Having sold with positive feedback for over a year ebay have now held the £49 in my account until I send them photo I.D which I have refused to do as they already have my National Insurance number and bank details but requesting my passport is I believe a step too far to sell some second hand stuff especially as EBay have had data breaches in the past… After over 90 minutes on chat I have been told my only option is to give eBay my £49 (basically they will clear out my balance and keep it) and then once my balance is zero I can close my account as I have said I will not forward to them photo I.D… I’ve agreed for them to take my £49 as long as it goes to charity which they have said it will do - can anyone confirm my money will go to charity or are eBay likely to keep it? Luckily for me it’s only £49 but giving them my money was my only option to close my account as I had no idea that eBay would suddenly insist on storing my photo I.D (had they asked for this on the day of opening my sellers account I would not have joined here but they clearly wait until you have money in your balance before they ask which then puts you into the impossible position of having to send them more and more details until your funds can be released to you) - I have decided to forfeit my money and not be bullied into giving them more of my details and was told by the chat agent that the money would go to some eBay charity and not into eBay’s bank account - Has anyone else been put into this situation and if so has anyone else been told their money will go to charity if they forfeit it? If it was significantly more money then I’d have to rethink my principals on this but for £49 I’d rather sell the few items I sell on Vinted or Facebook Marketplace than have to deal with a company who demand things like passports so you can sell a few items. It just seems a bit over the top to demand photo I.D for what is basically a internet selling and buying site that has my details already… So getting back to my question, now I have told eBay to take my money and reduce my balance to zero so I can close this account what is the likelihood my £49 will go to charity like I was told?
I can't even do that because i have no photo ID not going to buy a driving licence or passport that i won't use. This is becoming a big problem i can't join Mangopay and others because of this. If they ask me for it then that's it then. I'm 68 don't drive and hardly ever leave the house
Make sure you keep your eBay balance as low as possible then because if they ask you for photo I.D they will freeze your money until you send it… or like me you will lose your balance - I just wish I had taken out the money I received instantly or just cancelled the sales once asked for photo I.D… I’ve been on chat endlessly about this and today just had enough and eventually got told my only option was to let eBay keep my money - keep your account balance at zero and withdraw all the time in case they target you next for photo I.D
I have chatted to them endlessly and today I just gave up - I was then given the option to let them reduce my balance to zero then once that happens I can close my account and leave here for good… Basically they take my eBay balance and keep it which reduces my balance to zero then I can finally close my account - I was told my money would go to a eBay charity by the chat agent but I am very sceptical about that but I’m beyond caring now…
I was told this afternoon they could reduce my balance to zero so the chat agent sent some department a request to do that… I just feel sorry for the people with lots of money frozen by eBay - mine is £49 or was until I said they could keep it - I’m hopeful the money goes to charity but I suspect eBay will keep it even though I was told it would go to charity.
Mines -£2.90 because i've given postage refunds as no invoicing of £20 and they took it out of available balance instead of pending. If it wasn't sent tracked i would have to wait 2 weeks.
They froze selling over a month ago when they demanded photo I.D for no reason at all after selling about twenty things all with positive feedback in 2024… last sale was probably early February - I’ve bought a few items recently but hopefully that won’t matter - I’m probably one of the few buyers on here as most people seem to be saying buyers have dropped off a cliff for them… Hopefully my balance is reduced to zero pretty quickly and I can depart eBay… But please please keep your balance as low as possible all the time in case they ask you for photo I.D because if you don’t have it they won’t care - they’ll just freeze your account forever until you get some and give them it… I’ve been going round in circles with the chat agents for weeks and just finally gave up as life’s too short to be wasting my time for £49 - but please please keep your eBay balance as low as possible.
I actually made a offer for some darts and eBay balance was highlighted in green as useable first payment option but when offer was accepted they took it from my bank account and ignored eBay balance… And on paying for anything as buy it now the eBay balance is greyed out meaning you can’t use it as an option to pay - so money is 100% frozen although had I cancelled sales sooner then buyers would have been refunded out of balance so if anyone sells a item and gets this photo I.D verification you should immediately cancel any sells you have not posted out.
I've been here for 21 years and i've stopped buying last time was December. Am only in here like a lot of people trying to work out what is going on never been here before. It's totally unbelievable the mess that it has become
Please please anyone who uses eBay and has not yet been asked to do photo I.D - keep your eBay balance at zero and withdraw money all the time - eBay should not be used as a bank account as there seems to be masses of people getting caught out by this - I’m losing £49 but many are in jeopardy of losing far far more - keep eBay balance to zero and withdraw withdraw withdraw all the time…
If you close your eBay account, you'll no longer be able to sell on the site or access My eBay. You'll also lose your Feedback, as well as your purchase and sales history.
Before closing your account, considercontacting usfirst. We don't want to see you go, and we'll do everything we can to sort out any issues you may have.
If you still want to close your account, make sure:
All your fees and other selling costs are paid and your available funds are at zero
You don't have open bids on an item
You don't have any pending transactions (i.e. open bids, pending payments, pending returns, payment disputes, outstanding payouts to be processed to your bank account or a pending status)
What happens after requesting to close your account?
Within 24 hours of receiving your request, we'll send you an update on its status to your registered email address and eBay Messages. Generally, it takes 14 days to close an account from the date we receive a request, though it may take up to 60 days if you've had any transactions, payments, claims or disputes in the previous 30 days.
After this period your account will be permanently closed and your data will be deleted. If you change your mind during the time it takes to close your account, you can contact us and ask to have it reopened, if your account is in good standing (not restricted or suspended).
Closing your account will also result in the closure of all eBay businesses associated with that account which rely on the same identity—for example, the eBay Partner Network (EPN)
The problem is they have put restrictions on the accounts and they want id before lifting the restrictions then you can zero your account then close your account
Today I was told I can request they reduce my balance to zero (basically I tell them to keep my money) and that money would go to a eBay charity which I find doubtful but as it was the only possible option to get off here and close my account without handing someone very sensitive documents I took the option it and said ‘keep the money’ … I really no longer care I just want my account closed and to be off here - I could leave the account open and the money would be there frozen forever but I just want to end this saga and if the money goes to charity (big if) then great and if eBay pockets it then I guess I’ll never know… For the £49 they are getting off me they will lose much more in interest when everyone realise to take money out immediately after every sale they do… I think everyone needs to know to take money out immediately once any money arrives in eBay balance.
