eBay Debt Recovery DRS Text Message £9000!

kodiplod

I had an eBay account a few years ago and sold a high-value piece of jewelry for around £9000. I sent the item to eBay's authenticity center (mandatory for this value), and the tracking showed it was delivered. However, eBay later claimed they never received it. After an investigation, UPS said it was delivered to a different address on the estate where the authenticity center is located. Eventually, eBay located the package but said it contained only chocolate and unrelated items, which I obviously did not send. UPS was unhelpful. As a result, eBay refunded the buyer, and my account went minus £9000. I refused to pay, lost my eBay account, and no longer have access to it or the associated email.

Today, I received a text from DRS debt recovery with my name and a reference number, stating I owe a debt to eBay and to log in online using a passcode emailed to me (which I don't have since I no longer have access to the email). When I called DRS for more information, they asked for my address, which I refused to give based on advice I read online. They then said they couldn't discuss the debt further and ended the call.

What should I do in this situation? Should I contact DRS again and provide my details to find out more about the debt? Should I send a letter explaining why I shouldn't owe this debt and do nothing further? Is there a legal risk of them taking me to court? Any advice would be appreciated.


From what I am aware of, I think they only have my name and telephone number. I have not received any debt letters and I removed/change my address from eBay at the time this all happened.

soolin

Head over to the debt board on here- in fact I'll ask the team if this should be moved. Don't acknowledge or respond at all until you have taken advice.

challengedavid

https://community.ebay.co.uk/t5/Community-Platform-Discussion/I-am-receiving-texts-from-DRS/td-p/7566984

could it be a scam?

MSE_ForumTeam5

Moved as suggested

sourcrates

You only need respond to letters, not texts.

9k is quite a sum of money, these eBay debts are usually assigned to a collection company who may send a letter and the odd text then move on to the next case.

Ebay never go to court, and usually things just go quiet.

However there is a risk with a 9k debt it could be sold to the likes of Lowell or Cabot who might be more aggressive in its collection, but if they don`t have an address for you its dead in the water basically..

LeeCroc90

MSE_ForumTeam5 said:

Moved as suggested

where have you moved this to please? I am in a similar situation and want to find out more regarding my obligations and next steps. Best wishes. 

Andyjflet

decent reminder, again, never to use ebay for anything.... good luck and I hope you dont have to pay this money back, clearly the driver is responsible for delivering to the wrong address.