Amazon Disbursements held due to unmet UK business establishment requirements

Category: Amazon News
by Chris Dawson
Amazon Disbursements held due to unmet UK business establishment requirements unfreeze disbursements says Minister

Amazon have been emailing what looks like hundreds, if not thousands, of sellers informing them that their Amazon Disbursements are at risk of deactivation due to indicators of unmet UK business establishment requirements. Amazon require proof that sellers are based in the UK for tax obligations.

Amazon are asking for multiple documents including passports etc, then resending emails asking for same documents or more documents. No one has any idea how long it will take, or why Amazon have reasons to believe UK established sellers based in the UK are established elsewhere. It’s worrying for many involved.

– Amazon Seller

Another discovered that their UK documents weren’t enough, even though they only sell on Amazon UK:

We immediately emailed Amazon with a copy of our VAT certificate. Almost immediately after this we received a message saying that they now need our EU business documents. Goodness knows why they need this, as we only deal on Amazon UK and have only ever dealt on Amazon UK

– Amazon seller

And for some, the situation is even more serious as they are being told that in addition to their Amazon disbursements being held, they also need to pay VAT for historical B2C sales dating back to 2021 if they can not prove that they are a UK business. Sellers that have paid VAT to HMRC are telling us that they are now petrified that they’ll be bankrupt, with one sole trader telling us that the bill would amount to over £100,000.

Those that aren’t VAT registered in the UK (because they turn over less than £85k per year) are also being told they are liable for VAT on historical sales.

In such a case, additionally, you will be required to pay the VAT amount to Amazon to account for the historical un-paid VAT on all B2C sales that fall under UK VAT on eCommerce legislation since 1 January 2021

– Amazon email

Contact has been made with Liz Barclay, who was made Small Business Commissioner in July 2021, and she is investigating why Amazon suddenly need additional documentation and trying to mitigate the impact of holds on Amazon disbursements with HMRC.

Thank you for your email. I am so sorry you have found yourself in this situation. I have set up a round table online discussion between some affected sellers and an official at the Department for Business and Trade on Tuesday at 16.00. No one, including my office and the department, has jurisdiction over Amazon to make them react to this particular issue in any particular way, but the department has asked the company to investigate and we have alerted HMRC to the problems sellers are experiencing. In the meantime, I am collating all the information sent to me by sellers and will pass that to the department (unless you ask me not to). I will report back on any steps we are able to take or changes we manage to achieve. All best wishes

– Liz Barclay

There is never a good time of year to have Amazon disbursements held, but this month is perhaps one of the worst for those who have VAT and personal tax returns to settle at the end of the month. Doubtless Amazon have been obliged to complete KYC (Know your customer) information and at this stage it’s unclear if UK sellers have been accidentally caught alongside overseas sellers, or if they simply have to better verify your identity. Either way it’s a disastrous situation and totally understandable that sellers are worried about both their cash flow and the potential of being erroneously charged VAT on historical sales.

We’ll update as soon as we have more information, in the mean time, keep an eye on this thread on the Amazon forums, where Amazon mod Sakura has confirmed that the Amazon Disbursements held notifications are genuine and that they will be investigating, although currently they’ve not responded again.

145 Responses

  1. It is a nightmare providing documents to then be asked for the same ones again. I was verified already as sold on amazon for years. I went through a reverification last year as standard which happens from time to time to now do it again but disbursements blocked this time. What a shambles

    1. Why hasn’t this been picked up by the MSM again, this happened last August as well and the BBC picked up the story

      1. We need to somehow get the press attention on this issue. If this could end up on the news you can bet amazon would act swiftly

    1. Not sure I fully agree, as there are many of us who are not Ltd. Co who have also been targeted.

      1. Same, sole trader VAT registered in the UK. I already sent documents, then received a reply “more documents required to prove I am operating in the UK. I am operating from my home address. All my documents have the same address in them. Already sent copies of VAT certificate, driving licence, bank statement, UTR confirmation letter which was issued within the last 180 days – all with my name and address. Still got an email one hour ago asking for more documents..My disbursements are held due to unmet UK business establishment. They need: Provide evidence that you are physically operating your business from your provided address.

        — Provide evidence that you are Operational business from your provided address.

        — Proof of address .

        I am going to send all the same documents, as if I do not do it, they will start charging my historical VAT which I already payed to HMRC…

      2. Last week all income from sales were stopped without any prior warning, I am also a sole trader, VAT registered in the UK. I have sent them my passport, driving licence, bank statements, utility bills, HMRC statement of account, VAT certificate, highly sensitive information and no reply since yesterday, payments still frozen.
        I think we need to start thinking about a class lawsuit if this goes on for much longer.
        Clearly we have all sent info that shows we are paying our UK taxes but there is no contact phone number for the department we are dealing with just a peculiar looking email address with no reply when we send documents.
        Most of us don’t even know if they have received the documents we are sending.
        Then there are the threats from Amazon that they will take two years of VAT ( that we have already paid) in 30 days if we don’t send them the documents.
        I’m surprised that ChannelX is the only media to have picked up on this.

  3. I am caught up in this mess. I can see this becoming the next poast office scandal if amazons policies and standards do not improve and they don’t get this resolved urgently. I’ve been selling on amazon for around 15 years, always been based in the UK (never outside of it). I have been vat registered for over 10 years and my vat number is linked to my amazon account and I have uploaded my vat certificate of registrartion multiple times on amazon over the years (Last one being last June 2023). Amazon are a disgarce.

      1. If you are a sole trader (as many are on Amazon) they will not have companies house records

      2. I am a sole trader, vat registered for over 10 years with vat no. and vet reg certificate already on file with amazon.

        1. HMRC might have messed up your country though, I heard this happenned to a few companies last year, apparently due to an error from one system to another.

          Worth checking if it helps you get back up and selling a bit quicker IMHO

  4. Same here. Worse is that the link Amazon provide that is supposed to tell us what documents are required do not do so. The link has 4 sections of required documents. The first 3 sections have a list of documents that would be accepted. But section 4 (Proofs of physical operational business address) has no list of accepted documents. Asking Amazon what documents would be accepted gets ignored and I am just told to submit everything again. It seems sending them copies of VAT Certificate, Driving License and Council Tax bill where all names and address are the same is not enough documentation.

    1. Hi,
      Exactly the same situation, point no 4 no information what documents the need. I sent VAT certificate, driving licence, bank statement and UTR confirmation letter from Dec 23′, yet another email asking for more. The previous email they sent me included some information what documents: What documentation should I provide?

