Will a negative PayPal balance debt hurt my credit score?

Ihatepaypal

Morning everyone,

I'll start at the beginning. I fell a for the oldest trick in the book, a PayPal chargeback scam when I sold an iPhone, they paid me via PayPal, collected the phone, signed for it, had them on CCTV, then said they hadn't received the item (at this point I knew I'd been had and cancelled all my bank cards as I had already withdrawn the money) PayPal didn't give a monkeys because I didn't follow their rules and have no proof of postage (obviously as it was picked up)

This has resulted in a negative balance of about £300, PayPal rang me a few times to recover it, I either missed their calls or ignored it. Now it's gone to collections with some small collection agency. They've sent A letter, to which I responded, not confirming my name, asking for proof of the debt, I did the same with email.

They said they can't provide anything till I confirm who I am, I'm reluctant to do this as Theo general consensus seems to be to not confirm who you are.

I'm not so worried about the letters and phone calls, it doesn't bother me, inconvenience at most, what does slightly concern me is the though of this appearing on my credit file as there seems to be a lot of conflicting advice, such as "no it won't, they have to take you to court before it will do that" and "yes it will, if you've ever used a credit card on PayPal they can attack your score"

I don't think theyd take it to court because it's £300 for Christ sakes and court costs would hugely outweigh it, and I'm award they can't push those costs onto me.

My question is will this appear on my credit file and shall I confirm who I am to try obtain proof of the debt?

I'll take all responses with a pinch of salt as it is only a forum however it's my last hope for some enlightenment.

Thanks all :beer:

[Deleted User]

The question you need to answer is whether the report to your credit files. Check all three.

Depending on what is recorded, will impact how lenders view you. Ignore any changes in the fictional credit score itself.

PixelPound

Do Paypal report to CRA's? You have defaulted, so it depends if they do - check your credit files

Can they take you to court? I don't see why not, it may be £300 but the costs & fees are recoverable. They can also charge a statuary rate of interest too.

sourcrates

They do not report on my credit file, so i dont see why they would on yours.

Dont think that this may not end up in court, people with some stupidly low amounts of debt have been receiving claim forms lately, its something to be aware of.

Arleen

So you didn't pick up your phone when PayPal called, and now when debt collectors do you refuse to speak with them (confirming who you are when they call you doesn't do you any harm, contrary to what some people insist, the only thing it does is enable them to discuss the matter with you).

Given that PayPal makes a living from this type of small transactions and you refuse to work with them, don't be surprised when you will get a paperwork from the court in few months because if they didn't collect small amounts, people would constantly stiff them. And most of their costs of chasing this money can, and will be dumped on you anyway.

So best pull the head out of the sand and figure a way to settle it. My first place to go would probably be the police as the buyer committed fraud. Could also sue the buyer in civil court, as, again, fraud. I also think that if you will go through PayPal complain route they will accept that fact if you can prove it.