BBC News covers Vinted
Update – August 2026: The issues investigated in this article have now been featured by BBC News in its nine-minute report, Is Vinted’s AI Making Too Many Mistakes?. I was interviewed as a consumer rights expert about concerns over Vinted’s AI moderation, wrongful suspensions and bans, and the difficulties many users report when trying to appeal decisions. Watch the BBC News report below. For more examples of my television, radio and press appearances, and details of how to contact me for interviews, expert commentary or speaking engagements, visit my Media page.
Why Vinted is banning thousands of users | BBC News
Vinted growth
During a cost-of-living crisis it is easy to understand why Vinted has more than 65 million users worldwide, of which 17 million are based in the UK. Its user base continues to grow.
However, so do the issues. In my role as a consumer expert I have seen a sharp increase in complaints and requests for advice about Vinted. I recently published a video on Instagram around buyer and seller issues and how to protect yourself. It went viral, with more than 105,000 views on Instagram and 210,000 on Facebook, with hundreds of comments on both.
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I have been inundated with stories from both buyers and sellers being left out of pocket in the comments on my video. Users report a wide range of issues that remain unresolved due to Vinted decisions..
Last week I published another video inviting people to share their Vinted experiences. Within 24 hours it was garnering more views and stories than the previous one, demonstrating the increase in the number of users affected.
View this post on Instagram
Buyers’ issues with Vinted
Hundreds of consumers who have bought from Vinted reported numerous other problems, such as:
- Receiving items not as described
- Having to pay for the return of items that aren’t as described
- Using “AI” to make incorrect decisions
- Not considering photographic evidence
- Receiving different items to the ones for which they paid
- Items not sent
- The Vinted “AI” app can’t recognise fakes
- Items being left in lockers and taking months for them to be returned
- Sellers sending items to the wrong address to avoid the two-day complaint window
- Items getting lost in post and returned to the seller through no fault of buyer or seller but informed outside of refund period
- Losing the insurance cost, as well as paying for any return
- Fake branded products
The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) recently published guidance for consumers to protect themselves from purchasing fakes when shopping secondhand items. See: How to spot fake fashion when shopping second-hand (IPO).
The IPO wrote the guidance in partnership with Vinted. Dewdney finds this ironic. She says that while there are things you can do to try and protect yourself, she regularly hears from consumers about various issues with Vinted and poor handling of disputes, including those regarding counterfeit goods.
Sellers’ issues with Vinted
Similarly, sellers report numerous issues with the platform, too:
- Buyers saying they have received items that they haven’t
- Using “AI” to make incorrect decisions
- Buyers saying an item arrived damaged
- Delays and issues with getting verification to get their money released
- Returning different or damaged items
- Messaging buyers to report scamming with photos of review evidence but being reported to Vinted for bullying and threatened with account closure
- Vinted hiding items from sellers, incorrectly stating “copyright breach”
- Buyers editing photographs of items received
- Vinted blocking the sale of random products, such as children’s books
- Blocking accounts when buyers unfairly report them for breaching rules that they aren’t
Both buyers and sellers also talk about difficulties with couriers. Examples include leaving both the buyer and seller out of pocket, due to complications with the Vinted integrated label system, AI “customer service” and reporting periods.
Buyers have successfully claimed ”chargebacks” from their bank where Vinted has not refunded them, demonstrating the inaccurate decisions made by the platform.
There is even a UK Facebook group with more than 62,000 members, sharing stories and tips for Vinted buyers and sellers. See: Vinted UK – Scams and Bad users
Vinted users research
Catherine Warrilow has published videos on TikTok discussing Vinted’s customer service and set up a survey on the website SadVintedFaces.com, where more than 1,500 Vinted users have shared their experiences and reviews.
@catherinewarrilow If Vinted has banned your account here’s what you can do right now #vintedscam #vintedaccountblocked #vintedban #vinted #vintedbots
It would appear that Vinted has replaced human customer service and dispute resolution with “AI”. The survey shows that users’ accounts have been unfairly blocked, with no way of appealing. Users have faced huge financial losses, particularly sellers and especially pro sellers and small businesses. Buyer and seller fraud goes unchecked. Users are taking their business away from Vinted.
At the time of writing, Warrilow’s summary report, which is regularly updated as people continue to add their complaints, shows that 55.1% (784 of 1423) have been banned, 28.6% (407) have been banned permanently, 41.3% (588) said that they had lost money and 65% (925) said that they had been ignored by Vinted Customer Service.
The report states that issues with “AI bots”, “copy and paste”, “automated responses” and “no human” appear in hundreds of responses. Appeals, which should be resolved in “120 hours”, routinely take 2–6 weeks or never get resolved.
One respondent’s appeal denial was signed off with paw print emojis.
At the point of publishing (7 July 2026) Warrilow notes an “Exodus signal” on her report, screenshot below. (The screenshot below shows the wording that appeared in the publicly available report on that date. The report was amended on 8 July 2026. The screenshot has been retained for transparency and context of this article as originally published.
Warrilow contacted the Vinted UK CEO, Adam Jay, through LinkedIn and shared the messages. Jay said “We are working hard to do the right things. Your points are noted.”
Jay’s closing comment reads:
I am reading, I am listening. But yes, I am going to close the door on this particular thread because I need to spend time addressing precisely the kind of concerns that you are highlighting. Thank you for talking the time write. It is valued and appreciated.”
