Mali Osmalek says she was stuck in a cycle of automated responses from Vinted
Mali Osmelak never imagined that selling clothes on Vinted would end with a court claim to recover almost £6,000.
She started trading on the platform to earn an income while managing Crohn's disease and caring for her four-year-old daughter.
But when she became a professional seller in March, she was unable to complete Vinted's verification process, leaving thousands of pounds inaccessible in her Vinted wallet. After several weeks of trying to resolve the issue, Mali took legal action.
Vinted says sellers may be asked to complete verification checks to comply with legal and regulatory requirements and 98% of transactions are completed smoothly without needing help from its support team.
Vinted is hugely popular in the UK with 17 million users. The online marketplace does not charge a fee to sellers for listing on there.
After the BBC reported on users whose accounts had been suspended or banned, dozens of people got in touch describing difficulties accessing money held in their Vinted wallets.
Mali joined Vinted in 2024 as a side-hustle. Demand for her second-hand gymwear grew rapidly and, within months, she had set up a limited company to expand the business.
This year she signed up for a Vinted Pro seller account - designed for people who want to sell a high volume of items and who are registered as a business.
Within weeks she had generated almost £6,000 in sales. But when she tried to withdraw the money, she discovered her account had been restricted and was told she needed to complete a verification process.
"I thought, 'That's OK. It's not rocket science,'" she says. "I'd set up the business with the help of an accountant and had all the information they needed."
Mali says she spotted an error Vinted had made with her name and she flagged it with Vinted, but "again nothing was done and the verification kept failing". She found herself stuck in a cycle of automated responses.
In an effort to break the deadlock, she also contacted Mangopay, the payments company that at the time operated Vinted sellers' wallets and processed transactions on the platform. She was directed back to Vinted.
After eight weeks without access to the money, Mali decided to take both companies to the small claims court, spending £455 in court fees.
'I need that cash'
Three days after the court claim was filed, Mali says the account was "magically verified" and she could withdraw the funds.
She still pressed ahead with the case though to try to recover her court fees, costs and interest.
In June, she obtained a default judgement after neither Vinted nor Mangopay responded to her claim, with the court ordering the companies to pay £1,207.50.
But she has yet to receive the money. She has since been informed that Vinted and Mangopay have applied to have the judgement set aside, with a hearing scheduled for December.
"It's been ridiculous and incredibly stressful," she says.
"I need that cash. I will fight it. I'm going to tell the court their system is completely broken. I needed help and nobody helped me."
Vinted said: "Ms Osmelak's check was not successful because her documents did not match the name on her Vinted account. We have since helped her update it, and her account is now verified."
The company did not respond to the BBC's questions about the legal action Mali has taken and continues to pursue.
Mangopay said it was "bound to professional secrecy and data protection obligations. We are, therefore, not allowed to comment on individual cases involving our clients or their users, nor can we share details about specific accounts, transactions or legal matters."
'It's not right'
Azri Mukthar says he has now stopped selling on Vinted
Sportswear seller Azri Mukthar told the BBC he has been trying to withdraw almost £2,500 from his account for over a year.
The businessman was more than happy to become a Pro seller as he was already registered as a limited company.
"I submitted all the documentation they requested and got the go-ahead from Vinted. So then I uploaded all the products and got 30 to 40 sales immediately," he says.
But when he wanted to withdraw his earnings, he found that he couldn't.
"They said my verification was pending," he says.
Azri shared a frustrated conversation he had with Vinted's AI assistant
Azri too, says he's been round in endless circles repeatedly submitting documents only to get an immediate response saying they had been rejected.
"It's frustrating and annoying as there's no clear system to follow.
"You contact customer support and they say you've not submitted X, Y or Z. But I know I have done all they're asking for."
He claims a certificate from Companies House that Vinted requested has been declined 15 times.
Azri has now stopped selling on Vinted and says he is going to have to start legal action.
Vinted said: "Mr Mukthar's check could not be completed because he did not provide all the required documents. Our support team is currently in touch with him to help with his verification."
