Account deactivated - utility bills not in my name
Hi I have recently set up a personal seller account and got it instantly deactivated. It is now requesting a utility bill with my name and address however, I don’t pay any utility bills as I’m not a home owner and my phone bill is in my mothers name (direct debit in my name and from my bank account). I keep seeing threads stating you can submit a utility bill that isn’t in your name but matches something else that confirms you are living at the same address. Is this true and if not what else can I submit? Also, I tried submitting credit card statements but that was rejected.
20 replies
Seller_qZO3ZCjoBXEeL
To be honest what are you looking to sell? In most cases people would do better selling off personal used items on eBay than trying to jump through the hoops of Amazon.
If, however, you are trying to make a bit of money on the side selling items as new then you will need to register as a business entity (probably sole trader) once you have registered as self assessment sole trader with HMRC and received your UTR confirmation letter.
I say this because there is little point in battling through individual entity verification only to be suspended and have to reverify as a business.
Also, - again because a lot of people fall into the trap trying to earn a bit of money on the side - retail arbitrage (buying at high street shops and selling as new on Amazon) is a very risky proposition and
many people end up with suspended accounts and withheld funds - if this was your plan I’d suggest revisiting it.
That all being said… Amazon state that you can submit a utility bill in a relative’s name along with a letter explaining the relationship and reason for the need to do this providing you reside at the same address of course. In practice a lot of people have said that getting verified without a utility bill in their own name is difficult.
Hope this helps.
Seller_esvgLzKXw2YAl
Seeing that, I have to ask. Are you actually old enough to open an account?
Seller_iDiUaLCsDRE0K
Hi @CB_Golf_Supplies,
This is Pia from Amazon to assist with your account reactivation procedure.
You mentioned that none of the utility bills are on your name and would like to understand which documents you can submit as a part of verification.
In this case,if a utility bill for the given address is not under your name, provide a utility bill associated to the address used to register, and any other supporting documents that prove you are operating from that address, even if the bill is not under your name.
While submitting documents, please ensure the personal name found in the government-issued ID and the personal or business name found in the bank or card statement must match the ones registered in Seller Central under Legal Entity.
The address provided in the document must match the ones registered in Seller Central under Business address or Official registered address.
I hope you find this information helpful.
Regards,
Pia
Seller_DROodOAYHftnc
As Peter said, you can only have an Individual account if you are selling off your own personal second-hand items.
If you propose to sell new items (presumably golf supplies, by your name ?) then you must, by law be registered with HMRC as self-employed, sole-trader - even if you also have another paid ‘day’ job, and have a Business seller account on Amazon.
This is quite normal whilst they verify all the personal and business info that you have provided.
Selling on Amazon is not for the faint- hearted, with lots of hoops to jump through - you need to understand about running a business, keeping accounts etc.
