I have a selling account, had it for 20 years, ..eBay now want Photo ID?

[j-r-hartley]

Had an selling account for 20 years (this isnt it) I'm a UK seller,  haven't sold a great deal, feedback is still under 1000,  last year after about a year of not using the account I started to sell again, not a lot but eBay first treated me like I hadn't been a member for 20 years and insisted on holding some of the sales (low value s/h items) until I confirmed my bank account (which i'd done a couple of years prior). they wanted to send me a certain amount and I was to confirm etc, they also restricted the value of the items I could sell so I had to ask them via live chat to up the limits or a car I was selling would not list etc, in the end after a few sales things seemed to correct themselves and I was paid straight away for items>

Roll on to may 2024, I've sold a few items over the months, in the last 2 weeks i've sold an item at £225 and one at £125, both collection only, both items have had no problems and i have a couple more items listed. Not electrical goods or high value items etc.  just normal stuff, some new and unused, most second hand and used etc

So today I logged on, I get a pop up stating they wanted me to ID myself, this would be in the form of a driving licence, passport or govt ID...and oh by the way any transactions are held until I comply?   

I don't sell high value / high risk items, I have 100% feedback,  I've had zero returns , my bank account is verified, they have my email address (verified with them some time ago, they send me emails re items listed or sold, email has notnot changed) they send me texts to my phone re delivery notices if i've bought something to collect, my physical address has not changed in all the time i've had the selling account.

and now they want the ID from me, no warning, no time schedule to complete but simply comply and until I do any funds are to be held over.

Furthermore, they want the ID but don't actually tell me where it will be stored, who will have access to it and such like all of which seems very wrong.

Anyone else had this?

[theelench]

Not that I sell on amazon, or ever would, but perhaps so for new accounts.

My bank certainly doesn't require photo I.D for withdrawals on my decades old account, always run perfectly in line with their regs. which are based on UK law.

And don't you forget that voter I.D was passed into law by a govt. that had lost the respect of so many, on its last legs and desperate to hang onto power, used it to dis-enfranchise poorer voters who might vote against them.

Please tell me how ebay having a photo of my passport makes me a better/safer seller when it already has my bank details from which to refund any unhappy buyers, which it can do at any time without having my photo??

[leadhills_scot]

My 38 year old son had to renew his passport to open a bank account last year.

While yes it was the last lot that brought in voter ID for England, this lot tried to introduce ID cards for all years ago.

This is just ebay/amazon fulfilling the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 which were updated in 2020. Not sure why they both decided they wanted photo ID probably just tick the boxes. I know back in 2018 the only photo ID I had was from 2005 and Amazon accepted that along with a full birth certificate.

[kempseykate]

I would have been happy with an ID card, it would have saved me having to fork out for a passport I am unlikely to use. (Always assuming I can manage to find someone to sign the photo that fits their criteria!)

[leadhills_scot]

That was why I've got an over 60s bus pass, that covers me for voting in a GE and it was free.

[vintique*violet]

Be very careful what you wish for - The UK is an I.D free country which connects us to our " freedom to live unencumbered" and goes back centuries. 

You are not required to have a driving license nor a passport if you do not travel abroad or drive. 

eBay cannot demand you to give something you do not have just to use their platform. 

A Government ( HMRC) letter with your name and address on is sufficient enough ( block out all other personal information)  

Even your birth certificate states on it that it is not proof of identity. 

YOU are not a piece of paper or a photograph. 

If unsure...research. 

[theelench]

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@leadhills_scot wrote:

That was why I've got an over 60s bus pass, that covers me for voting in a GE and it was free.

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But will ebay accept it for whatever purpose they are collecting photo I.D ?

I opened a new ISA back in May, HALIFAX would NOT accept my bus pass as I.D.

And what does it matter anyway?  Any self-respecting money launderer, fraudster or identity thief would be sure to be able to forge or doctor licenses or passports to show ebay any photo they liked.

The only people this catches in its net and withholds cash from is innocent private sellers.   But it enables ebay to Hold millions of £s in its bank account and blackmail them into handing over their photo.

Just because amazon and ebay choose to do it, doesn't make it right.

[vintique*violet]

I.D to vote is new... 

Many did not vote due to this. 

The UK people have never had a Government I.D card

The " powers that shoudnt  be" want to introduce one. 

If an I.D card has to validate who I am and what I can do , then there is something far more seriously ( and sinister) wrong with this country. 

[vintique*violet]

Never had to provide I.D or photo  in all my years with Paypal. 

They just validated my bank account. 

Our privacy is under threat in my opinion. 

