuals. They clearly don't care about what is the biggest/best, etc., only what makes them the most money. Clearly, a "world record" is worthless if someone proves they can break it and then it is ignored.

This is not a real job, this is a useless institution that wastes resources.

I know this nears nothing in the bigger picture.but it’s so sad. I see Guinness as a link to the past. Caring about something that means bug all - pefect xx

Odio vedere gli animali usati così . ...non è la loro natura ...di sicuro vengono ammaestrati in maniera che non oso pensare ....

Applied for a world record for the largest rock crystal in the world. I have all the evidence to support the claims made. The application was rejected because I'm an individual rather than a business. This is because businesses pay higher fees than individuals.
They clearly don't care what is the biggest/best, etc. they only care about what will make them the biggest profits. A "world record" is clearly worthless if someone can prove they can beat it but are ignored.