Ebay holding my money ransom

[pvmr1980]

Posted again as answer incomplete.

I have never sold on Ebay until this year. As we are downsizing, I have been selling old items from our loft which we have owned for years or been left by family who have since deceased. These items were purchased with money earnt whilst working and vat paid on the original purchase. Over the year, I have sold just over £1000 which is much needed towards household costs, but due to rules by Ebay on reporting "taxable income", my money (£27) is not being released unless I give my NI Number. I totally object to Ebay policing my account on behalf of HMRC and I'm sure blackmailing a client is unethical and potentially illegal. I understand the need for ensuring a business is taxed, but for a 70 year old clearing stuff out this is appalling. 

The answer I received just directed me to policy.

It did not answer: Why did ebay allow me to continue to sell items knowing it was not going to pay the proceeds from my sale to me; holding them ransom?  If the policy is 30 items, then simply prevent sales over that. 

[williamstheterrible]

Just to update this thread..

I finally received my monies that were being held as ransom for information.

I provided nothing, wait it out.. then close your account, stop selling on this platform..

[susaturne47]

yes I ce done the same and asked them to close my account but they tell me they can’t as I have a balance. I will not put on my NINO, I have no tax implications for those sales, why should I put that valuable intention out there! It’s nonesence. Bully boy tactics and an ill thought out tax proposal by the U K, what a bunch of idiots they are!

[susaturne47]

Yes, I ce had the same treatment from eBay and having asked to close my account and have my funds/balance paid to me they still refuse and are holding my money! What a bunch of bullies. They ve shot themselves in the foot. I ll never deal with them again. Private sellers you need to get off their platform, close your account and buy goods elsewhere, they have no respect for their customers.

[susaturne47]

Yes that exactly what they are doing, trying to force you to put your NINO on there! You don’t have to, it’s yours.  They will report your sales to HMRC and if you are genuine and at t your address HMRC can ask you anything they wish about your sales. Wait for them to contact you. That’s what I’m doing, then I am going to ask them to tell eBay to release my funds as I owe on tax on these. It all nonesence and I ve already explained this to numerous eBay contacts as well as the supervisor who still said he couldn’t release my funds until I d put my NINO, ha ha, they be fit to be joking, that’s never happening, they can go to hell. Get off their platform as soon as you can. They have no respect for their customers withholding your funds. They could stop you listing or pay you what they owe you and close your account but they choose not to, so **** them.

[susaturne47]

Yes, I agree. They are blackmailing us into putting out NINO on there site. I won’t. They are withholding my money from me. I m waiting for HMRC to contact me about my personal sales, none of which are taxable. So no revenue risk to HMRC. This is an ill thought out tax policy of our government and an ever more ill thought out policy (bully boy tactics) on eBay’s part. Get off their platform as soon as you can, you don’t need the grief.

[susaturne47]

They think they can do as they like with you, that’s the bottom line. No respect, no customer service, just the same old message, ‘give us your NINO’. I choose not to put mine out there. I have no tax implication on my sales, so why should I. I don’t even have a responsibility to declare these to HMRC so why the he’ll do I need to start giving them my NINO. It’s all nonesence. Wait for HMRC to contact you. In the mean time ask eBay to close your account, they won’t if you have a balance, they lI tell you you can’t, in effect refusing to cancel your contact with them. Just stop buying and selling with them and choose another platform, one who treats their customers with more respect.

[susaturne47]

Youre cirrect it’s your personal info and you don’t have to give a third party that. HMRC can contact you and ask anything about your sales , presumably, like me, you’re a law abiding UK citizen who lives at your address, they know where you are. There is no reason you have to put your  sensitive personal information out there, other than the fact they want you to. They can ask but that does not mean you need to oblige. Wait for HMRC to contact you and deal with them. They are the only people I will divulge information to.

[susaturne47]

Quite correct. They choose not to deal with us as genuine fair minded people. They are treating us like idiots, withholding funds and trying to bully us, it’s pathetic. If you re a business then you have to accept there may be tax implications but as a private seller selling your own personal items this policy is disgusting and someone should be sacked for imposing it. I m leaving the platform as soon as I can. This is the last straw for me.

[susaturne47]

Yes, I agree with everything you ve said. I do not believe We have any responsibility to provide our tax identifier to eBay, they can ask but we can refuse. As a personal seller with no tax liability on my sales I see no reason to give them my NINO. HMRC know who I am and where I live and they may waste their time and contact me anytime they like and I will deal with them one to one. That’s how I feel about this matter and I have explained this to eBay. They are still holding my funds. I will be closing my eBay account when they have paid me what they owe me. Again in the UK there is an ill thought out tax regime and eBay have just added to the problem by insisting on NINOs. They will not close my account despite my asking, they will not release my funds and so there is just limbo cause by UK government and eBay, who between them, couldn’t manage a chimps tea party!