      If you are a sole trader (natural person),
      — Provide evidence that you are physically operating your business from your provided address.
      Provide one of the following documents issued by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) that is within the last year:

      — Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Bill
      — Online VAT Certificate
      — Self-Assessment notice to complete a tax return
      — Letter confirming your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number
      — Self Assessment Statement
      — Short Tax Return

      We can also accept the following documents issued by HMRC:
      — Certificate of Registration for Value Added Tax (VAT)
      — “Welcome to Self-Assessment” letter confirming your UTR number
      — Letter confirming your VAT number, following a VAT1 application.

      As you can see one of the accepted documents is UTR confirmation letter, which I already sent.

      I am going to send everything again. Thinking if putting my account in “holiday” mode to not sell any more. I don’t want to pay historical VAT which I already payed to HMRC.

      1. PLEASE REPORT THIS AMAZON FUNDS HELD BUSINESS AT RISK TO the BBC.

        lets all do it as the more publicity we get the better. Amazon are more likely to act if they received negative publicity. Please share your Funds Held Sories in the below way.

        Email your stories to [email protected]

        Amazon small businesses are ar risk of going Bust. Pile it on please..

    2. I absolutely agree with you, why did they not attached the documents that were needed.
      I suggest trying something from HMRC, statement of your accounts, not that this is getting me anywhere either.

  5. The potential implication of this appears to be far worse for those who are VAT registered, but there are many of us who have received this request for multiple proofs of documents who are not VAT registered, never have been or ever likely to need to be, always had our business established in UK, never sold on any of the other Amazon marketplaces, yet are still having to provide endless documents to prove our business is established in UK. Amazon already have all this evidence and documentation anyway in our accounts, so should have been able to have filtered out those sellers for whom it was not relevant. I am a long-time seller of almost 18 years on Amazon.

  6. Last week without any notice whatsoever Amazon stopped my payment due to me because they had “indicators” that I might not be Uk based. They requested HMRC, passport, driving license and invoices to prove my place of establishment. I am Uk based and I have previously supplied these documents when I opened my account with them. I would be interested to know what these “indicators” are!

    I have sent in all the required documents and information 5 days ago, but, have not had any response at all. Not even an email to say that they have received the documents.

    My funds are on hold and I don’t know when or if I will be paid.

    2. Same here, it’s an absolute joke. I’m going off my head with worry and thinking about looking for a paye job. The stress is just too much

  7. Coincidentally, I received a request from Paypal a few days ago.
    I didn’t bother looking at it but having done so today, they wanted passport/driving license photos. Selfie.
    To add to this they also wanted verification via tracking that I had sent orders to customers but another section also wanted the supplier information for the orders with screenshots and pdfs.

    A final section then asked something else but before I could start on that I couldn’t get further and the link took me back to the main page with an email saying they were reviewing my information.

    You get the odd request for the selfie and Passport etc but not Amazon style Who did you buy this from.

    Just had an email confirming my account is good again, but I had;t realised until looked more closely that it was restricted in a number of areas until I provided the information.

    I am vat registered.

    1. Just found the email from Paypal, and no, I don’t just click the links, but do log in to Paypal to verify it’s real B-)

      =====

      PayPal
      We need your help with a quick review of your account

      We strive to provide our customers with seamless and user-friendly payment solutions. Unfortunately, sometimes we can’t process activity for a variety of reasons, including local laws, our policies or the policies of our partner banks and card networks.

      In this case, to confirm it’s you, we need a little more info. As soon as we receive it, we’ll work quickly to let you know whether we can continue to process your account activity.

      Provide Your Information
      How long will it take?

      We’ll contact you within 3 day(s) with the outcome of the review and any next steps.

      What can I currently do with my account?

      During the review, we try to keep as many of your account features available as we can, but the following features are temporarily unavailable. We’re sorry for the inconvenience.

      Send money
      Receive money
      Withdraw money
      How can I provide the requested information?

      Use the button in this email or log in to your PayPal account to provide the required information.

      How can I learn more?

      To learn more about the types of activity we can’t process, read the Supported Activity section in our Help Centre.

      Thank you for choosing PayPal.

  8. This is just classic Amazon isn’t it. I got the reverify email earlier this month (15th Jan), and by uploading the VAT certificate, I got another email from Amazon payments (17th Jan) to say information re-verified and that the Amazon payment account had been reactivated for disbursements.

    From that, I reasonably thought that there was nothing else to do. But prompted by reading this article and some of the comments, I thought, maybe I’ll just double check. Yeah… you guessed it. More documents were required (copy bank statement this time), and disbursements were still being held, but this time there had been no email requesting further info.

    What a pile they are.

  9. Same issue here – sole trader, need to settle my income tax and VAT tax in about 2 weeks. On top of all the bills and invoices from suppliers.
    Amazon holds £10k and counting everyday – I have my stock in FBA and unless I increase prices, I cannot stop sales.
    Already sent all documents to Amazon 3 times. No response for over two days since my last email – I don’t even know if they received it? Who are these people? Why Amazon asks me to send ALL extremely sensitive personal documents over email???
    I am talking to Liz tomorrow and keep my fingers crossed with her help we will be able to get the message across to Amazon to rectify this mess.

    1. LEt us know how you get on with Liz. Can this meeting be listened/watched online anywhere?

    3. Please let us know how you get on with Liz as she seems to be the only person willing to at least listen.

    4. please update us i have just emailed the BBC as per Andy’s suggestion, we should bring a class lawsuit and sue Amazon as the stress and anxiety is affecting our health, must be illegal what they are doing!!!

  10. Hi, below is the first couple of paragraphs I received from Amazon in an email last week
    Is this the same email people are receiving as I haven’t a clue what they are referring to as we do not have another Amazon account?

    “A reserve has been placed on the funds in your account because you have another Amazon account with balance due related to unpaid VAT to Amazon.

    With your permission, funds from this account can be used to cover the VAT liability on your other Amazon account. If you would like to use this payment method, please send authorization to [email protected]. “

    1. Hi

      Yes I got this same email.
      I have had replies from [email protected], but they just tell me that they are waiting on another department.
      I believe that if we all came together and hired legal representation we would have a case for compensation due to Amazon’s treatment here. They should not be allowed to treat sellers in this way. It causes us all a great deal of stress, it wastes a lot of our time , not too mention money in lost revenue (I have put stores on holiday because I do not want more money being held to ransom by Amazon for example),

      1. Hi Dan, Thats good idea, Can we get this process started. I am happy to volunteer . We are also going through same. This is my email singhmaninder AT yahoo.com

      3. This is a mess. Amazon should be held liable for every payment they hold without a sellers fault.

      4. Hi Dan, count me in I am happy to join a legal claim. We have been a good reseller with Amazon for over 15 years and this latest scam in holding onto our funds is unacceptable. I will be withdrawing selling on Amazon as soon as i can put my account on Holiday. We are only a small reseller, but have just launched a new product that has the potential to increase our sale 500% plus. We will have to invest more into social media and SEO to get the traffic to our own websites. If only it were possible for us all to stop selling on this Platform, but of course i understand the affect on many business this would have, BUT hey the time may be here to stand up and help each other through this period. Happy to help

    2. hi there they sent me the exact same message its a scam by amazon to hold our funds i am sure it is , i only ever had 1 account its joke its got so bad i had to put my shop on holiday mode to stop selling because they got thousands of my funds they are taking they fees but holding everyone money there is no way i am going to keep buying stock and paying for the shipping and not getting payed .

