PeptideClear Trust Index
Changelog
Every material change to the PeptideClear Trust Index, dated and explained: methodology changes, new sellers scored, and corrections to something we got wrong. We publish this because a score that can silently change, or silently stop applying, isn't independent verification, it's just an unaccountable claim.
Corrections specifically: hello@peptideclear.co.uk, addressed within 5 working days. See also methodology and the live index.
- 2026-08-24 Methodology
Homepage rebuilt on the real Trust Index data; Independent Verification gets its own terms page
The homepage now reads every retailer count through the same getTrustIndexStats() function as this page, so the two can no longer drift apart. A fixed bug in that function is also corrected today: the homepage previously double-counted flagged-but-not-yet-graded retailers when stating how many carry a Testing Transparency grade. A new /in-depth-verification/terms/ page sets out the terms that apply when a retailer takes part in Independent Verification (right of reply, basis of publication, liability, data retention); the Basis of Publication and Liability sections are pending a solicitor review before being treated as final for every retailer.
- 2026-08-23 Methodology
Testing Transparency's tier is now independent of the other two pillars
Testing Transparency's displayed colour and tier previously could be silently capped by a Business Transparency or Responsible Practice finding. Fixed: each pillar now shows only what it actually measures. 20 of 159 retailers' displayed Testing result changed as a result; 8 ambiguous cases were individually resolved against their own on-file evidence rather than defaulted. The public API and MCP server were also extended (additively) to expose Business Transparency, Responsible Practice and Independent Verification fields alongside the existing Testing tier field.
- 2026-08-22 Coverage
Independent Verification given real visual weight; retailer-facing request form added
Independently Verified retailers now render with a distinct badge treatment and a tinted table row rather than a darker shade of the same green. Mobile comparison rows were rebuilt as collapsed accordions (name, three pillar dots and the Independent Verification badge stay visible collapsed; Access, lab partner and baseline date only show on expand). A new "Request Independent Verification" form was added for retailers to enquire directly, replacing a reused free-audit form.
- 2026-08-21 Methodology
Flipped to the three-pillar Trust Index (V1.1): Testing Transparency, Business Transparency, Responsible Practice
The Index moved from a single blended score to three separately-shown baseline measures, plus the paid Independent Verification tier shown as its own, more thoroughly-checked band. The approved baseline refresh was merged into the live dataset: all 195 identified UK research-peptide sellers re-checked, taking Business Transparency coverage from 61 of 159 to effectively complete and Responsible Practice from 74 of 159 to 147 of 159. A separate manual review resolved 9 historic Material Concern findings, 11 pending-evidence cases and 6 open Business Transparency disputes against fresh evidence, not carried forward unchanged.
- 2026-08-19 Methodology
Renamed CoA Trust Index to PeptideClear Trust Index; terminology standardised sitewide
"In-Depth Verification" became "Independent Verification", "Brand Conduct" became "Responsible Practice", and "Business identity" became "Business Transparency" across every page, to stop the same measure being described under different names in different places. The DOI-cited dataset (Zenodo 10.5281/zenodo.21354701) keeps its original published name for citation continuity; the rebrand is noted as a lineage change in the dataset description rather than silently renamed.
- 2026-08-19 Coverage
Published Ascend Peptides UK’s Independent Verification: 4 findings, all resolved
The first retailer to complete the paid Independent Verification tier (54 checks across 8 areas). All 4 findings raised during the process were resolved and re-checked before publication, under the same right-of-reply process every scored retailer gets for a baseline finding.
- 2026-08-14 Methodology
Right-of-reply clause added for scored retailers
A retailer who disputes its CoA Trust Index score can submit evidence for re-check. The existing "no payment changes a score" independence line was made explicit for disputes specifically.
- 2026-08-14 Correction
Fixed a letter-grade display bug: 37 shown in the A-band vs 26 green-tier
The letter-grade panel counted retailers by raw six-signal score, which does not reflect the conduct/identity cap applied to a retailer’s tier. A retailer capped from green to amber (a conduct flag, or no findable UK trading entity) was still shown an A-band letter. Fixed: the letter grade now respects the same cap as the tier. A+/A/A- now sum to exactly the green-tier count.
- 2026-08-14 Correction
Fixed green-tier badges displaying as blue sitewide
A theme colour-token remap broke the "green" class family used by every CoA-strong badge, on the index and on every individual retailer page. Fixed across the shared scoring library and every page that renders a tier badge.
- 2026-08-14 Independence
Independence-claim sweep: affiliate language removed from ~20 pages
A pre-19-July "we earn affiliate revenue" claim had not been fully swept from prose on ~20 pages, including inside machine-readable FAQPage data served to AI Overviews and ChatGPT. All references corrected to match the true, current position: zero commission from any retailer, clinic or pharmacy. Four orphaned affiliate IDs also removed from the underlying data, and the build-time independence guard widened so this class of gap cannot recur silently.
- 2026-08-13 Coverage
Real CoA scoring completed on every previously-unvetted seller
84 sellers promoted from identity-only "unvetted" to a real, six-signal scored tier (23 in the first wave, 61 in the second); 38 confirmed dead, parked or blocked rather than force-scored on incomplete data. Ascend Peptides UK added and scored green, 95/100, A+.
- 2026-08-11 Coverage
106 newly-identified UK sellers added as unvetted
A broad discovery pass (search, Companies House sweep, social-media sweep, DNS/analytics cluster resolution) identified 106 additional UK research-peptide sellers, merged in as identity-only "unvetted" pending the real CoA check.
- 2026-07-20 Independence
Site fully de-monetised: zero commission from any retailer
All affiliate tracking, referral arrangements and commission copy removed sitewide. Outbound links kept as plain, untracked links. Two retailers previously scored inside the index while also carrying an affiliate relationship were corrected. A build-time guard now throws if any affiliate field reappears in the retailer dataset.