The BBC reported on November 10 that professional seller Mali Osmelak had been unable to withdraw almost £6,000. She said access was restored three days after she filed a court claim. A separate dispute over costs and interest is still being challenged.
Daylight Post found that Vinted’s UK help pages separate completing a sale from identity checks on withdrawals. An order can be complete while a payment provider pauses access to the proceeds.
What “available” means
Vinted is an online marketplace for secondhand clothes and other items. It holds a buyer’s payment while the order is being completed. The money first appears as a pending balance, meaning the seller cannot use it yet. Once the order is complete, the payment moves to the available balance within two days.
For professional sellers, orders normally complete automatically 14 days after delivery unless the buyer raises an issue. This cannot happen earlier. Withdrawal checks are a separate step.
Vinted’s payment provider may require an identity check. Withdrawals pause until verification is complete. Money in the app may remain unavailable to pay a bill.
The reported case has moved on
Osmelak told the BBC that a name error had caused repeated verification failures. Vinted said her documents had not matched the account name, that it had helped her update it and that the account was now verified.
She obtained a £1,207.50 default judgment in June after Vinted and payment company Mangopay did not respond to her claim. Both have applied to have it set aside, with a hearing due in December. That is a judgment made without their response, rather than a final decision after hearing both sides.
Vinted told the BBC that checks meet legal requirements and that 98% of transactions are completed without support-team help. That figure concerns transactions generally; it does not measure how quickly disputed withdrawals are resolved.
A failed transfer is another problem
Vinted’s help page on failed withdrawals lists other possible causes, including incorrect bank details or a mismatch between account names. The money stays in the Vinted balance if a withdrawal fails. A failed transfer is therefore different from a payment already traveling to the bank.
The page also shows why the payment provider matters. Users whose provider is Vinted Pay can correct their balance name through identity verification in settings. Those using another provider need to contact Vinted to change it. The provider can be checked in the balance settings.
Vinted allows up to five business days for withdrawn money to reach a bank, excluding weekends and public holidays. That transfer timescale is not a five-day deadline for resolving an identity check.
For sellers running a business, Money Untold explains the difference between sales, profit and available cash.