  11. This treatment of seller by Amazon is a disgrace
    Our funds of over 120k have all been held since Jan 1sr 2024. No contact made by Amazon to explain. After our numerous messages to seller support we finally get an email saying we need to verify your ID.??? What ? Then we get an email saying that there maybe VAT somewhere? No details of where or how much. We are a VAT registered UK business and sell internationally. We pay all our VAT when due to HMRC etc. All our VAT numbers are uploaded on seller central. Amazon have ignored all emails asking for further clarification. Our fund have been held for a month. We are about to go BUST as we have suppliers, rent, bill and staffing to pay.

    1. You are right, it is disgusting and Amazon should not be allowed to get away with such mistreatment. There much be grounds for legal action.

    2. I am so sorry that this is going to make this so terrible for you. I would love to help in anyway. We are going through a situation as the same as you with Amazon holding onto our funds. Today(17th January) i am putting things in place to put our reseller account on holiday. WE are fortunate that we can survive with our own website sales. I know its not possible for us all to put our accounts on holiday and stop selling through Amazon, BUT in a normal course of our business we would be suing anyone who had this attitude of paying debts. Anyone got ant suggestions how we can meet or all get a group to fight this.
      I was on Dragons DEN 20 years ago and i thought that was a challenge, BUT these people are treating us like schumacks and it needs to stop

  12. This is what’s happening to me and what I posted on seller forums . I’m day 32 in and going grey by the day not a response by anyone and my sales are still being added to funds held which Amazon are still taking their fees every day .

    Good Morning

    Can someone please help or advise by any form of communication as this is a worrying and stressful period with no answer or resolution or feedback to help resolve the below matter.

    We have been selling on Amazon marketplace for 15 years and never encountered this issue. I have attached below the current status.Amazon.Com are currently holding $28k of our Sales returns and is growing day by day that I need to pay wages/restocks for the coming months in Account Level reserve. On top of that Amazon have taken their fees straight away . Plus we pay to sell on Amazon…..

    We havent received a payment in nearly 30 days.I have opened 2 Cases that no one has responded to 14656405001 / 14656020571 it just says status Transferred , these were marked Urgent for within 12 hour response and nearly 72 hours later not one spark of communication from anyone.I called account health and i was on hold for 2 hours, nothing not even answered even the classical music on hold expired , to which i gave up.

    Under the guidelines and help pages it stated that this reserve is held for Chargebacks , A-Z Guarantees or Reviews in sales.

    My response to that is as follows:

    There is no massive increase in sales yes it’s increased a bit year on year but that’s due to working double harder and we are not a new seller, plus COVID hit us hard and we are still trying to recover plus limitations last year with Stock Limits. Its just been Q4 we all try to grow sales in that period.

    We do not do FBM and haven’t for nearly 18 months so no need for chargeback / refunds .

    We have no a-Z issues .

    Account health is 748 which is green and good according to the Account Health dashboard

    .If I didn’t respond to my customers on Amazon , Seller Support would penalise my account and give me a strike on my account health page. I need a response as to why this has happened so I can rectify it and make sure this doesnt happen again.I can’t even respond as I have no clue why this has happened , it’s been running smoothly for 15 years .

    This is an absolute mess of customer service to sellers like myself and appalling seller response service . I used to hold Amazon to the highest esteem in that regard.

    This needs escalating, my case and others and a new re-evaluating period for this process or even a review of the process in general to make it clear , concise and not leaving sellers in the dark.

    I’m all for customer centric service i signed up to Amazon all those years ago for this reason but Sellers need customer service centric solutions as well . I’m also all for holding some of my money back for relevant sku;s that may be affected but I see none in this regard ,but not all of my money as this is damaging .

    You have my verified bank details which hasnt changed in 15 years and card numbers if need be On top of that sales are still being processed every day and with 16k units in FBA storage and 5000 in AWD storage ready for further sales these are being added to the reserve limit. What is the maximum limit will i get paid for my sales and hard work?I’m not going anywhere .

    We are a UK registered company with a VAT number registered since 2009 and pay and return VAT to HMRC every quarter .

    Please help , Amazon seller support , Payments Team , Disbursement teams anyone…or escalate so I can receive answers and maintain my business .

    We got a response saying it was due to VAT liability. With bank details and no amount .
    We responded with all details not a single response from the email provided the mail address was : [email protected]

  13. We have $38k held in USA account due to VAT liability and our UK account is fine and still paying us . We sell 90/10 USA. It makes no sense it has to be glitch .
    I have had this for last 30 days and still no reply to my posts and emails to all the email addresses.

    This is such poor service Its verging on criminal. And there is no one that can give a definitive answer.

    Day 31 tomorrow …

    1. We are in exact same situation – we emailed Managing Director (managingdirector(at)amazon.co.uk) on 1 February and received the following reply:

      Thank you for contacting the office of the Amazon UK Managing Director, John Boumphrey.
      Your information has been passed to the relevant department for investigation and they will respond to you as soon as they have an update.
      If you have not received a reply within 2 business days then please reply to this e-mail.
      Thank you.

      Hoping to receive something back on Monday, 5 February…..

      1. I am sorry to break this to you Helen but what you have received is the standard cut and paste reply from the managing director e-mail address you may get a response from the seller support (Ahem) as that is were your e-mil has been forwarded on to.
        the managing director e-mail help stopped about a year and a half ago before that you always get help from that address.

  14. I’ve already sent, as a sole trader:

    Driving licence
    Passport
    Council Tax Bill 2023/2024
    Energy bill
    VAT Certificate
    Royal Mail invoice
    Supplier invoice

    All addressed the same as my registered address on Amazon

    This morning I get another email asking for:

    If you are a sole trader (natural person),
    — Provide a HMRC confirmation letter which is within 1 year.
    • HMRC correspondence demonstrating that the seller has registered with HMRC for PAYE
    • A PAYE demand from HMRC, or a screenshot of the PAYE return submission, accompanied by a payslip or P60 for the employee.

    What on earth has PAYE got to do with being a sole trader?

