Popular online marketplace Vinted has been sending customers and sellers emails in French – even when their language is set to English.
The app, which allows users to buy and sell second-hand items including clothes and accessories, said the issue was due to a glitch.
Sellers who have sold items on the site in recent days and have tried to withdraw the cash have received emails with the subject line: “Le transfert bancaire est en cours” meaning “bank transfer is in progress”.
Another reported getting an email with a mix of French and English, reading: “Bonjour, Your order is on its way.”
While a third email seen by i read: “Commande mise a jour pour Bershka varsity jacket”, meaning: “Updated order for Bershka varsity jacket”.
The issue has been reported for two consecutive days.
It has caused widespread confusion for affected customers and has led them to use translation programmes to understand their emails.
One person tweeted: “Glad I’m no the only one getting my Vinted emails in French. SACRÉ BLEU!”
Another wrote: “Vinted has started to email me in French? I’m so confused.”
Vinted told i that the problem was caused by a temporary tech glitch.
It said its team was already aware and the issue was in the process of being fixed.
The translation is not the first time a company has mistakenly sent English customers communications in a different language.
Back in 2019, a problem with Bulb smart meters in England caused them to send updates to households in Welsh.
One customer who faced the problem said at the time: “I don’t live in Wales and don’t know Welsh… I went on to the Bulb forums, found others with the same problem and followed directions to change [the] language.”
Vinted was founded in 2008 but has grown in popularity in recent years, now having 16 million users in the UK.