Re-verification nightmare
I was asked for a letter of authorisation, now they ask for a Power of Attorney letter but I got an email that says “We are contacting you as we need some additional documents to continue with your account verification. Why is this happening?
The document you provided is not issued by HMRC.”
As I am a sole trader I sent a letter using the usual template signed by me with the my business headed paper as they had asked but it’s apparently invalid as not issued by HMRC. I try to upload the UTR letter now, although it’s not the POA letter they request on the website.
Theoretically my re-verification should have been easy, had UTR number for years, lived at the same address for 15 years, have had same bank account and credit card since last century, I have utilities bills, council tax statements, I am in the electoral register, I definitely EXIST.
Re-verification nightmare
I was asked for a letter of authorisation, now they ask for a Power of Attorney letter but I got an email that says “We are contacting you as we need some additional documents to continue with your account verification. Why is this happening?
The document you provided is not issued by HMRC.”
As I am a sole trader I sent a letter using the usual template signed by me with the my business headed paper as they had asked but it’s apparently invalid as not issued by HMRC. I try to upload the UTR letter now, although it’s not the POA letter they request on the website.
Theoretically my re-verification should have been easy, had UTR number for years, lived at the same address for 15 years, have had same bank account and credit card since last century, I have utilities bills, council tax statements, I am in the electoral register, I definitely EXIST.
75 replies
Seller_7VbclcPFFRTnc
was this an up to date letter that you got from HMRC recently ?
go to settings - account info - identity info
under sole proprietor does it say your own name - not storename ?
Seller_19xPhE8YgkmxW
Hi The_London_Link
I had this - but although the page seems to ask for Power of Attorney, they just wanted an HMRC document with the UTR number on it.
Don’t panic - SNAFU
Best
Brian
Seller_pD4k5nUkDbIgP
This morning I found an email telling me that I officially exist and I can start selling (I have never stopped). It looks like it’s the end of this palaver until next time. Thanks to those who replied and reassured me I wasn’t going mad, Amazon was asking for one thing yet expected something else.
Seller_19xPhE8YgkmxW
Hello @Winston,
I hope this is what you’re looking for -
I received the following Amazon message on 6/3/23:
"Hello,
We are contacting you as we need some additional documents to continue with your account verification.
What happens if I do not send the required documents?
You have a total of 60 days from the day we first contacted you to provide all documentation or information requested to complete the verification. The time that Amazon takes in reviewing and validating the information or documentation provided will not be counted against the 60 days threshold you are given. Failure to provide this on time will lead to your disbursements being disallowed until verification has been completed.
If it has been more than 60 days since we first contacted you, your disbursements may have already been disallowed and will remain temporarily deactivated until the requested information or documentation has been provided and your account has been verified.
What type of document do I need to provide?
– One of the following documents issued by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) within the last year:
- Class 2 National Insurance Contributions (NICs) Bill
- Online VAT Certificate
- Pay As You Earn and Self Assessment
- Self-Assessment notice to complete a tax return
- Letter confirming your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number
- Letter acknowledging business tax registration, addressed to the sole proprietor
- Self Assessment Statement
- Short Tax Return.
If you are unable to provide any of these documents, you can request a Confirmation of Unique Taxpayer Reference letter by calling HMRC and asking for the “Self-Assessment Department”. The letter may take two weeks to arrive by mail.
How do I submit the required documents?
To continue with your account verification, follow the below instructions to provide the requested document.
- Go to the “Identity information” section of Seller Central.
https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/sw/SSR/BusinessKYCInfo/spaDashboard - Follow the prompts to upload the required document.
- Click “Save” and “Submit for verification”.
Once we have received the required documents, we will continue with your verification.
We’re here to help
If you have any questions, you can contact us at any time:
https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/help/hub/support
The Amazon Payments team"
I didn’t have most of the documents requested (Tax forms and covering letters are usually issued in April/May), but tried uploading a HMRC UTR letter dated within the previous year, even though the link requested a Power of Attorney Letter. When the letter I uploaded was rejected, I followed the suggested Amazon text for a POA letter and this was rejected also.
I requested HELP and received the following on 7/3:
"Hello from Amazon Selling Partner Support,
I understand that you have questions about the required documents regarding the account verification.
My name is Andy. It’ll be my pleasure to assist you today.