    You couldn’t write this stuff; Typical Amazon

    1. Simon – I have had exactly the same scenario. I have provided all of the information requested and that you have listed and now they are asking me to provide PAYE details as a Sole Trader????

      I am at a loss as to what to do and need to pay my suppliers but funds are tied up in my Amazon account!

      Let me know if you manage to resolve anything, I will update here if I come up with a solution.

      Regards

      Chris

  15. As it seems to be a way of collating how many are involved I’ll add similar.
    Verified and confirmed in Oct ’23, seller, only in the UK for around 20 years on Amazon. Checked and verified every year.
    The annoying part is that the email is quite insulting “We have found indicators that you are not based in the UK”. How suddenly after 20 years they consider me to have been dishonest?
    It seems like Amazon have had some issues with UKG and are taking it out on sellers, the other possibility is that they needed cashflow quick or that they have some serious tech issues. None of which look good for shareholders.

  16. I have my tax/vat and accounting fees to pay in the next week. I have heard nothing back from Amazon. This is extremely worrying. All my money is tied up in stock I invested for Amazon. We’ve had to disable our sales on Amazon completely to avoid paying postage without having any access to the funds!

    We’ve been verified on Amazon for 2 years+ as a UK seller, we only ship in the UK from a UK address, they have our passport, driving licence, bank documents and many other documents that have already been verified which prove we are in the UK! we’ve only ever lived in the UK. Yet we’re still being flagged as outside of the UK and funds frozen at the WORST possible time of the year. Worried, anxious, upset and angry is an understatement.

  17. Having the exact same issue. No VAT liabilities due on any UK/EU marketplace. We have been VAT registered for 15 years and all of our returns are up to date with HMRC. All US funds on Amazon are in account level reserve for over 4 weeks now. No response from seller support – every case just gets marked as transferred. No response from the email provided in the performance notification either. Surely this cannot be legal.

    1. This is the exact same for us too!
      Amazon Japan have said it’s VAT due from Amazon UK which is false, we don’t owe any VAT.
      On a telephone call we were told it is something to do with verification but we did this in June for the US. No idea what to do, we’ve had to do on holiday 🙁

  18. It seems from this thread and articles on the Amazon Seller Forums that this is causing issues for many sellers and Amazon do not seem to be addressing the issue in a timely fashion.
    The article mentions that Liz Barclay (Small Business Commissioner) has a meeting with Amazon today at 4pm about this so hopefully we might get some sort of update by tomorrow morning from her.
    I can’t find a direct email for her but would suggest as many of us as possible contact them via their site below so they know the extent of the issue – link below.
    https://www.smallbusinesscommissioner.gov.uk/contact-us/

    Any other suggestions of who to contact regarding this matter.
    I was thinking Martyn Lewis or one of the newspapers.
    On the back of the Post Office scandal I think they would give this some coverage.

    Probably need someone with some web site skills to set up a site so we can all register our names and complaints

    1. Hi
      I have emailed [email protected] to add our business to the list facing issues with Amazon. Hopefully we can all do that and they can have a list of all those effected.

      I have also referred this story to BBC news via their website , but no idea what will come from that.

      It makes my blood boil the way Amazon treats its sellers. Their seller support is a joke but this time they have taken it to a new level.

    2. I have contacted Liz and she replied immediately.
      I’ve contacted John Boumphrey, the managing director of Amazon UK who must be one of the main decision makers over this fiasco.
      I’ve also contacted the Times and the BBC. I just think the more of us try to get the media to cover it the more weight there is. The post office scandal was allowed to continue until it was made into a tv drama. I hope we get this resolved before it comes to that or someone suffers so much that they can’t take anymore…
      I think your idea is great, if someone is able to create a website or a page where we can all communicate freely this would be really helpful as I feel that we are all using different forums at the moment and a united front would be better.

  19. Just received this email reply from Liz Barclay (within about 20 mins – wow!)

    Dear Dan,

    Thank you for your email. I am sorry you find yourself in this position. We’ve been receiving emails on this since Friday and I have several dozen people worried about the same issues.

    I have set up the call for this afternoon with the first 10 people who emailed me. I am also compiling a list of people affected and will add you to that list if you don’t email me back to say ‘no’. We are doing our best to make Amazon understand the seriousness of this for people like you and the need for urgent action. We are in touch with the department for Business and Trade, the minister’s office, HMRC.

    No one has jurisdiction over Amazon or the remit to make them behave in any particular way in these cases. I will attempt to update all sellers who have contacted us when there is any progress. The press has become interested and that may hasten resolution.

    Please do let me know if there is any change in your account.

    All best wishes, LizB.

    1. Dan, Do you have the email address for Liz Barclay as both myself and my daughter, we both sell on Amazon independently, would like to be added to the list, thank you.

  20. Same here, sent every possible document, I have nothing else to send and yet they asking for more. All my funds are being held. I have been selling for the last 8 years, how come they don’t have my records. That is what happens when selling on amazon, you will never know when they gonna ruin your business. You just wake up in the morning and suddenly all you been fighting for it’s gone.

    1. Fully agree with you. I sold up 3 years ago, a profitable business due to the stress Amazon placed and my reliance on them. Best thing to do is keep Amazon as 10% of your stock and business.

  21. same or me, started 24th January,

    had 4 emails from them now each time requesting same info,

    have emailed Liz Barclay, the MD at Amazon

    she is having a meeting later today with Amazon hopefully it will be sorted soon? but I wont hold my breath

    1. Can you please let me know the email addresses Liz Barclay, the MD at Amazon? I desperately need your help, my funds have been on hold since the 11th Dec 2023. I need email them to ask for a help.

      Thank you very much.

  22. I suggest you all report/email this to bbc itv and newspapers too they will love this with the current horizon scandal and there must be 1,000’s effected by this so they can show how bad amazon are treating their sellers.

  23. I stopped selling on Amazon a few years ago because I don’t trust them and at anytime they can destroy your life. I decided to sell up than have debt against me just to run a profitable and successful business. Its just not worth it. Reading this proves to me I made the right decision.

    Amazon have no ethics and pretend they support their selling community, when actually they don’t. This will all be about HMRC saying Amazon is liable for sellers not paying VAT, so instead of sorting their technology out, they £%^ked it up and now they will hold sellers to ransome.

