A mum-of-four from Greater Manchester who runs an online shopping business says she was forced to claim benefits and use a foodbank after TikTok Shop blocked access to her earnings.
Sophia McKenna, 40, originally from Oldham and now living in Tameside, says the platform suspended her ability to withdraw funds for three months over false allegations she has been shipping orders from overseas, leaving her more than £1,500 out of pocket.
Business Background and TikTok Shop Start
The mum, who sells personalized gifts, children's clothing and accessories, many of which are handmade, insists she sources all her materials from the UK and ships them from her unit in Stalybridge. She set up the business around 14 years ago and has sold items on eBay, Etsy, and other sites during that time.
Earlier this year, as she started a new life following the end of a long-term relationship, she says she began selling on TikTok Shop - an e-commerce feature that lets users buy and sell products directly inside the social media giant's app.
Alleged Violations and Financial Impact
She says that not long afterwards, £800 was deducted from her by the company after issues in her personal life meant there was a delay in her shipping some orders. Separately, and more concerningly for Sophia, she says she has since been accused of a number of account 'violations' which have seen 'enforcement action' taken against her.
A notification, seen by the Manchester Evening News, states: "Your shop has been identified as engaging in prohibited shipping practices. Some orders have been identified as being shipped from outside the UK. This violates the TikTok Shop UK Customer Order Shipping Policy."
She says initially, the number of orders she could receive was restricted to one a day, and then the length of time her earnings were kept in her account before being available for withdrawal was increased from 15 days to 31. Then, she says, her ability to withdraw funds was withdrawn for three months. She claims the last time she was able to withdraw earnings from her account was August and that she will not be able to do so again until November 29.
Appeals and Personal Struggles
She says a number of appeals to the platform have all been rejected and that two official complaints and an official notice of dispute have so far been ignored. She says there is more than £1,500 in her account, which she is unable to access.
Sophia, who lives with her four children, aged between 11 and 21, in Stalybridge, says she had to cancel a planned family holiday because she could not afford the balance and has been forced to claim Universal Credit and use foodbanks to tide her over.
"It's had a massive impact on me," she said. "It's been really, really difficult. The business was my way of getting myself on my own too feet and becoming financially independent. And I was really proud of how I was doing, but this has just taken the wind completely out of my sails. I have had to claim Universal Credit. I have used foodbanks a few times. I have been struggling with my mental health, and this has also had an impact on that."
Resolution and TikTok Response
Sophia says that when orders come through, the app automatically produces a shipping label which has her return address on, so she cannot understand where the suggestion her orders are being shipped from overseas has come from. She says her orders used to be collected by the Royal Mail from her unit, but that earlier this year, after a change in the app's settings, drivers 'stopped coming', so she began dispatching them from her local Post Office. She says her only theory, and her current suspicion, is that the claims may arise from this.
After being contacted by the Manchester Evening News, TikTok has since contacted Sophia and said they will return their outstanding funds. A TikTok spokesperson said: "We regret the issues encountered in this case. We have removed the local fulfilment violation on this account and contacted the seller to facilitate the release of their outstanding funds. We continue to strengthen how we enforce our rules so that we can provide a trusted and safe experience for both sellers and their customers on TikTok Shop."
