SAN DIEGO – “It’s not fair that they don’t want to give me my money,” Adriana Figueroa said through tears when she showed us that she does not have access to the more than $ 2,000 stagnant in the person-to-person sales platform by name Mercari.
“It is my money, I am not selling illegal things, it is my product, I have already earned it and besides I am devaluing it because the application charges me 13% for making my sale,” added Figueroa.
According to a message that the seller showed us indicating that it was sent by the company, the money was not delivered to her because she had not proven that she can legally be employed in the United States and that she must pay taxes on the money she has generated from her sales. .
This despite the fact that Figueroa provided them with a Personal Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) and the same one that he has used, without problems, he says, in other similar sales platforms.
He indicated that he also provided a bank account number and a photo of his undocumented driver’s license provided by the state of California.
“The truth is that I felt intimidated and discriminated against,” lamented the woman, assuring that she does not use those words lightly and that they are driven by the economic need she has felt during the pandemic.
“I sat down to cry, I had the television on and you came out, and I said I’m going to make the call,” said Figueroa.
We shared the messages you received with an attorney who specializes in immigration and employment matters.
“The answer is confusing, and it makes me think that the person who sent him this message is also confused,” said the lawyer, explaining that he did not see the need to ask for authorization to be employed in the United States.
“First of all, she is not an employee of the company, she is a vendor who sells her products on this site,” he added, emphasizing that the ITIN is enough to satisfy any doubt about his tax duty.
Telemundo 20 asked Mercari for an explanation in several instances and we received the following response by email.
“Typically, we require proof of address and identity. If we have difficulty confirming the information, we may also request an Employment Authorization Document. If the user does not provide enough information to verify both, we may close their account as we cannot confirm that they are in The United States, the only country where we are licensed to offer our platform. In addition, as a financial institution, we must confirm the identity of our users as this creates a risk for Mercari as we would not be able to comply with anti-money laundering obligations. “.
The company gave the money to Figueroa but also closed his account.
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