    As well as stopping selling on Amazon, I also cancelled Prime and also stopped buying on Amazon. I’d rather pay a higher price on Ebay for goods than give any of my money to Amazon. My greatest wish is to see Bezos take his rocket on a one way trip to Mars

  24. this situation seems to affect three kinds of sellers
    1- sole trader based in the UK
    2- partnership based in the UK
    3- ltd based in the UK with foreign directors or shareholders

    1. And UK Based business , UK VAT registered selling overseas in USA also affected with VAT liability rubbish

    2. Andy says:
      30 January 2024 at 5:49 pm
      this situation seems to affect three kinds of sellers
      1- sole trader based in the UK
      2- partnership based in the UK
      3- ltd based in the UK with foreign directors or shareholders

      There is also a fourth kind of seller impacted

      4- Ltd based in the UK but with sales on amazon.com North American sites

      1. 4th kind is also us

        Ltd based in the UK but with sales on amazon.com North American sites

        Still nothing from Amazon. Been 35 days now with no contact

  25. Hi, I have just got a reply from the small business commissioner:
    “Thank you for your email and sorry you find yourself in this situation.

    I have been working on this since Friday and was this morning asked by Amazon to share with them the company names and email address of the sellers contacting us so that they could expedite resolution..

    Do I have your consent to share your details?”

    Please email her with your details, if you haven’t already! Good luck to all of us

  27. I am a UK Sole Trader going through the same issues. I’ve lived in the UK my whole life and my business is of course established in the UK. Over 9 years of selling on Amazon, I’ve done several verifications – passport/driving license/utility bills so Amazon have no reason whatsoever to doubt that I am a genuine UK business. Since getting my disbursements stopped, I’ve sent in 8 different documents now but Amazon just keep asking for more. Their latest request was for a national ID card, which does not even exist here in the UK!

    I’m going to be taking this up with a lawyer now who specialises in dealing with Amazon issues like this. I’m also going to write to Liz Barclay and my local MP. This is disgusting behaviour by Amazon, but unfortunately is absolutely typical of them.

    1. are you happy to share the name and company of the lawyer, as I think there are a few people here that might want to start a class action once we are issued with a bill for VAT that we have already paid in the UK and proved to them with our HMRC statement of account.
      Some people are now being issued with a bill for thousands of pounds.

    2. Would you be kind enough to share the name of the lawyer so I can also get his assistance ?

    3. Please let us know what Lawyer suggests. I think we should all come together to file a complaint regarding this.

  28. Is there any update on how Amazon are responding? This is diabolical.
    All the information has been sent and they still want more. Surely they can not hold money that is rightfully ours.
    This needs sorting urgently! They are
    Going to destroy so many businesses if they can continue this

  29. Amazon seller U.K. are at it again. My disbursements are being withheld due to needing proof of being a business in the U.K
    and needing information regarding VAT.
    I uploaded all the documents straight away last week and have not heard anything back. I am registered with Amazon as non vat registered. I explained yet again that I am non vat registered as my turnover is less than £85000. I gave all details of business address in August 2023. Now I have no idea when I can access my money. Amazon is my main source of income. Really concerned.

  30. Selling on eBay then Etsy and now Amazon it seems something is clearly wrong. Etsy does not require any documentation, eBay requires a vat certificate, and Amazon requires a video link with a cs member to start, along with a I’d so they can confirm you are you, along with a bank account in the exact business name, vat certificate etc, utr paperwork,self assessment paperwork, passport/driving license, rates bill/rent bill, utility bills, suppliers invoices……and are still not satisfied. Surly GDPR means they should only ask for the least amount of information needed and then only keep what is essential an delete/destroy stuff that is no. Maybe we should be asking them for the GDPR data held on us.

  31. Ten years of trading on Amazon and ten years of paying VAT, NI contribution, and income tax yet the paperwork is not enough for Amazon to verify that I live in the UK unblock my funds. This is not the first seller to go through account verification, using the same HMRC documents

    This time it is a repeat email to provide the same documents. I have already uploaded them 6 times since last week.

  32. There is a fifth type of organisation affected by this. UK based Ltd company not registered for VAT as revenue below £85,000. I am a one man company working from home in the UK selling only within the UK. No PAYE just director disbursements.
    Registered seller with Amazon for 12 years
    It would seem simple but obviously not to Amazon

    1. So keeping track of who seems to be affected so far:

      1- Sole trader based in the UK
      2- Partnership based in the UK
      3- Ltd based in the UK and VAT Registered with foreign directors or shareholders
      4- Ltd based in the UK and VAT Registered with sales on amazon.com North American sites
      5- Ltd based in the UK and not registered for VAT as revenue below £85,000

      Any more?

      1. We are VAT registered in the UK and don’t sell on any other marketplace other than Amazon.co.uk and all directors and shareholders are UK citizens

      2. Ours is Ltd based in UK and VAT registered with all account reserves held for USA, CA, MX, JP & AU

  33. Amazon are absolutly unprofessional and have no care about the partners they work with. AVOID getting in with them please competitiors hurry up and bring new amazon alternatives.

  34. I think we definitely need more protection from big firm like amazon it is a continuous abuse of power towards sellers. I don’t think just releasing our fund is enough. They have caused us mental and financial distress and economical damage. They can block our payment at any moment, i lose 99%of a-z claim fba fees are most of the time wrong need to request remeasurment all the time.
    I’m with those who want to start a lawsuit against amazon

  35. I am very small business on Amazon for over 10 years

    Pay taxes
    VAT exempt
    UK based sole trader only sell in UK

    I have sent all my documents and am now being asked for the same thing – have emailed MD and liz.barclay.

    Have put account on holiday mode as cannot afford to lose any more money.

    This needs sorting asap for all our sakes.

  36. I am severely impacted by this. I am uk a resident. Vat registered. All of my tax and vat information has already been verified numerous times by Amazon but i am stuck in an endless loop of automated emails asking for the same documents i have already sent. I have has 2 emails from amazon to say that i am now verified but these seem to be sent in error as i am still unable to withdraw much needed funds

  37. They blocked our payments due to “indicators we might not be established in the UK” with no INDICATOR of when our payment will be released. This has been going on for over a week and has caused us a lot of stress, worry and financial strain as we struggle to get by.

    These “indicators” they speak of, they do not specify exactly what they mean by this – also I cannot fathom what they could possibly be – since we’ve lived in the UK our entire lives, only ship within the UK, are UK VAT verified, they already have ALL our documents, including passport, driving licence, bank docs, HMRC letters and more (all already verified) – so the REAL question is, how can they possibly even think we are not established in the UK!?

  38. We have the same situation we have not received any notification email from Amazon about this
    We just suddenly saw on our account Health page that disbursements have been suspended.
    We have emailed them the requested documents last week but have not yet heard anything from them.

    Has anyone manage to get through this verification process if yes how long did it take until they got any response?

  39. We are in the same situation without any notification email from Amazon we just happen to see on our account Health Page that our disbursements have been suspended due to UK business establishment requirements.

    We have provided last week all the necessary documents but have received no response or acknowledgement that they have received the documents.

