Report Vinted to Citizens Advice

Turn your bad experience into a formal complaint. Copy the letter, open the online form, take five minutes to make it count.

Why bother filing?

Citizens Advice logs every consumer complaint and passes patterns to Trading Standards. Individual complaints can look like isolated grumbles. Hundreds of complaints about the same company, saying the same thing, force a formal investigation.

223+ people have documented their experiences here. If even a fraction of you file, Vinted stops being able to dismiss this as a handful of unhappy users. That is when regulators start paying attention.

Step 1 Open the letter template Google Doc, ready to copy. Fill in your details, save a version for your records. Step 2 Open the Citizens Advice form Their online consumer form is the fastest route. Phone alternative: 0808 223 1133.

What to do

  1. Copy the letter below, or open the Google Doc version.
  2. Fill in every section marked in yellow with your own details.
  3. Paste it into the Citizens Advice online consumer form. Or read it to them if you call 0808 223 1133, Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm.
  4. Keep a copy for yourself. Screenshots and order references help if they ask for evidence.
  5. Come back and tell us you did it. Every filing counts.

The letter

To: Citizens Advice Consumer Service Subject: Formal complaint about Vinted Marketplace UAB, systemic consumer protection failures Dear Citizens Advice, I am writing to formally report Vinted Marketplace UAB (operating in the UK as Vinted) for what I believe are systemic breaches of consumer protection under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008. My personal experience: [On (DATE) I purchased (ITEM) for £(AMOUNT) and paid Vinted's Buyer Protection fee of £(AMOUNT). The item was (counterfeit / not as described / never arrived / seller banned before delivery). I contacted Vinted customer service on (DATE) and received (describe response or lack of response). I have lost £(AMOUNT) and been unable to resolve this despite multiple attempts.] Why this is not an isolated incident: I am one of hundreds of UK users documenting identical experiences on the public research site Sad Vinted Faces (sadvintedfaces.com). At the time of writing, 223 verified reviews show an average rating of 1.54 out of 5, with 130 users reporting account bans without explanation, 44 users reporting they were scammed, and a majority reporting that Vinted customer service ignored their requests for help. The consistent pattern includes: 1. A Buyer Protection fee is charged on every transaction, marketed as insurance, but claims are routinely refused or ignored. 2. Sellers are banned by automated moderation without human review or right of appeal, with funds frozen. 3. Counterfeit and misdescribed items are widespread and not removed even when reported. 4. Customer service responses are templated, delayed, or absent entirely. 5. Chargebacks and refunds through Vinted's own process are denied without clear reason. What I am asking Citizens Advice to do: Please log this complaint against Vinted Marketplace UAB and escalate the pattern to Trading Standards for formal review. Given the volume of similar cases documented publicly, I believe this warrants a coordinated investigation rather than being treated as a series of unrelated complaints. I am happy to provide supporting evidence including screenshots, order references, and correspondence with Vinted. Yours sincerely, [YOUR NAME] [YOUR EMAIL] [YOUR TOWN, POSTCODE] [DATE]
Heads up: Citizens Advice does not accept complaints by direct email. The online form and the phone line are the routes that create a logged case reference. Don't skip that step, it's the whole point.