Vinted, Europe’s largest online second-hand clothes trading platform and Lithuania’s first “unicorn”, is still litigating in Poland and Italy over millions of euros in fines. Meanwhile, a dispute with the Consumers’ Association over tax refunds for platform members is still pending in a French court.
The fine of 1.14 million euros imposed on Vinted by the Polish Competition and Consumer Authority was reduced by more than four times by a court last May, but the dispute is not over yet. Meanwhile, the company says it has paid the 1.5-million-euro fine in Italy but is appealing the decision in court.
“The Court of First Instance partially annulled the decision and reduced the amount of the fine after Vinted appealed,” according to Vinted’s annual report for last year.
According to the Polish online news outlet Wiadomosci handlowe, the court overturned the Authority’s decision on additional fees, but upheld the sanction for excessive requests for personal data, imposing a fine of 1.12 million zlotys (about 250,000 euros).
Vinted claims that the dispute has moved to a higher instance court following this judgment.
“The proceedings are now taking place in a higher court,” the company told BNS.
The Polish authority announced last May that it had fined Vinted 5.3 million zlotys (1.143 million euros) for excessive personal data requirements and additional fees.
At the same time, the Italian Competition Authority (ICA) fined the Lithuanian company 1.5 million euros in November 2022 for improper advertising. According to the authority, Vinted was misleading users by not clearly and transparently stating that buyers had to pay commission and shipping costs in addition to the advertised price of the product.
This is considered an unfair commercial practice in Italy, where Vinted has been operating since December 2020, and is in breach of the local Consumer Code, the authority said. Vinted was obliged to inform the Authority within two months of the measures it took to resolve the problem.
Vinted has paid the fine, but has appealed against the ICA’s decision, the company told BNS.
“We can confirm that we have paid the fine imposed on us in the by the Italian ICA and we are currently appealing the decision,” the company said in a comment.
In France, a class action lawsuit against Vinted was filed in May 2021 by the country’s consumer association UFC-Que Choisir for allegedly misleading Vinted users, asking a Paris court to order compensation for the fees that the platform has been mischarging its members since 2016.
In its annual report for last year, Vinted indicates that the action is pending before the Paris Civil Court.
“The case brought against us by the French consumer association UFC-Que Choisir is still pending,” the company told BNS.
Vinted says it is cooperating with the authorities who sanctioned the company.
“We fully respect the role of consumer protection authorities in ensuring the best possible standards for consumers and support their efforts to ensure these standards. We take our cooperation with such organisations very seriously and work with the authorities to find solutions,” the company said in a comment.
In 2019, Vinted became Lithuania’s first “unicorn”, a start-up valued at over 1 billion euros. In November that year, the company attracted 128 million euros in investment and was valued at 1 billion. In May 2021, Vinted attracted another 250 million euros in investment and was valued at 3.5 billion.
Vinted operates in 19 countries in Europe and North America, and has plans to expand. Its revenues grew by 51 percent last year to 371.4 million euros. The group’s losses before tax fell by 62.3 percent to 42.9 million euros last year.
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