    Has anyone managed to finish this verification process and if yes how long did it take until you got a response from that department?

  40. I’m in the same boat.
    I am a UK resident and work from home, selling only on Amazon.co.uk.
    I am also not VAT registered as my turnover is too low.
    My payments have been suspended and I have sent in about 8 documents which may or may not have been seen.
    Amazon are a disgrace. They treat their sellers like s**t!

  41. I am also caught up in this mess. Funds suspended last week without notice, been a business seller on Amazon for over 10 years, they have all my VAT and bank details verified on file, but still sent the requested documents. Two days later another request for even more documentation, duly sent but just got a generic reply saying they were reviewing them and couldn’t give a time it would take, unless they wanted more documents!
    Thousands of pounds unavailable, plus around £20k of stock at FBA warehouses, which if you weren’t aware, you can’t get back even if you wanted to, as they have blocked anyone affected by this from removing their stock!
    Just wish 90% of my business wasn’t through them, as it’s one thing after another with Amazon. Was switched over onto the dreaded “account level reserve” last Autumn. My fortnightly buyer returns average around £50, but Amazon now regularly holds back £1,000 as a “reserve” plus the 7 days grace period after a sale before you can have your money means on an average fortnightly disbursement of £5k I am lucky if I can withdraw half of it. And then to put the tin hat on it, it takes 3 to 5 business days before the money reaches my bank account. Ebay automatically send my sales proceeds every day, and when I do a Paypal request it takes minutes!
    Liz Barclay, the Business Commissioner, is swamped with it all, she has over 600 businesses affected by it on file already. Have also contacted my MP.
    Amazon reaching even new depths in their treatment of sellers.

  42. This is a bit worrying.

    The article below is from January last year. Amazon took out a $8 billion loan which will mature about now!

    Full article at the link below:

    Financing, capital and an $8bn loan

    Workers may also find grievance in the fact the company has just had an $8 billion loan approved by DBS Bank and Mizuho Bank.

    The term loan will mature in 364 days, with an option to expend for an additional 364 days, with the proceeds being used for “general corporate purpose.”

    An Amazon spokesperson told Reuters: “Given the uncertain macroeconomic environment, over the last few months we have used different financing options to support capital expenditures, debt repayments, acquisitions, and working capital needs.”

    https://www.chargedretail.co.uk/2023/01/10/analysis-what-the-hell-is-going-on-at-amazon/

    1. Could this be ‘it’?! It is hard to believe that they would do something like this, taking their sellers’ money for their debt repayment but: aren’t they capable of doing something like this?
      Someone has asked – I don’t remember if here or on Amazon Seller Forum: why this verification came so suddenly, without any warnings and without giving sellers time to provide any documents for verification before blocking the disbursements – it does look like they came for the money and the verification is only a pretext.
      I hope that we are wrong, Richard but: food for thought.

  43. We have also been impacted badly by this. Disbursements deactivated on 11th December. We are a UK based Limited company with a UK director, registered for VAT in the UK, and an Amazon selling partner since 2012. Seller support are an absolute waste of time. In 40 years of business I have never encoutered a situation like this. There is no way to access anyone at Amazon that can do anything. Amazon keep you waiting, then send another useless generic email that doesn’t address the situation.

  45. Im in the same boat as you all. I have been selling on amazon.co.uk for the past 3 years, vat registered , sole trader. I just keep getting generic email requesting the same documents over and over again. I have sent them my passport,driving license, vat certificate, council tax bill,utility bill, mortgage statement,There is so much that you can send, i hope amazon is not in breach of GDPR. I have emailed liz and yet to receive a reply.

  46. I’m pretty sure the original problem formed in HRMC. And then Amazon got involved.
    I realised this when I saw the new HRMC requirements for the company registration address used when applying for a VAT number.
    They are effectively impossible unless you are willing to rent or buy a separate office and hire employees.
    Amazon just expanded the list of requirements and ridiculously made the whole process a living hell.

  47. Liz Barclay who has been the only person so far that is being proactive is now in touch with the office for small business.
    Kevin Hollinrake, the relevant MP, can be emailed here, [email protected]

  48. I am in the same boat here, Sole trader in the UK and under VAT threshold, sent them everything and still no joy. Keep asking for the same things already send

    Already Sent, I think they make it up as they go along
    Driving Licence
    Bank statement
    BT landline bill
    Council tax statement
    UTR letter
    Self assessment return
    Invoice from supplier

  49. in the same situation, UK Ltd company, performance notification received on US site on 22nd jan and disbursements held on US because of VAT due on another amazon site, no response to emails sent and cases opened on UK and US sites transferred, i will contact Liz Barclay also today

    1. Hi John

      Ours is the exact same issue

      “UK Ltd company, performance notification received on US site on 22nd jan and disbursements held on US because of VAT due on another amazon site, no response to emails sent and cases opened on UK and US sites transferred”

      The email doesn’t actually mention how much is supposed to be owed to Amazon, nor the name of the other account, so it is a Catch-22

  51. The problem seems to extend beyond the UK because in Spain we are also having problems. We manage a seller account on Amazon and have held funds since January 5th. We only sell in Spain so it makes no sense that the problem only comes from the UK. This situation is embarrassing, we call SELLER SERVICE and STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS almost every day and the conclusion is always the same: They can’t do anything and they are going to transfer the information. To make the situation worse, the emails provided by mdri-exec-escalations do not respond to any of the messages we have sent, and we have been trying for almost a month. Today we received a curious response from an agent, and they recognize that the problem is widespread since they state “Everything must be managed through the email [email protected], there are delays in responses because “It’s happening with many sellers at the same time.”

    My conclusion, like that of many colleagues in these comments, is that Amazon is having a monetary problem and is withholding funds to play with our money and they don’t even know how to justify themselves, so they are already choosing not to respond. I can’t think of a more illegal and embarrassing way to annoy your sellers.

  53. Also a victim of this incredible shambles created by Amazon.
    I read on one of the forums earlier today that someones local MP contacted Amazon on their behalf and they responded confirming that they were now verified.
    I contacted my MP yesterday who confirmed she would indeed contact Amazon on my behalf. Thought I would share in case others wish to try this.
    Whether it works or not remains to be seen but at least we are seen to be something!

  54. We’re in the same situation.

    UK based company, 50/50 shareholders. One director is UK based, one director is a Portuguese resident for the last few years. Both are British. The company has been paying VAT to HMRC for the last 5 years.

    The company has a physical warehouse in the UK and Amazon is not the only sales channel.

    This will probably bankrupt us if we cannot access funds soon and as we’ve already remitted VAT to HMRC on our Amazon sales, the thought of having to pay again, would completely destroy us.

    No idea why we’re in this situation.

