Account close with no explanation

[productsaucing]

Just had my account closed without any reason after complying with sending documents and proof of purchase. Have £1000s on hold and a pending order to dispatch. What the actual *bleep* eBay...

Reporting to FCA and ombudsman and moving to vinted.

[plpmr]

Looking at your feedback profile it would seem that you were a business seller trading on a private account - brand new items and presale.

[productsaucing]

I am a sole trader not a business

[*vyolla*]

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@productsaucing wrote:

I am a sole trader not a business

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A sole trader is trading, so requires a business account.

A private seller is one who is just selling off their own personal items such as clothes from their wardrobe, bits from their loft/garage etc.

A Business seller is someone who buys or makes items to sell on.  They need to be registered as a business to meet the requirements of UK law.

[*vyolla*]

Ah, I can see why eBay might've terminated your selling - you're encouraging your buyers to avoid the buyer protection fee in your listing descriptions by buying from the i.e site. eBay obviously aren't going to be overjoyed with that move.

See policy here:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/policies/selling-policies/selling-practices-policy/avoiding-ebay-fees-po...

Ironically, had you been trading on a business account there would be no buyer protection fee added to your prices. 

[productsaucing]

eBay never asked me to do this, they asked for proof of purchase for the Louis Vuitton bag I sold, which I sent.

I report all my sales to my accountant/HMRC and pay VAT separately.

[*vyolla*]

eBay do report sales to HMRC, but it's down to sellers to trade on the correct ebay account, but I think that the advising buyers to avoid buyer protection fee has shortened your selling days.

Are eBay holding any of your payments? If so, they may be held for up to 180 days.

[productsaucing]

I am a private individual though and not a business, if i wanted to sell my old junk surely I wouldn't be able to do that on a business account? I had a mix of both.

I have over £7,000 on hold which I've reported to the Financial Ombudsman.

[red_magpie · Accepted solution]

I am a private individual though and not a business

Wrong. You are a private individual who is trading as a business. You have already told us that you're a sole trader. A sole trader is someone who trades by way of business, but is not incorporated as a limited company. So in the eyes of the law, and eBay's definition of a business seller, you're a business.

Unfortunately this misunderstanding means that you have been incorrectly presenting yourself as a private seller, which I imagine is one of the reasons why your selling account has been closed.

You gave eBay the right to do this in the user agreement. As regards monies on hold, eBay's handling of payments is regulated by the FCA so you can be confident that anything owed to will be paid to you. However, there is liable to be some time for "due process" before everything is sorted out.