'Banned over a pair of £2 sandals': Why some sellers are complaining about Vinted

Here is a story making headlines in the economy: 'Banned over a pair of £2 sandals': Why some sellers are complaining about VintedImage caption, Emma Neil was banned from Vinted after listing a pair of sandals which it deemed to be fakePublished47 minutes agoSingle mum Emma Neil was a huge fan of Vinted, using it most days to sell old things and buy clothes for her children. That was until she bought a pair of sandals for £3, found they didn't fit so relisted them for £2 then was permanently banned. Vinted said there had been "fraudulent activity, such as selling counterfeit items".

"I did feel like a criminal," says Neil - one of several thousands complaining of being wrongly suspended or permanently banned, spending days trapped in a system of what they believe are AI generated responses. Vinted's preloved buying and selling community has grown rapidly with 17 million UK users - it says the "overwhelming majority" have a positive experience. However, Neil is one of more than 4,000 Vinted users who have logged their experiences on sadvintedfaces.

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com, a website set up by freelance marketeer Catherine Warrilow, who became so frustrated with the platform she decided to find out if others were having problems too. Image source, Catherine WarrilowImage caption, Catherine Warrilow has heard from thousands of unhappy Vinted users"It was the number of hours I was spending sending irate messages back to Vinted and getting what felt like automated responses, copy and paste... I was going round in circles, and I was the one losing out," she says.

Warrilow logged 2,609 users being banned or suspended, 1,618 with a permanent ban and 2,526 who said they were ignored by Vinted customer service. "I think the automation they're using isn't working properly," says Warrilow. "It's detecting fraud if you change the price of something.

It's detecting a counterfeit item for a second hand pair of Zara jeans. "Matthew Connor is one of the biggest professional sellers on Vinted and relies on it for his livelihood with some ten thousand top reviews. He also thinks the system isn't working the way it used to.

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Image source, Matthew ConnorImage caption, Matthew Connor is a pro seller who says his ban saw him lose thousands in potential sales"I noticed at the start of this year, there were a lot of fake items on there. I think they panicked, rightly so... and they've reacted with AI.

"But last month, he found himself permanently banned because of "fraudulent activity, such as selling counterfeit items" after listing a used North Face fleece. "I wouldn't jeopardise my business by selling a fake. This is my livelihood," he said.

"Essentially someone's walked into my business and sacked me, removed my business from the internet with no prior warning. "Two weeks later, Connor had his ban lifted after he appealed. Vinted said it was a mistake.

Financial markets are tracking the development closely as investors assess the likely impact.