  55. I’m in the same position, UK sole trader VAT registered . Amazon withholding funds whilst waiting for a verification of establishment process that I see no light at the end of the tunnel with. Emailed liz barclay also.

  56. I am also going through this. As a sole trader (not vat registered) and have continuously been sending the same documents over and over again.

    The response is the same every day but different documents they ask for, even though they have already received them.

    Thank you for providing your previous documents. We require one or more additional documents to continue with your verification.

    What documentation should I provide?

    If you are a sole trader (natural person),
    • HMRC correspondence demonstrating that the seller has registered with HMRC for PAYE
    • A PAYE demand from HMRC, or a screenshot of the PAYE return submission, accompanied by a payslip or P60 for the employee.
    — Provide documents that confirm the identity and place of residence of the sole trader.
    • A recent utility bill dated within 180 days addressed to the company or the director or partner of the company.
    • If sellers are using a shared working space, they can provide one of the following:
    o A recent licence agreement
    o Copies of invoices for payment of rent
    o A proof of payment of rent.

    For more information on what documents are acceptable, go to “UK and EU VAT on E-commerce legislation:”
    https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/help/hub/reference/GSF678GXLDTTTETZ

    Amazon shouldn’t be allowed to get away with this.

  57. Join the Facebook group: Amazon UK Disbursement Deactivated Disaster and share your story

  58. I’m in the same position, UK sole trader VAT exempt. Amazon withholding funds since last December whilst waiting for a verification of establishment process.

  59. Trading for over 12 years and the same dictatorship issue every year from Amazon, it comes across as a way round to use seller monies to ease their cashflow. Seems has something to do with their recent policy change that they keep delaying due to recent goverment scrutiny. Amazon always ensure they hold sufficecent fund against returns.

    Received this email 2nd Feb

    our reserve policy change – Postponed to 3 April 2024

    We recently notified you that we will move your account to the standard base reserve policy called “Delivery Date Based Reserve” or “DD+7” on 31 January 2024. To allow you additional time to prepare, we have postponed the date to 3 April 2024.

  60. I’ve put a tweet out there about this scandal. Lets get sharing it, the more exposure we can get the more chance more news will pick it up. Some stories are already running. wyattharrisx is to find me. Don’t let Amazon ruin your business

  61. This is what they are asking me now.
    What documentation should I provide?
    If you operate a limited company or partnership,
    — Provide evidence that you are physically operating your business from your provided address.
    — Provide a company registration extract or share allotment document from your local trade registry that lists all directors or partners of your company.
    — Provide documents that confirm the identity and place of residence of every director or partner who is listed in the company registration extract.
    — Provide evidence of any employees who reside in the country of your stated country of business establishment.

  62. We are now back up and running. Submitted all the info required over the weekend.

    Hopefully others will get some good news.

    1. Great news Ken, hopefully others will also get their accounts freed up and the money flowing into their bank accounts again. Thanks for letting us know 🙂

  63. from various groups i am following it seems a lot are getting paid now, however there are quite a lot of us that have only amazon US funds withheld and have not even been asked for any documentation, Amazon is still holding our funds and maintaining a wall of silence

  64. Good News
    My account is Freed up today and fund is available
    Just submit the required documents guys
    Hopefully otherwise get a good news soon

  66. Having funds free to disburse and being verified are two different things. I’ve disbursed my funds but still await verification, which is worrying because you still have the big claw back of VAT hanging over you.

  67. I am at the opposite end, unfortunately.
    After reading the article from The Telegraph Yesterday (Sunday, 4 Feb) I was hoping to get good news from amazon but, at 11:43 Today I got this instead:

    “Hello,

    Thank you for providing your previous documents. We require one or more additional documents to continue with your verification.

    What documents should I provide?
    • A valid national identity card bearing residential address
    • UK mortgage statement dated within the last 12 months
    • UK council tax bill for the current year
    • A letter or bill from a utility company less than 6 months old. The letter that you receive must confirm that the seller is receiving a service from the company. Do not accept mobile phone bills.
    • HMRC correspondence demonstrating that the seller has registered with HMRC for PAYE
    [..]

    If you are a sole trader (natural person),
    — Provide evidence that you are physically operating your business from your provided address.
    — Provide documents that confirm the identity and place of residence of the sole trader.
    ”
    —————————————————-
    Have I been singled out?
    This is the 6th email from them and I have already sent them (scans/images):
    – UK Driving Licence
    – Passport
    – Invoices from my suppliers of goods/labels/postal envelopes and boxes/other
    – P60 from 2022-2023 (I’m full time employed)
    – UTR letter from HMRC
    – Gas/Electricity Bill
    – Bank statement
    – Bank card

    I have kept calm all this time but now I can’t, I am furious and very worried, I don’t even know how to process this. Mortgage? PAYE? national identity card?

    1. You are not being singled out.
      I am in exactly the same position and have sent them loads of proof yet they still keeping for more of the same!

    2. I am in the same boat gone back and forth with them 100 times I’m getting nowhere kept calm up until this oint but it’s been going on for too long now, starting to get stressed out.

  68. My disbursements still are suspended. I do not know what I should do next and desperately need help for the funds to be released.

  69. I have submitted all the documents almost 2 weeks ago but have not received any response yet and our disbursement is still blocked we have emailed Liz does anyone have any other advise as we are struggling to function.

  70. My review is complete, my company passed the assessment and my account is now at “normal” status according to Amazon but my funds are still in reserve. The last support person I spoke to at Amazon was baffled. My call backs this week to support have been ignored, my emails are being ignored and my complaint case still says pending. This has been going on since 5/1/24. I have contacted the financial ombudsman but that is for consumers not sellers. Madness! It feels criminal but apparently totally legal. Why allow us to trade but not pay us? This is modern day piracy in my opinion.

  71. I am sole trader in the UK alone.

    Amazon excused me that my account does not meet the requirements of the Amazon Services Europe Business Solutions Agreement on the 11th Dec 2023, they did not give me any details for this, and just held my funds from the 11th Dec 2023. So far nobody tells me any detail although I asked them for several times. So far I have no idea what wrong I have done.

    On the 25th Jan 2024, Amazon emailed me that my disbursements have been deactivated in all stores I operate worldwide (excluding Amazon.in) from 25 January 2024 as they have indicators that I might not be UK established for VAT purposes. I have no idea either how I can open my business outside of the UK. I always buy postages from Amazon online and post the orders via Royal Mail. Amazon have all these information for all my sales. Amazon should have known that it is impossible for me to operate my Amazon sales outside of the UK. However they excused me that my business might not be UK established for VAT purposes.

    Although my funds were unfrozen yesterday evening without explanation, we need Amazon to give us explanations for their mistakes, causing us very stress.

