Vinted Phishes Personal Data and Scams Users? These allegations will be checked by UOKiK

Vinted is a website that is gaining popularity in Poland, facilitating the sale of used items. However, the secrets of its operation raise more and more doubts among users. UOKiK became interested in the case. The company faces a fine of up to 10%. annual turnover.

UOKiK has initiated proceedings against the Lithuanian company VINTED UAB from Vilnius, which runs the Vinted.pl website, which enables the sale of clothes on-line. Complaints have been received about the blocking money from sales if the user has not provided data such as a photo of an ID card to verify identity.

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UOKiK gives an example of one of the complaints from customers:

I set up an account on the Vinted.pl sales platform. At some point, the funds accumulated in the Vinted wallet for the items sold were blocked. I got a message from Vinted that due to making payments, I need to verify my identity by sending a scan of my ID card, passport or driving license. (...) I feel deceived and robbed, because if such a document is required, it should already be required when setting up an account, and not only after the sale of the item. In this way, I have PLN 307 blocked, which I cannot withdraw.

Tomasz Chróstny, president of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, argues that if Vinted users knew that at some point the service could prevent them from withdrawing money due to the lack of a photo of their ID card or bank account statement, and therefore sensitive information, then they might not choose to sell things through Vinted.

Pursuant to Vinted's terms and conditions, the sale money accumulated in the seller's e-wallet can be transferred to your personal bank account at any time, free of charge. There is no information in the regulations that these funds can be blocked, nor is the issue of identity verification regulated there.

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Additional information is presented only in the "Privacy Policy", which, however, is not included in the content of the contract and is not a document suitable for defining the rules of using the website. It says that the payment service provider - the Dutch company ADYEN - in the event "when the amount of the deposit or withdrawal is approaching a certain threshold" may ask for a copy of your passport, identity card or driving license, and in the "additional step of the check" also for a photo/screenshot of a bank statement with a list of transactions for one month.

As UOKiK notes, there is neither a specification of the thresholds at which these requests occur, nor an indication of additional circumstances for such an inspection, nor information that failure to provide the requested documents will result in blocking access to the money from the sale collected in the e-wallet .

After all, it's just a shopping and sales internet application, (…) they demand this data after signing the contract with them and after blocking the funds. It is obvious that if they asked for such data when setting up an account, 90% of people would not agree to it

- This is another complaint against Vinted.

Buyers on Vinted must also be careful

The second accusation of UOKiK against Vinted also concerns the lack of clear information for people buying on the site. It's about the possibility of carrying out a transaction without incurring the Buyer Protection fee when, for example, the item is not shipped.

The fee for such protection is PLN 2.90 plus 5%. the price of the item purchased. The default option on the website is to purchase with Buyer Protection by clicking the "Buy Now" button - in this case, the fee is charged automatically and cannot be canceled. To avoid it, you need to select the "Ask for an item" button in advance and arrange the payment and shipping details individually with the seller. In the opinion of UOKiK, however, this procedure is neither described in the regulations nor intuitive.

VINTED does not provide information to consumers about the ability to purchase items without paying the Buyer Protection fee in a timely, clear and unambiguous manner. As a result, they may not be aware of the possibility of buying without having to pay this amount. If they knew about it, e.g. having had previous good experience with a given seller, they might not decide on an additionally paid service

– sums up Tomasz Chróstny.

VINTED may be fined up to 10% of its turnover for these practices. annual turnover. UOKiK also informed the Office for Personal Data Protection about the company's practices, indicating a possible violation of the provisions of the GDPR.

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Photo source: Vinted.pl

Text source: UOKiK

Tags: rodouokikvintedvinted.pl