Within five years, Vinted has transformed from a virtually unknown app into a retail giant.
Emerging from the shadows of rivals eBay, Gumtree and Depop, the platform reached an estimated 17.4 million buyers in 2024, outselling the likes of Sports Direct, Shein and H&M*. Now, it’s one of the biggest fashion retailers in the UK – despite not technically being a retailer at all.
But a quick scroll through Vinted’s Trustpilot page, subreddit or numerous Facebook groups and you’ll often see the same sentiment from buyers and sellers alike: Vinted is great, until it isn’t.
Users bemoan a range of problems, from counterfeit goods to unjust bans. There’s one issue, though, that I’ve seen come up time and time again, and it’s all about the platform’s ‘buyer protection fee’.
When you shop on Vinted, you are shown two prices, with and without ‘buyer protection’. At first glance, this might seem like an optional add-on, sort of like when Ticketmaster offers you ‘Missed Event Insurance’.
In reality, Vinted’s buyer protection is a mandatory fee that is added to each and every purchase. In return, Vinted promises that you’ll get a refund if your order is lost, damaged or significantly not as described.
This should be reassuring. However, there are many people online who claim that they never got a refund for their incorrect, damaged or missing items, despite Vinted’s guarantee. Naturally, this leads them to wonder: what was the fee even for?
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As I looked into the issue further, I found that it’s not just buyers that are let down by this policy, but sellers, too. Some listed expensive goods that were stolen or damaged in transit; others claim that buyers complained about perfectly good items after purchasing them, in order to get them for free.
Speaking to users, I found that many of their stories held up. They had provided Vinted with photographic evidence that they were telling the truth, and yet, they were often left out of pocket.
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‘It’s not buyer protection, it’s Vinted’s commission’
Lucy, 57, from Norfolk, bought a vintage teapot on Vinted for £22.90. It was described as being in perfect condition, but according to Lucy, it arrived with a missing lid and a chip in the teapot. She requested a refund.
The seller asked for the item to be sent back. According to Lucy, her husband wrapped the item in the same packaging it was sent in and posted it to the seller. But when it arrived, the seller claimed that everything was broken. Lucy was refused a refund.
When she reported the issue to Vinted, she was led around in circles by its customer support.
“I had a nightmare getting any human response, but basically they backed the seller, despite the fact that I got a damaged item and returned it in appropriate packaging,” she said. “So, what was the buyer protection for? It's not buyer protection, is it? It's Vinted’s commission.”
When Lucy talks about trying to get a ‘human response’, she’s referencing the common belief that Vinted uses automated chatbots to respond to complaints.
Vinted has said that in cases like Lucy’s, it used human reviewers to come to a decision. According to the platform, all responses signed off by a named customer service agent are from a human being.
Lucy finally got a refund after intervention from The Independent.
Vinted’s buyer protection policy explained
If your Vinted order is missing, faulty or not as described, you can report this by selecting ‘I have an issue’ in your conversation screen with the seller, within two days of the item being marked as delivered.
For items that were never marked as delivered – for example, parcels that got lost in transit – you need to wait 25 business days from the day the order was marked as ‘shipped’.
There are a few elements of the platform’s buyer protection policy that I think are unfair from the buyer’s perspective. A big one is that you only have two days to report an issue with an item. In many cases, this isn’t enough time to notice that an item is not as described, or that it hasn’t turned up.
Another issue is that when you’re requesting a refund, the seller is allowed to require that a buyer pays for postage – even if the item is faulty or significantly not as described – which just seems absurd.
But Vinted’s buyer protection policy isn’t just flawed in principle; it often seems to be executed poorly, too.
As the platform is profiting off of this fee, it owes it to both buyers and sellers to meditate any issues properly. Yet, I’ve seen evidence from users that have done everything right, and still struggled to get refunds.
This is only more frustrating when you’re paying for peace of mind. Vinted’s buyer protection fee is displayed clearly when you shop – as it should be – but it could also mislead buyers into thinking they’re protected, when this isn’t always the reality.
‘It’s stressful losing £100 before Christmas – I’ve lost confidence’
Sammy, 44 from Dorset, listed a Le Creuset dish for £99 on Vinted at the start of December. When he was offered £89.10 by a buyer, he accepted and sent the item. However, by the end of the month, he still hadn’t received confirmation that the dish had been delivered.
Vinted only allows you to report an item as missing 25 business days after it was shipped, so Sammy waited. Once enough time had passed, the buyer reported the item missing and was refunded.
But there was just one problem: Sammy was only paid £7.50 in compensation.
Under Vinted’s policy, the seller is supposed to be compensated with the full value of an item if it’s lost in transit – provided that you use a Vinted-generated shipping label and it’s packed properly, which Sammy did. With the item still lost and Vinted refusing to pay up, he was out of pocket for an issue that wasn’t his fault.