  72. Got an email today to say they had lifted the order. I also got an automatic disbursement a couple of days ago.

  73. And all of a sudden, I have just received the following from Amazon ….

    “Dear Selling Partner

    We have listened to seller concerns and based on your account information we have lifted the disbursement hold on your funds. We continue to work to minimize any inconvenience to our selling partners. Your funds should be available in your next selected scheduled disbursement cycle.

    We are currently reviewing information you have previously shared and we will contact you should we require any further information to determine where your business is established for VAT purposes. Please monitor your performance notifications on Seller Central for any such requests that you may receive from Amazon.

    If we request further information, please ensure you take swift action to provide us with any documents from your registered email ID on Seller Central.

    In case we are unable to determine the establishment of your company on the basis of the information you shared, or we conclude that you are not established in the UK, then we will start to collect and remit VAT on your B2C sales. In such a scenario, you may also be liable for any unpaid VAT to Amazon that was not collected on past eligible B2C sales, and we may therefore reapply a hold on your funds.

    (1) For more information on what documents to provide and how, please refer to: https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gc/vat-education/voec-uk-establishment.

    (2) We encourage Sellers who require assistance that is not addressed on the help page to reach out to Seller Support via Seller Central Help > Contact Us > KYC.

    Thank you for selling on Amazon
    Sincerely,
    Amazon Services Europe
    Sincerely,
    Amazon Services Europe”

  74. Our funds have all been released now. No emails to apologize or confirm the VAT they said we owed was incorrect thou. For us, it was just 2 week but a stressful 2 weeks and we lost revenue as a result of it, but not huge amounts. I still believe that Amazon should be made to pay compensation and sellers should join together to seek legal action. I imagine some other sellers have been more effected than us.

  75. I think that Amazon should pay compensation to the sellers whose business is physical operational in the UK.

  76. I think Amazon should be held to account by the Monopolies Commission – maybe force them to sell off or close down part of their operation. Something has to be done to take the power away from them. They see themselves as completely above the UK law and effectively have free range to do whatsoever they like to the Marketplace sellers.

  77. Did anyone find a solution to this issue? Our funds have been in reserve for over 8 months now, no matter how we contacted Amazon nobody cares about it. We have more sales coming from the USA and they froze all our money across all marketplaces. Can someone share internal team contacts or people who work at Amazon and do something?

  78. Exactly same situation. I am UK seller Limited company VAT registered since 2019. Pay all UK VAT as must pay. I know 100% nothing wrong with my VAT paid to HMHC I hire accountants to do all my accountancy jobs.
    Full story on 25th Jan-24 Got letter on Amazon notification section and by email same letter.
    Amazon:
    Your disbursements have been deactivated in all stores you operate worldwide (excluding Amazon.in) from 25 January 2024 as we have indicators that you might not be UK established for VAT purposes. As a result, we need you to provide additional documentary evidence proving that your company is established in the UK in accordance with this legislation, within 60 days of this notification.
    UK VAT on eCommerce legislation (live since 1 Jan 2021) requires Amazon to collect and remit VAT on all B2C sales performed by non-established selling partners to customer in the UK. As a result, we have to ask you to provide additional documentary evidence (listed here: https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/gc/vat-education/voec-uk-establishment) proving that your company is established in the UK in accordance with this legislation, within 60 days after receiving this notification.
    If you fail to provide the documentary evidence within 60 days of this notification, Amazon will conclude that you are not established in UK and will start collecting and remitting VAT on your B2C sales. In such a case, additionally, you will be required to pay the VAT amount to Amazon to account for the historical un-paid VAT on all B2C sales that fall under UK VAT on eCommerce legislation since 1 Jan 2021. further to this, you can continue selling on Amazon, but you will not be able to disburse any funds from your accounts, until any UK VAT owed is paid to Amazon

    Me: Send them all required documents on 26th of January 2024

    Amzon: Hello,

    Thank you for your submission.

    We have reviewed the information that you provided and we confirm that your disbursement will be released within the next payment cycle.

    Amazon Services Europe

    My balance still unavailable 21k on total balance. Next payment cycle will be 17.02.24
    By today I stopped all my sales on Amzon. Just placed all marketplaces on Holiday.
    That’s the point sell good build up VAT amount. if you not get paid from Amazon. Better I sell goods on other marketplaces ang get paid 100%.

    I understand why it’s happening it’s possible HMRC force them verify all UK sellers.
    Many Chinese companies play with it and don’t pay VAT at all…

    Communication with Amazon was terrible. I emailed them few times after 28th Jan 2024and all answer I get we will respond as soon as possible
    They don’t care business have pay VAT, tax, bills, salaries etc.

    My question to all of you how legal lawsuit Amazon and ask for compensation for:
    Loss of protentional profit from sales, Interests from amount they hold let say 5% monthly. Any interest and fines you have to pay to HMRC due late VAT or other payments. And most important moral compensation.

    Anyone any ideas how legal lawsuit Amazon?

  79. We are roadblocked with the same templated email from amazon

    “Please provide one of the following documents:
    • HMRC correspondence demonstrating that the you have registered with HMRC for PAYE
    • A PAYE demand from HMRC, or a screenshot of the PAYE return submission, accompanied by a payslip or P60 for the employee.”

    I operate the company as the director, i do not take money out of the company as its not my main business. There is no legal obligation for us to sign up for PAYE. I rang HMRC this week and they confirmed.

    Has anyone got passed this stage? Ive tried explain several ways and linking to the literature on the HMRC website but i am still getting the same templated reply.

    Please help or advise if anyone has been successful with this?

    Thanks

  80. I’m a sole Trader, Vat registered

    Ive sent copious documents to Amazon in response to at least 3 demands for “more information” last time they asked for more documents, the items listed had already been sent! I refuse to send my tax return and told Amazon in no uncertain terms that information of that nature is none of their business.

    I contacted seller support and they have just said “we are processing documents submitted and will get back to me in due course”, Case closed and Disbursments still on hold.

    I think it is disgusting how they are holding onto OUR money in this pathetic debacle. All they need to do is ask for is a copy of a UK vat registration certificate, or just check each seller individually themselves on HMRC VAT checker. there is zero need to keep hold of our funds for this length of time.

    Just paid my VAT for last quarter (busiest quarter of the year so thanks for your great timing Amazon!) and year end… how is this even legal?

    I aplaud any person or persons willing to take them on legally, but i believe they are too powerful

  81. My Payment Still on hold provided everything and they confirmed but still payment not released , if they dont release the payment then how i am going to pay all the credit card payments , they should not do that , Any Update ? , Amazon should be made to pay compensation and sellers should join together to seek legal action, if anyone is doing it and know let me know too
    Thank you

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