Thank you for sharing an overview of the issue and your experience with it. I understand its impact on your business and will work to resolve this issue as quickly as possible.
As our valued seller, your satisfaction is our topmost priority. I have investigated it thoroughly and found the following to support you:
Upon checking, you will need to upload a document issued by the HMRC as a proof of your business registration.
You may have received one of the following documents from the HMRC. It must show your Sole Proprietorship name/address, UTR number, and be dated within the last 12 months:
- 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.
I strongly recommend you to contact the HMRC to request a document called the Confirmation of Unique Taxpayer Reference letter if you do not have one of the above. This letter can take 3 to 10 days to arrive so I advise you to contact the HMRC straight away to request this:
- Call HMRC on 0300 200 3310
- Ask for the ‘Self-Assessment Department’
- Request a Confirmation of Unique Taxpayer Reference letter. This letter should take between 3 and 10 days to arrive.
Please keep in mind, The documents you upload need to be consistent with the information you have filled in Amazon Seller Central.
Ensure that the document meets the following criteria:
– The document must show the business name and address, as well as the provider’s logo.
– The document must be dated within the last 12 months.
– The document must not be a screenshot.
Please upload the UTR document under the Power of Attorney section, and then click each “Save” button and in the end click the “Submit for verification” button at the bottom of the page.
The verification team will complete the review as soon as they receive it. However, we do not have a set time-frame for the completion of the verification. Please wait patiently for their further notification.
If the verification team requires any additional information, they will email you directly and update your notifications:
https://sellercentral-europe.amazon.com/performance/notifications
For more information, see our “Required Information to Sell on Amazon” Help page:
https://sellercentral.amazon.co.uk/help/hub/reference/201200780
Thank you for selling with Amazon. It’s been my pleasure assisting you today.
Sorry for any inconvenience it might cause.
Please let us know how we did.
Were you satisfied with the support provided?"
I then uploaded a different HMRC letter which was accepted (but they don’t write to me very often and as I’m a sole trader they write to me as a person and don’t have a “Sole Proprietorship name/address” on their letters, and often do not quote my UTR
So, in my view Amazon are requesting something that is very difficult for a Sole Trader to provide without harassing HMRC for extra documentation - and they are not only difficult to contact but were already very busy with their routine work (this was in early March when the Tax year ends 6th April)
I hope these comments help sort out the confusion caused by inconsistent document requests and explain the difficulty of providing documentation more appropriate to a Limited Company, than a Sole Trader operating well under the VAT threshold
All Best
Brian
Seller_VSGPEORb4yGqN
Hi all. I’m going through this nightmare at the moment too. I am paperless so I have no physical letters at all. I called the above number to request the UTR number, only to find that it is temporarily closed until September! September will up me beyond the 60 days allowed to comply.
Almost 2 decades I’ve been on here same business name, same UTR number… I’m at a loss? I’ve sent them my tax return for this year but they rejected it. Is there anything (that anyone knows of) that I can download from the HMRC website that I can send them?
Utterly sick of Amazon there’s no logic to what they do. I can understand that new sellers need to be varified, but for those of us who have been on here for years and have already gone through the process (more than once), it’s ridiculous.
Thanks for any help!
Seller_gPMEb4beU7hIC
I am also going round in circles with this as I turned off paper communications with HMRC, no longer have the UTR letter from almost 20 years ago and can’t phone as their helpline is shut. I don’t have an accountant/ am not VAT registered as too small scale :-/
Seller_pD4k5nUkDbIgP
It’s infuriating. I do everything above board but with Amazon I always feel that I am guilty unless proven innocent. Anyway, they don’t appear to accept email, they want us to use the chat bot, Twitter or even write to them by snail mail.
Seller_gPMEb4beU7hIC
I have already sent the verification team statement of payments, latest tax return (as both pdf & black and white) and forwarded them the email from HMRC with the header ‘File your tax return’, all rejected. I turned paper back on but it is too late/ early for it to have triggered any reminders. I’ll have to try twitter and chat tomorrow, failing that will try to send snail mail to HMRC. It is all very frustrating and stressful.
Seller_gPMEb4beU7hIC
ok so I got through on the chat by repeatedly typing Live Chat, it kept saying an adviser was not available but eventually put me in a queue. Hopefully there is a letter being sent to me with my UTR on it.
