eBay have blocked from selling saying I need a VAT number

[dig.jr]

I have been blocked from selling on eBay as they say I need a VAT number. However, I don't sell much at all, a few private listings, so they say I need to get a tax emeptiom certificate from HMRC. I can not find any information on how to apply for this online. Can anyone direct me to the proper place to apply for such a thing please? Thank you.

[john1297576]

As fargvs says your account has been n inactive for a time, and as many inactive accounts have been hacked your account has no doubt been blocked to protect you and potential buyers.

I woud guess that ebay just needs to re-verify that you are the genuine account holder. Try putting VERIFY ACCOUNT in Help & Contact and see what advice comes up.

There appear to be 100s of hacked accounts on ebay at the moment and as fast as ebay remove one, two more appear.

[fargvs]

Random computer generated messages indicating an unrelated problem ?... Your selling account has been unused for more than a year and may be blocked for security reasons ... if so, you will need to contact Customer Services.

Some settings may also be out of date ... A complete recheck and update may help including resetting Automatic Payment/Reimbursement methods >
https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/paying-items/paying-paypal?id=4033
https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/account/changing-account-settings/changing-account-settings?id=4193

[1902elder]

I think you need to speak to someone at Ebay, you may have to try live chat. As a private seller, you cannot have a VAT number, and you do not need a tax exemption certificate. Private sellers are allowed to earn up to £1000 from selling on Ebay without having to declare it and not liable for tax.

[dig.jr]

Thanks for the response 1902elder, I’ve had quite a few live chats with eBay now and they’ve all resulted in them telling me I need a vat number or tax exemption proof from HMRC. They don’t tell me why but I think it may be because of two things. One being I sold some furniture a couple of years ago so it may look like I’m a “ business” but I haven’t sold anything for over a year and, I changed my registered address to one In the US in order to order a gift for a family member there but forgot to change it back! I have since changed it back to my UK address but still have the block. And all the information I can find online seems to be from 2018 or earlier, with no information about tax exemption certificates... there doesn’t seem to be anybody who knows what exactly is going on and who can direct me to how to sort this out.