eBay Forcing you to give your checking account with routing number and Social Security number

[loriv8473]

Forcing you to give your checking account with routing number and Social Security number . I am not a big seller I just sold a few things I never used that I had then eBay locked my account AFTER selling some stuff saying I had to update my account. I refused to give my private information. I called eBay and of course I was tossed around from one person to another. I asked them why PayPal doesn’t ask you that kind of private information they allow you to use your bank card like a credit card and do two small deposits with one withdrawal to verify. If you are a business they only require your EIN number.  Never do they ask you for your private information. Brittany from eBay the last woman I was talking to said well PayPal is a Financial company and a eBay is a market place. Ok so that supposed to make me feel comfortable giving Them my private information? That is supposed to tell me it’s Secure to do so? I had to ship the stuff I sold to the people because I’m not a jerk but eBay won’t give me my money. I told Britney I was deleting my account she sent me the link. Once I know the people received what they purchased ( because I’m honest)  and want to make sure they got it even though it cost me money. I WAS a victim of fraud twice. My SS# was stolen and it ended up freezing my tax returns and the second time I had my bank account drained. I was told by the police to NEVER give your SS # out other than in person and never give your routing # out unless it’s in person or a government site which have very high security and Only if you need to exp: direct deposit tax return. I have never given it out since. There is NO good reason eBay needs that. They have documentation they took the sales tax out. Personally I think anyone that got ripped off by eBay and they will not give them their money back need to get together and sue eBay. 

[coffeebean832]

The government is the one that requires eBay to collect this info so they can verify your identity and issue 1099 forms as required. You gave the information to PayPal at one point- this is essentially the same thing.

Managed payments was announced several years ago. You would have also received an alert on your account at least a few weeks before your registration deadline. You had a choice to take down your listings to avoid selling things after the deadline and have your money locked up.

Perhaps a local venue where you get cash on pickup is a better fit due to your hesitation about providing your SSN. Nearly every venue I sell on intermediates payments and requires either a SSN or EIN.

[donsdetour]

---

@loriv8473 wrote:

Forcing you to give your checking account with routing number and Social Security number . I am not a big seller I just sold a few things I never used that I had then eBay locked my account AFTER selling some stuff saying I had to update my account. I refused to give my private information. I called eBay and of course I was tossed around from one person to another. I asked them why PayPal doesn’t ask you that kind of private information they allow you to use your bank card like a credit card and do two small deposits with one withdrawal to verify. If you are a business they only require your EIN number.  Never do they ask you for your private information. Brittany from eBay the last woman I was talking to said well PayPal is a Financial company and a eBay is a market place. Ok so that supposed to make me feel comfortable giving Them my private information? That is supposed to tell me it’s Secure to do so? I had to ship the stuff I sold to the people because I’m not a jerk but eBay won’t give me my money. I told Britney I was deleting my account she sent me the link. Once I know the people received what they purchased ( because I’m honest)  and want to make sure they got it even though it cost me money. I WAS a victim of fraud twice. My SS# was stolen and it ended up freezing my tax returns and the second time I had my bank account drained. I was told by the police to NEVER give your SS # out other than in person and never give your routing # out unless it’s in person or a government site which have very high security and Only if you need to exp: direct deposit tax return. I have never given it out since. There is NO good reason eBay needs that. They have documentation they took the sales tax out. Personally I think anyone that got ripped off by eBay and they will not give them their money back need to get together and sue eBay. 

---

You have the choice to use eBay or not; so suing em is out. You also agreed to not sue when you use eBay...

Go with the flow or stop selling: that is your choice.

[wesk_36]

As far as bank routing numbers go, they are not secret, they are public, you can look up any bank routing number, they are not specific to accounts like the account number is.

https://bank-code.net/routing-numbers

[calntom]

Kind of off-topic.....

Of all the changes over the years, MP is going to be the one that really thins the herd. Culling sellers by MP is not going to hurt eBay's bottom line because there will still be more than enough sellers that are selling the same products, just fewer part-time sellers. 

I have noticed a reduction of competitors over the last 6 months and I am able to raise my prices on certain items. 

[kensgiftshop]

@loriv8473 

If you're not going to sign up for Managed Payments, so you can be paid, you might want to remove your listings before they sell.

[acrc3113]

There are a lot of folks out there that will disagree with me, but I feel exactly the same way. I refuse to provide my SSN. They also demand direct, unfettered, access to my banking information and personal identification. If I were a business then I could understand business tax information. Businesses don't have SSNs and they don't provide personal information. I'm sure there are people that think it is perfectly OK to provide such information. Just wait until THEY have to deal with identity theft or someone cleans out their bank account.

As for me, I will use other venues when I wish to sell something, even if it takes years to clean out my stored items.  Cash only, no shipping, no nonsense.

[andypan_2]

Paragraphs!

[maxine*j]

---

@loriv8473 wrote:

... I was told by the police to NEVER ...  your routing # out unless it’s in person or a government site which have very high security...

---

Really?  Ignorant cop, then.  Bank routing numbers are not confidential information.  They're printed on every paper check (along with your account number) and if you don't have a paper check handy, you can just look up any bank's routing number on-line.  Absolutely public and easily accessible info.

[maxine*j]

---

@acrc3113 wrote:

...  Businesses don't have SSNs and they don't provide personal information...

---

Actually, there are about 23 million businesses in the U.S. operating as sole proprietorships and for the great majority of them, the EIN is simply the person's Social Security Number.   

A sole proprietor needs an EIN only if s/he has employees or files excise or pension plan returns. 

Sole proprietors can apply for EINs even if they don't need them, if they care to, but most don't.  It's just one more number to remember and it can actually complicate banking and tax returns.

[1tuna]

you remind me of a person that was worried about there house address.I can walk down any street and have a homeowners address.the numbers are posted on the houses.I know all of my neighbors addresses and they do not seem to  mind that I have access to them

I do not think you will be ripped off again with your SS#....what are the odds

keep on selling

[maxine*j]

---

@calntom wrote:

Kind of off-topic.....

Of all the changes over the years, MP is going to be the one that really thins the herd...

---

I think so, too.  And since every other on-line venue of any size and visibility uses, and always has used, a form of managed payments, the herd isn't going anywhere else to sell, either -- or at least not anywhere where they'll be of an significance as competitors.

[maxine*j]

---

@maxine*j wrote:

---

@acrc3113 wrote:

...  Businesses don't have SSNs and they don't provide personal information...

---

Actually, there are about 23 million businesses in the U.S. operating as sole proprietorships and for the great majority of them, the EIN is simply the person's Social Security Number...   

---

Sorry.  Ran out of editing time on this.  The first paragraph should read "...for the great majority of them, the TIN  (Tax Identification Number) is simply the person's Social Security Number."

[house*of*paws]

Hi @loriv8473 

eBay is asking you for the same personal information you would have to give ANY selling venue if you wanted to list items to sell.

They need your SSN because it is required by law. 

They need a checking account number to be able to send you the buyer's payment.  [Many sellers open a new checking account just to use for selling.  That way, their main checking account can stay private.]

I'm afraid if you don't provide eBay with a bank account number to send your money ... you will never receive your money.  You might as well pull down your listings if you don't want to provide a way for eBay to send you buyers' payments.

[luckythewinner]

---

@acrc3113 wrote:

There are a lot of folks out there that will disagree with me, but I feel exactly the same way. I refuse to provide my SSN.

---

How did you get paid for your item in October? If you used PayPal, they asked for your SSN too.