[vintique*violet]

Everyones data collected is being  held in a " Government Data Processing  Centre"  -ready for the ESG/Social/carbon Credit Score like China. Research and you will find it. Companies who are following this know ( well those in the know- know, usually higher ups) 

Your data is also sold... another money making scheme. 

For everyones safety? 

I do not think so. 

Sadly eBay going down this route will lose their most "prized members" and that is us! 

No  "us"  buying/selling on the platform,  no money making, unless they can "sell" your data. 

Once you see it , you cannot un-see. 

[leadhills_scot]

I doubt ebay would accept it, so far they have not asked. As I'm ceasing to trade on ebay mid December it wont matter. 

[leadhills_scot]

Not sure what they can get from my data. Lets see, I don't use social media, mainly buy things for the kids/grandkids or books online, search using incognito mode they can have fun with that. If they want to restrict my activity that is fine by me, only leave the house if I absolutely have to.

As for data being sold, my health board was hacked and 3TB of info was put up for sale on the dark web so that data is already out there.

[1956glyn]

We have an issue at the minute.......normal photo id is not sufficient (elsewhere not Ebay) it MUST be photo id which also has your address on it 😞    My son has 2 photo id cards for work and another photo id card .......all photo but do not have his address on them.    We are hitting a brick wall at the minute somewhat as he dont drive and does not have a passport.

[vintique*violet]

How do you know your heath data was put on the " dark web?"

Even club card data when you shop ( if you use one)  is being recorded/collected. 

The information is out there for people to research. 

Even Barclays have become a data controller. 

[vintique*violet]

Sorry to hear this - you cannot be forced to provide something you do not have.

Whatever happened to ... Supportive documentation, something which has your address on it i.e utility bill. 

Coercive manipulation, i.e.  you cannot have this unless you do this - is actually unlawful, no matter what a " company , health provider, finance institution etc" policies are.

[leadhills_scot]

It was all over the BBC web site, that D & G were hacked and because they did not pay the ransom the data was put on the dark web. Having had a variety of scans over the years, seeing different consultants and a major op in 2022 there is a good chance mine was. 

Data collection is not a new thing, it has been going on for years.

[vintique*violet]

Oh my goodness - I did not know of this, probably mine too maybe? 

There is a difference  in this data collection - research for yourself. 

Our personal security and info is at risk. 

[myriad*seller]

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@1956glyn wrote:

We have an issue at the minute.......normal photo id is not sufficient (elsewhere not Ebay) it MUST be photo id which also has your address on it 😞    My son has 2 photo id cards for work and another photo id card .......all photo but do not have his address on them.    We are hitting a brick wall at the minute somewhat as he dont drive and does not have a passport.

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Cheapest way is to get a provisional driving licence 

[4_bathrooms]

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@1956glyn wrote:

We have an issue at the minute.......normal photo id is not sufficient (elsewhere not Ebay) it MUST be photo id which also has your address on it 😞    My son has 2 photo id cards for work and another photo id card .......all photo but do not have his address on them.    We are hitting a brick wall at the minute somewhat as he dont drive and does not have a passport.

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I have a nephew in his early 20s who was in a similar situation. He never previously had a passport nor a driving licence but needed photo ID due to various legislature and in most cases only a driving licence or a passport would be accepted. A provisional driving licence was obviously the cheapest option but here's the kicker - you can only apply online (£34) if you have a passport! As he didn't have a passport the application had to be made via post (£43) and required one of his former school teachers to confirm his identity.

Due to various legislature (such as the anti-money laundering regulations) a driving licence or a passport is the de jure means of proving one's identity. Without one or the other it was clear he was going to struggle to open a current bank account, sign a lease or start a job. So although the idea of an ID card was scrapped in 2011 you are now pretty much required to pay for a passport or a provisional driving licence to do anything important.

[major-d-clutter]

Photo ID is certainly NOT a legal requirement. 

[4_bathrooms]

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@major-d-clutter wrote:

Photo ID is certainly NOT a legal requirement. 

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It is not a legal requirement to have Photo ID. However, the "know your customer" element of the Anti-Money Laundering Regulations requires companies subject to regulation (such as eBay) to perform due diligence checks to verify the identity of their customers. As per GOV.UK's guidance:

"Customer due diligence means taking steps to identify your customers and checking they are who they say they are. In practice this means obtaining a customer’s:

• name
• photograph on an official document which confirms their identity
• residential address and date of birth

The best way to do this is to ask for a government issued document like a passport, along with utility bills, bank statements and other official documents."   

The only Government documents with a photograph are either issued by the Home Office (passports, residence permits, Visas etc.) or the DVLA (driving licences).