“Every time I message them I get the same answer that they were looking into it,” Sammy explained. “Then, 24 hours later, they would tell me there’s not enough evidence to prove it was lost.”
This was despite Vinted itself previously confirming that the parcel was lost, and refunding the buyer for this reason.
When I spoke to Sammy two months later, he told me he had been refunded out of the blue. He was pleased, but still disappointed by the experience.
“I never thought I’d get anything back off them,” he said. “It’s quite stressful losing nearly £100 just before Christmas. I’ve lost a lot of confidence in the platform.”
I asked Vinted why Sammy was suddenly refunded, and it acknowledged that his initial complaint was closed before the issue was completely resolved. When the support team became aware of this, it said, they reviewed the case and compensated Sammy in full.
You have legal rights when you buy from Vinted, but they can be tricky to enforce
When you shop online at stores like John Lewis or H&M, you expect to be able to return an item within 28 days for any reason. This is still the case when you buy secondhand goods from a business – on Vinted, you can identify this by looking for a ‘Pro’ badge next to someone’s username.
Usually, though, you’ll be buying from another individual when you shop on Vinted. In this case, your rights aren’t nearly as strong; you’re not entitled to return items because they don’t fit or you’ve changed your mind, but they should be ‘as described’ in the listing.
While these rights do exist, it can be difficult to enforce them. To take someone to small claims court, you generally need their full name and current address, which are obviously not publicly available on Vinted.
Trading Standards has called on Vinted to improve its practices
City of London Trading Standards, which is the department that oversees Vinted, has said that elements of the platform’s buyer protection policy are unfair. These include the two-day rule for raising an issue with an item and requiring the buyer to cover the cost of returning goods.
A City of London Corporation spokesperson said: “Due to the association of Vinted with an address in the Square Mile, City Corporation Trading Standards has been monitoring complaints which have been made to the Citizens Advice Consumer Service.
“We have tried to work with the business to offer advice on their practices, but little progress has been made.
“As a result, any Vinted customers who complain to us are now provided with advice including how redress may be obtained through other routes.”
I’ve submitted a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to City of London to find out how many complaints have been made about Vinted.
As a consumer journalist, it’s frustrating to me that this issue is still occurring. Losing a couple of quid on a poorly-described top may not seem like a big deal, but the rising popularity of secondhand marketplaces is driven by more than just the Y2K fashion trend. Vinted is a valuable resource for low-income households to buy and sell clothes, electronics, homeware and baby products, and these groups deserve better protection.
Vinted is a market leader, meaning that it sets the trends for other secondhand platforms to follow. Since I started investigating Vinted, other platforms like eBay and Gumtree have also introduced buyer protection fees, showing that platforms are increasingly taking consumers’ rights into their own hands. It’s important that they do so with care.
I’ve lost out due to Vinted’s buyer protection – what can I do?
If you’re in a situation like the ones above, there are a few things you can do.
City of London Trading Standards suggests that you should make a complaint to your bank or credit card provider if you feel misled by the buyer protection fee.
Taking your case to small claims court is also an option. I spoke to one Vinted user who claimed that a £400 bracelet she sold got lost in transit. According to the user, she made a claim and received a refund from Vinted before the case made it to court.
You can find guidance on how to take a case to small claims court at Gov.uk. You can also contact me with your Vinted woes at molly.greeves@the-independent.com.
My advice for shopping and selling on Vinted
Personally, I would love to see Vinted take Trading Standard’s recommendation on board and make its buyer protection policy fairer. Until then, I strongly advise consumers to exercise caution when using the platform.
Buyers, unless you’re buying from a Vinted Pro user, always remember that you’re buying from another individual, so not all of your usual shopping rights apply. Make sure you check the app and take note of when your delivery is set to arrive. I wouldn’t recommend ordering items from Vinted if you’re about to go away on holiday, as you may miss your opportunity to report any issues.
For sellers, I would think carefully about what you’re listing on the platform. Vinted can be a really convenient place to sell, but if you’re parting with an expensive item, it may be worth connecting with buyers face-to-face using Facebook Marketplace, Gumtree, eBay or even a car boot sale. From what I’ve seen, you can’t always expect Vinted to have your back if you’re left out of pocket.
Vinted says it works hard to ensure a smooth experience for users
A spokesperson from Vinted said: “We want all our members to have a smooth and safe experience on Vinted. Buyers have two days after delivery to confirm receipt or raise an issue – this window ensures that sellers receive payment promptly when all is well, while buyers have time to check their item before funds are released.
“The vast majority of issues are resolved directly between buyer and seller. If members have trouble reaching an agreement, our member support team will step in to help resolve.
“With millions of transactions on our platform, occasional mistakes can happen. If they do, we try to put things right quickly, and continuously refine how we work to make sure buying and selling on Vinted feels safe for everyone.”
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