- Published
Single mum Emma Neil was a huge fan of Vinted, using it most days to sell old things and buy clothes for her children.
asserted
Neil → publish → children
That was until she bought a pair of sandals for £3, found they didn't fit so relisted them for £2 then was permanently banned.
asserted
they → buy → 2
Vinted said there had been "fraudulent activity, such as selling counterfeit items".
asserted
Vinted → say → items
"I did feel like a criminal," says Neil - one of several thousands complaining of being wrongly suspended or permanently banned, spending days trapped in a system of what they believe are AI generated responses.
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they → feel → system
Vinted's preloved buying and selling community has grown rapidly with 17 million UK users - it says the "overwhelming majority" have a positive experience.
asserted
majority → grow → experience
However, Neil is one of more than 4,000 Vinted users who have logged their experiences on sadvintedfaces.com, a website set up by freelance marketeer Catherine Warrilow, who became so frustrated with the platform she decided to find out if others were having problems too.
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others → log → problems
"It was the number of hours I was spending sending irate messages back to Vinted and getting what felt like automated responses, copy and paste...
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what → spend → responses
I was going round in circles, and I was the one losing out," she says.
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she → go → circles
Warrilow logged 2,609 users being banned or suspended, 1,618 with a permanent ban and 2,526 who said they were ignored by Vinted customer service.
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they → log → service
"I think the automation they're using isn't working properly," says Warrilow.
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Warrilow → think → ?
"It's detecting fraud if you change the price of something.
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you → detect → something
It's detecting a counterfeit item for a second hand pair of Zara jeans.
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It → detect → jeans
Matthew Connor is one of the biggest professional sellers on Vinted and relies on it for his livelihood with some ten thousand top reviews.
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Connor → rely → reviews
He also thinks the system isn't working the way it used to.
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it → think → ?
"I noticed at the start of this year, there were a lot of fake items on there.
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I → notice → items
I think they panicked, rightly so...and they've reacted with AI.
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they → think → AI
But last month, he found himself permanently banned because of "fraudulent activity, such as selling counterfeit items" after listing a used North Face fleece.
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himself → find → fleece
"I wouldn't jeopardise my business by selling a fake.
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I → jeopardise → fake
This is my livelihood," he said.
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he → say → ?
"Essentially someone's walked into my business and sacked me, removed my business from the internet with no prior warning."
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someone → walk → warning
Two weeks later, Connor had his ban lifted after he appealed.
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he → have → ?
Vinted said it was a mistake.
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it → say → ?
He's relieved but has also lost thousands of pounds of potential sales.
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He → lose → sales
Appeal failed
Neil's appeal to have her ban overturned failed.
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ban → fail → ?
"I don't understand how they could say that to me...it's just unbelievable," she said.
uncertain
she → understand → me
"They weren't specifically branded.
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They → brand → ?
I think they're like a Shoe Zone make."
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they → think → make
"I'm absolutely devastated because I love Vinted and I used it for so long and for so many different things...but now obviously that's all ended."
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that → devastate → things
Vinted said it doesn't comment on individual cases.
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it → say → cases
In a statement it said its teams worked hard every day to maintain a safe and trusted marketplace using a combination of trained moderation teams, member reports and detection tools to identify potential breaches of its catalogue rules.
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teams → say → rules
"Where members believe a decision has been made in error, they can appeal and each case will be reviewed individually by our Member Support Team," a Vinted spokesperson said.
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spokesperson → believe → Team
An online business the size of Vinted with millions of transactions needs automation and communicates electronically with its users.
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business → need → users
But as it grows, has it lost the human touch?
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it → grow → touch
Consumer expert Helen Dewdney, who runs the Complaining Cow website, has recently seen a sharp increase in complaints and requests for advice about Vinted.
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who → run → Vinted
"It does boil down to customer service," she believes.
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she → boil → service
"We know that AI makes a lot of mistakes...it's too difficult to get to a human being...
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it → know → being
we know that people prefer people...you just ask anybody that they're sick of all the bots."
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they → know → bots
Dewdney says anyone who believes they've been unfairly banned or suspended should first go through Vinted's own appeal process.
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they → say → process
She also suggests contacting Vinted's legal team and making a subject access request, or SAR, which can give users access to information about how a decision affecting their account was made.
uncertain
decision → suggest → account
Vinted stresses that assessments of appeals are always carried out by its human review team.
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assessments → stress → team
…and 8 more, not listed.
The Aporia