[susaturne47]

Hi William, how long did you have to wait before they released your funds.? They are still holding mine and I  ve gone through the same scenario as you. As a personal seller selling own items this policy is ridiculous and I’ll thought out. As soon as they agree to close my account and pay me I m done with eBay. They ll be losing lots of private sellers who have nothing to hide and no tax implications all because they couldn’t make an appropriate policy to deal with this adequately. They can give my info to HMRC anytime they like and they dont need my NINO to do this, so why the bully boy tactics! It’s unfair, unnecessary and insulting.

[jckl1957]

I have posted several responses to this thread.

Hopefully, you read this one (repeated below) which is relevant.

Of course you can choose not to give Ebay your NINO, but equally, they will then choose to stop you from selling and they will hold your funds for a period of time.  For Ebay, requesting your NINO when you reached a certain threshold of sales was an obligation and not a choice.

This information has been available since the beginning of this year.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/account/regulatory/sales-reporting/uk-digital-sales-reporting?id=5454

It clearly states what information you will be asked to supply and states, in a highlighted box, 'If you are required to do so but don't provide the requisite information, your account may be subject to payout holds or selling blocks.'

When you made the choice to start selling on the site, it was up to you to investigate all of the terms and conditions your account and monies could be subject to.

[susaturne47]

I ve been selling in there for years. It’s only this recent NINO request that’s an issue. They have changed their policy and so I will no longer sell.
Kind Regards,
Sue

[papso22]

Ebay published the reporting requirements before they came in on the 1st Jan 2024.   You could have stopped selling then. 

In fact as long as you stopped before 1st January this year, ebay would not have reported your sales or required your NINO.  This is because you started selling prior to 1st January 2024 and there was a reporting period of grace for existing sellers.

You continued to sell.

[susaturne47]

Yes and I still continued to have no tax implications in the UK, same as before. Handing over my NINO, is a step too far.
Kind Regards,
Sue

[williamstheterrible]

then perhaps ebay should of enforced... you cant sell until you provide NI instead on this date...  but no

they chose lets keep your money earn interest on it...

lets try and bully to extort your information from you  using the money as the leverage..

stop trying to blame the seller..

Fact is if you want to opt out and terminate your account you have every right if you do not owe money.

[craft-modelling-supply]

Just wait it out Sue. They will give you your money once they realise you won't comply. It will take a couple of months, but they will drop you an email once they have released your funds. You can then close your account if you still want to. 

[sml192]

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@williamstheterrible wrote:

then perhaps ebay should of enforced... you cant sell until you provide NI instead on this date...  but no

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They could indeed have chosen to do that but that would mean that all active sellers would need to provide their NI number potentially leading to more disgruntled sellers which of course would then impact eBay's revenue.

The best option would be to issue a warning to sellers when they are nearing either of the thresholds together with the potential consequences of non-compliance if those thresholds are reached.  The seller could then choose whether or not to continue selling and would have no grounds for complaint if they do decide to continue.

[susaturne47]

Hi, thanks for that🙂. It took four months for another private seller to get his money so I’m expecting similar treatment.
Kind Regards,
Sue

[susaturne47]

They did issue some sort of info but then that’s not accurate either as it bears no relation to tax in the UK, as mine aren’t taxable until I sell £6000 in a year as I m not a business and this is the personal limit. So the way they are trying to control it isn’t logical anyway, it’s nonesence. I ignored the warning for a matter of weeks as I didn’t see it as relevant to me as a private seller. They didn’t postpone my listings to prevent sales and even now I can still list an item for sale! Who are they kidding! So they’d still let me sell and hold my money which is why I immediately took all my listings off when I realised they were holding my funds and don’t intend to list anything else and have told them I have cancelled my listings, want the to pay be what they owe and I want to close my account.
Kind Regards,
Sue

[sml192]

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@susaturne47 wrote:
They did issue some sort of info but then that’s not accurate either as it bears no relation to tax in the UK, as mine aren’t taxable until I sell £6000 in a year as I m not a business and this is the personal limit. 

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The £6,000 threshold ('Chattel exemption') relates to Capital Gains Tax.  It only applies when selling a single item or set for £6,000 or greater.  It isn't a cumulative total.

The platform reporting thresholds are set by the OECD (a global organisation that currently has 38 member countrie), not HMRC or the UK government, and are not related to your tax liability as an individual.