A woman says Vinted is refusing to hand over the £1,500 in her account unless she applies for a new UK passport. The woman has tried to prove her identity in a number of other ways – but Vinted insists it will only release the money if she buys a new passport.
The woman, who asked not to be named, started selling clothes on Vinted using an account set up with the help of her adult daughter, who recently died. She made £1,500 in sales – but has been unable to withdraw the cash.
She told ThisIsMoney: “Vinted is saying I need to prove my identity by sending a driving licence or passport, which I don’t have. I don’t drive, and my passport expired a while ago. I don’t think I will travel abroad any time soon, especially as I used to go on holiday with my daughter and am now alone. Applying for a new one is a hassle and expense I could do without right now.”
Part of the problem was down to the email address, which the woman has trouble accessing since her daughter died. She managed to get Vinted to release the email address by providing them with her daughter’s death certificate. But they will not release the money without a form of official identification – even though it is in the woman’s Vinted account, not her daughter’s.
They will not accept any other form of ID other than a driving licence or passport.
ThisIsMoney’s consumer expert Helen Crane said: “Brands can’t just forget their older customers, and I felt that it could have done more to help you, especially given your difficult circumstances.