Woman says Vinted will only give her her £1,500 if she has a passport

A woman says Vinted is refusing to hand over the £1,500 in her account unless she applies for a new UK passport. The woman has tried to prove her identity in a number of other ways - but Vinted insists it will only release the money if she buys a new passport.

The woman, who asked not to be named, started selling clothes on Vinted using an account set up with the help of her adult daughter, who recently died. She made £1,500 in sales - but has been unable to withdraw the cash.

She told ThisIsMoney: "Vinted is saying I need to prove my identity by sending a driving licence or passport, which I don't have. I don't drive, and my passport expired a while ago. I don't think I will travel abroad any time soon, especially as I used to go on holiday with my daughter and am now alone. Applying for a new one is a hassle and expense I could do without right now."

Part of the problem was down to the email address, which the woman has trouble accessing since her daughter died. She managed to get Vinted to release the email address by providing them with her daughter's death certificate. But they will not release the money without a form of official identification - even though it is in the woman's Vinted account, not her daughter's.

They will not accept any other form of ID other than a driving licence or passport.

ThisIsMoney's consumer expert Helen Crane said: "Brands can't just forget their older customers, and I felt that it could have done more to help you, especially given your difficult circumstances. The app markets itself as being quick and user-friendly, but in your experience that definitely wasn't the case."

She added: "Identity checks are common on online selling sites now as they look to guard against fraud. Ebay for example will sometimes ask new sellers, or those who have not used the platform for some time, to provide photo ID, while Depop requires it to get paid."

Helen said: "While these websites must protect themselves from fraud, I don't see why they cannot accept alternative - and cheaper - forms of ID. I also think Vinted could have shown you more compassion in your time of need."

She said Vinted had declined to comment.

The woman will now have to pay for a new passport and wait for the application process to access her money.