Cannot add my Taxpayer ID

[IO2Digital]

I received an email asking for more information, specifically my Taxpayer ID, but I’m struggling to input my Finnish HETU. Every time I try, I get a red error message saying: "Please enter a valid HETU." I’ve tried entering it in different formats, but nothing seems to work.

Etsy has given me a 5-day deadline, and I’m concerned they might put my shop in vacation mode. This shop is my only additional income, so I really need it to stay open. How can I resolve this issue with Etsy?

[AnnaleasFinest]

@IO2Digital 

everybody I spoke to was upset about the short time-frame as well.

But this content was sent much earlier by Etsy as well.

The system blocks too many entries in a short time, I read we should wait 24 hours before we try again.

Is it the right number? I checked with other sellers first...

[IO2Digital]

Thank you for your advice! I’ve only entered my HETU 2-3 times, and I’m sure it's correct. I’ve contacted Etsy support and waited for hours but haven't received any reply yet. I’m hesitant to try again, as I'm worried too many attempts might cause more issues. I'll wait the 24 hours as suggested and hope it works. Have you or anyone else managed to get theirs accepted after waiting?

[AnnaleasFinest]

@IO2Digital 

I first entered the wrong one, then waited over night, and then entered the right one and it got accepted.

[Tazelry]

Hi! I have the same problem with Finnish HETU. It does not accept the correct HETU number in the Taxpayer ID field. I have sent emails to the customer service about this, even telling them what to do: They need to contact their technical team and fix the problem they have with this field, I'm sure they don't have it in the correct format for Finnish HETU.

After several messages I now got a response saying "After reviewing your situation, I strongly recommend that you contact your local tax authority for a more detailed explanation."

My HETU is 100 % correct, the problem is in the format of the field and the customer service seems reluctant to fix it. 

Is there a customer service number, or technical team that I could contact directly? I feel like nobody is actually listening to what I'm trying to explain to them.

[DigitalArtsyHut]

Having the same problem also, checked that my HETU is 100% correct (even checked from the EU Tax ID link that Finnish Tax administration refers to) yet Etsy is not accepting ....

[IO2Digital]

Thank you @AnnaleasFinest  and @paulARTisanVINTAGE . I've just sent a direct message to @ModFabio. I've also tried entering the HETU again after 24 hours, but I'm still getting the same error. I am worried as its only 4 day left to add Taxpayer ID. @Tazelry How you contacted Etsy is it through email? as they are not replying in live chat. @ModAngie could you please assist Finland-based Etsy sellers, as we’re all experiencing the same issue? I would be very grateful for your help.

[Tazelry]

Yes @IO2Digital I've contacted Etsy support through email. I've sent the first message on Tuesday and the discussion is going nowhere - I'm just getting generic replies and I keep asking them to read what I've written to them. They keep asking me to contact my local tax office, instead of trying to fix what is obviously a technical problem on Etsy. Let's hope the moderators can help! I have only 1 day left and after that I will not be paid until this problem is solved.

[SENROCO]

Hi all, Same issue here, the HETU is also on the ID we are required to upload in most cases. I have spent quite some time with support who has had me try different browsers and clear cookies which to no surprise didn't work as the issue resides somewhere on the backend. Considering the time sensitivity one would really think they would be on top of issues like these but then again that is rarely the case. The support unfortunately does not seem to understand what the actual problem is which of course is no fault of theirs. The support agent I spoke to stated "I'll escalate the ticket to our engineering team so they can investigate further. If there is anything else we can do for you, you'll receive an email from them" now this is good, but agent also states he can't provide a time frame, which is not so good considering there is a 4 day deadline....

[Tazelry]

This situation is just absurd. Starting tomorrow, I will not be paid for my sales, because of this technical bug that nobody is interested in fixing. And there is absolutely nothing I can do. There is no phone numbers to contact, no chat, emails are not answered. How is it possible that there is not a single customer service assistant that would like to actually help with this problem?

Are there any Finnish people that have somehow managed to add their HETU in the taxpayer ID field?

[PaperThesaurus]

I had the same issue. My problem was that my ID number has several punctuation marks (hyphens and points). Removing those and just typing in the numbers as a string solved the issue. You may want to try that.

[Tazelry]

@PaperThesaurus Unfortunately that didn't help. The Finnish HETU number is always in the form of for example 121234-5678.

There is a letter A instead of hyphen, if you are born in the 21st century. And the last digit can be either a letter or a number.

Removing the hyphen didn't help, nor did changing the hyphen to letter A.

[IO2Digital]

It's incredibly frustrating to deal with this issue, especially when it’s affecting your income, and there seems to be nothing I can do. I've reached out to Etsy's support team multiple times but haven't received any responses. I don't understand how Etsy isn't taking action, especially when so many sellers are facing the same issue. It's disappointing that such a large e-commerce platform is being so unprofessional by not providing any solutions or responses. With only 3 days left until my deadline, I'm really worried and unsure of what to do next. 

[IO2Digital]

@PaperThesaurus Thank you for sharing your experience! Are you based in Finland, and did you enter the HETU, or are you from another country? I'm trying to figure out if this solution would work for the Finnish taxpayer ID issue, as putting and removing the hyphen didn't help.

@Tazelry Could you please clarify what letter should be used for those born in the 20th century, specifically for someone born in 1975?

[PaperThesaurus]

I'm from Belgium. I also had this issue and had to remove punctuation marks in my ID before Etsy's bot accepted it. So I thought it was worth posting here. Sadly it seems it's not working for the Finnish ID.

[Tazelry]

@IO2Digital We that are born in the 20th century, have the hyphen instead of letter A. So the HETU as you know it is correct. I also find it so frustrating, that nobody is interested in looking into this issue, let alone fixing it. Starting today, I will not be payed for my sales!

[ModAngie · Accepted solution]

Hello! We're sorry to hear you're experiencing issues with your account. We've forwarded your concerns to a specialist team. Thank you! 

Please know we handle support inquiries privately per our Community Policy – we’re closing this thread, so you can get the support you need from us directly.