This post will outline, in detail, how to file a formal antitrust complaint with the US Federal Trade Commission about Etsy forcing US-based sellers to use Plaid to verify their bank accounts. Please file. The more complaints filed, the more likely it is that the FTC opens an investigation into this issue. You can file a complaint by reaching out to [email protected].
We have three versions of a copy-paste email template for you. If you haven’t yet used Plaid to verify your bank account, and your timer has not run out, use the first one. If you haven’t yet used Plaid, and your timer has run out, and Etsy has stopped paying you for your sales, use the second one. If you have used Plaid to verify your account and you would still like to submit a formal FTC complaint, use the third email template.
Email (Refusing Plaid, Timer active)
If you’re still holding out on Plaid, and your timer is still ticking, here is an email template for you to use. Please attach a screenshot of your Plaid notice timer to your email.
Subject:
Antitrust Complaint: Etsy tying the sale of Plaid for shop ownersEmail:
Hello,
My name is (name) and I run a shop on the e-commerce platform Etsy. To continue using their service, Etsy is forcing me to use a third party, Plaid Inc., to verify my bank account. Please see attached screenshot, taken within my Etsy shop. Plaid has faced class action lawsuits for alleged user privacy violations, and Plaid’s privacy policy, which I must accept to keep using Etsy, states that they may collect private financial data from my bank account and share it with partners:
https://plaid.com/legal/#consumers
According to Etsy’s own help pages, they offer non-Plaid, manual bank account verification for sellers outside the US: https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015775908.
As a seller in the US, I have reached out to Etsy support to ask for an option to verify my account without use of Plaid, which I do not want to sign up for. They have not provided an alternative. Instead, Etsy has advised me that if I do not share my sensitive financial data with Plaid, then I may be barred access to my own e-commerce shop hosted through the Etsy platform as well as any money owed to me by Etsy.
Antitrust law on “tying the sale of two products” is meant to protect me from being forced to sign up for a service that I do not want, is that correct? Please advise.
Thank you very much for your time,
(your name)
Email (Refusing Plaid, Timer expired)
If you have refused to use Plaid to verify your account, and the timer for you to do so has expired, you’ll see a message in your backend from Etsy stating that they will no longer pay you money you are owed for sales made on the platform. Here is an email template to go with that version of the screenshot.
Subject:
Antitrust Complaint: Etsy tying the sale of Plaid for shop ownersEmail:
Hello,
My name is (name) and I run a shop on the e-commerce platform Etsy. To continue using their service, Etsy is forcing me to use a third party, Plaid Inc., to verify my bank account. Plaid has faced class action lawsuits for alleged user privacy violations, and Plaid’s privacy policy, which I must accept to keep using Etsy, states that they may collect private financial data from my bank account and share it with partners:
https://plaid.com/legal/#consumers
According to Etsy’s own help pages, they offer non-Plaid, manual bank account verification for sellers outside the US: https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015775908.
As a seller in the US, I have reached out to Etsy support to ask for an option to verify my account without use of Plaid, which I do not want to sign up for. They have not provided an alternative. Instead, Etsy has advised me that if I do not share my sensitive financial data with Plaid, then I will be barred access to my own e-commerce shop hosted through the Etsy platform. Etsy is also refusing to pay any funds owed to me until I sign up for Plaid - as you can see in the attached screenshot.
Antitrust law on “tying the sale of two products” is meant to protect me from being forced to sign up for a service that I do not want, is that correct? Please advise.
Thank you very much for your time,
(your name)
Screenshot instructions
Please take a screenshot of your Plaid notice from inside your Etsy account. You can access this from a computer from Finances > Payment Settings, or from the Sell on Etsy app in More > Finances > Payment settings.
To take a screenshot of a portion of your screen on a Windows computer, use Windows Key-Shift-S.
To take a screenshot of a portion of your screen on a Mac computer, use Shift-Command-4.
Iphone screenshot instructions: https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT200289
Android screenshot instructions: https://support.google.com/android/answer/9075928?hl=en
ChromeOS screenshot instructions: https://support.google.com/chromebook/answer/10474268?hl=en
Depending on when you received your notice, your screenshot will look like one of these examples:
Email (Signed up for Plaid)
If you already signed up for Plaid, you won’t be able to get that screenshot! Here’s an alternate copy-paste email template for you.
Subject:
Antitrust Complaint: Etsy tying the sale of Plaid for shop ownersEmail:
Hello,
My name is (name) and I run a shop on the e-commerce platform Etsy. To continue using their service, Etsy has forced me to use a third party, Plaid Inc., to verify my bank account. Plaid has faced class action lawsuits for alleged user privacy violations, and Plaid’s privacy policy, which I was required to accept to keep using Etsy, states that they may collect private financial data from my bank account and share it with partners:
https://plaid.com/legal/#consumers
I did not want to sign up for Plaid, but Etsy provided no alternative. Instead, they advised me that if I did not share my sensitive financial data with Plaid, then I could be barred access to my own e-commerce shop hosted through the Etsy platform as well as any money owed to me by Etsy.
According to Etsy’s own help pages, they offer non-Plaid, manual bank account verification for sellers outside the US: https://help.etsy.com/hc/en-us/articles/115015775908. However, as a US-based seller, I was not given the opportunity to verify my banking details manually, without Plaid.
Antitrust law on “tying the sale of two products” is meant to protect me from being forced to sign up for a service that I do not want, is that correct? Please advise.
Thank you very much for your time,
(your name)
Send your email to [email protected]. Remember to attach your screenshot, and be sure to replace (name) and (your name) with your own name!
Thank you for joining us in this fight.
#indiestrong
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