Whether Jay does anything to resolve the issues remains to be seen.
Whilst buying and selling second-hand can be good for the pocket and for the environment, when an app grows as quickly as Vinted has done, the scammers scale up along with it. Relying solely on a platform’s customer support is no longer enough.
Just from looking at the comments on Catherine’s and my videos and over 1,500 negative reviews on her website gained in two weeks, it seems that there is a lot of evidence of a widespread problem with Vinted. As with any voluntary survey and social media and feedback the results reflect the experiences of people who chose to respond and like any reviews often those who have had negative experience are more likely to respond. However, there were a lot of them!
Vinted state that the support team can help in disputes between buyers and sellers, it did not state that humans were involved in the closure of accounts. I requested that Vinted explain exactly how users can contact the support team but did not receive a response.
It referred users to its Help Centre where human support teams can step in to mediate:
All cases are assessed objectively based on the information provided by both parties. Each case is reviewed with the same level of care, regardless of whether the member is a buyer or a seller.”
However, it is the process in the Help Centre that users are complaining about because all of it appears to be automated.
Vinted made no reference to the support team in cases of closed accounts.
It said:
With millions of transactions on our platform, occasional mistakes can happen. If they do, we try to put things right quickly. We take all member feedback seriously, and continuously refine how we work to improve our support response times and dispute resolution process.”
Minimising Risk
See a detailed guide to minimising risk when buying and selling at Vinted refund & buyer rights UK – how to get your money back.
How to get more information and reach a human
1) Find the email address for the Vinted UK CEO. In reality he’s unlikely to respond but it may go to someone in his team. Also if lots of users start emailing him he may be more likely to do something about the issues!
2) Write to legal@vinted.co.uk from the email associated with your Vinted account. Some users have reported success, others report that replies are only “copy and paste” messages.
3) If your account has been banned see My account was banned (I want to appeal the decision) on the Vinted website.
4) By law, a business must give you all the data it holds on you. You can download your data from Vinted but if your account has been closed you won’t be able to.
Write, making a Subject Access Request, to privacysupport@vinted.co.uk
This could and should give you more than the information you get from downloading your account information. They must give you all your personal data, including how they made decisions. This may be useful for you later. It may include any of the following:
- internal notes about your account;
- moderation records;
- reasons or codes associated with suspensions or warnings;
- appeal records;
- communications between teams about your account;
- logs showing what actions were taken and when;
- information about automated decision-making, where applicable.
Importantly, you will get an acknowledgment from a human and hopefully be able to discuss your issue.
If you believe Vinted has not complied with your Subject Access Request, you can complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
Legal action – a last resort?
Finally, your last resort is legal action through the Small Claims Court. Vinted users have been successful.
Facebook groups for advice and case studies
Vinted UK Customer Support Complaints & Advice
Vinted and Trading Standards – What to know
Vinted’s UK office is registered in the City of London. Trading Standards offices are responsible for monitoring the activities of companies whose head office is in their home area. So, the City of London Trading Standards department has been receiving and collating reports it has received about the online marketplace from the Citizen Advice Consumer Service.
City of London Trading Standards has produced a Factsheet on Vinted. The latest is version 3, published in March 2026.
The most common complaints it has seen include:
- “ faulty/damaged goods
- sale of fake or counterfeit goods which has continued to be a problem in 2025 and into 2026
- that buyers of misdescribed/unsatisfactory/fake goods have to pay for the return to the seller
- the “2-day rule” to raise a problem is too short
- “buyer protection” not what customers expect and potentially a misleading statement
- delivery problems”
It finds that:
- the term “Buyer Protection Fee” is potentially misleading because in their experience, “there is no real buyer protection”;
- requiring buyers to pay return postage for significantly misdescribed goods is, in their opinion, an unfair term;
- the “2-day rule” for reporting an issue and requesting a refund is unfair because it is too short.
Trading Standards has met with Vinted to raise and discuss these concerns but Vinted has stated that it will not be making any significant changes to its platform or policies.
So, for the meantime, unless Trading Standards or the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) take action, nothing will change.
Whilst it is Trading Standards’ job to enforce consumer law, including unfair contract terms and unfair commercial practices, it may not currently have the resources to bring a case to court.
However, since the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act came into force, the CMA also has stronger direct enforcement powers, including the ability to impose penalties without first going to court.
Contacting City of London Trading Standards about Vinted
You can contact City of London Trading Standards about policy issues by the following means:
Telephone: 020 7332 3406
Email: tradingstandards@cityoflondon.gov.uk
Postal Mail:
Trading Standards
City of London
PO Box 270
Guildhall
London EC2P 2EJ
Alternatively, you can contact the CEO of City of the City of London Corporation using CEOemail.com
Please refer complaints about Vinted to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service.
Whilst Trading Standards will not be able to take on your case, it is worth reporting your issue to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service. This will help to build an understanding of how serious the issues are, in the hope that Trading Standards or the CMA can then take enforcement action.
Vinted in the media
I regularly talk about topical consumer matters and consumer rights in the media. I was on You and Yours last year discussing various issues with Vinted, buyer and seller rights, scams and how to protect yourself.
I regularly talk about consumer issues in the media see Consumer Rights Expert & Media Commentator.
More consumer rights help and advice
See Top 20 Tips on how to complain effectively and books if you need more help. I also offer services to consumers.
