PayPal Negative Balance

scrappysphinx

Hi all, i am hoping for a little advice. 

I have a PayPal account, tied to a gmail.com account, that i have not used since around 2016 (checked through my emails and the last paypal receipt is dated 13/04/2016).

Recently i switched my Broadband supplier using a switch and connect £150 offer via CityFibre. The deal was to switch to their network and stay for a minimum of 30 days and i will receive a reward of £150 via Amazon Gift Card or PayPal. I got the email this morning to say i was now eligible to chose my reward and opted for the PayPal option. I have since received the email from PayPal saying that i've been sent money but before they can deposit the money they need more information about my account and recent transactions. 

I tried to log into my paypal account, didn't know the password but was able to provide my photo ID and change it but then it wanted a security code via phone to a number i no longer have access to. I was now stuck so called PayPal on the telephone. 

After nearly 15 minutes of trying to explain the situation to the gentleman that couldn't speak English too well he informed me he had located my account but needed to pass me over to the credit team. 

I then spoke to a lady, again relaying my situation, who informed me that i'd never had PayPal Credit and so she had no idea why they had passed me over to her and so i was passed over to a third person.

This person then informs me that they have located my account tied to a Hotmail.com (as i said above i have a Gmail address) but it has a negative balance of £1223.64 and therefore the account is restricted.

I ask him again about the email address and he then proceeds to tell me that the account has both the Hotmail and my Gmail account associated with it. He then reads out my home address which does match and tells me the negative balance is because they were unable to reclaim payment for purchases made in 2017 from the bank account, Account NOT card, ending 0650. My bank account ends in 9468 and i've had this account more than 20 years.

I point out that 0650 is not my bank account and then ask him to clarify the negative balance, where it is from, transaction amounts and dates etc.

He tells me he cannot do that and that he must transfer me to the fraud department since i am refusing this debt as mine.

To be clear i have no information regarding this debt, i have had zero contact via emails or physical mail from PayPal or debt collectors etc.

I am then transferred and speaking with a lady from the fraud department. I again tell her that i don't have any knowledge of this debt, i have never had PayPal Credit, the email address is similar but different, the bank account is different and that nobody could even tell me as of yet, what the £1223.64 was for. 

She goes on to tell me again that both the Hotmail email address and my Gmail address are linked to this account and then proceeds to tell me that the balance is made up of 8 transactions along with dates and amounts which i've listed below

DHS 10/05/2017 - £10.25 - I have no idea who these are

from myself to myself 11/05/17 - £130 - I'm not sure this is even possible

from myself to myself 11/05/2017 - £270 - As above

ebuyer.com 12/05/2017 - £551.81 - I am a computer guy but do not recall any £550 transactions

EE Store - 12/05/2017 - £134.40 - Never been an EE customer, i was O2 then Tesco Mobile

Hungry House - 13/05/2017 - £24.89 - defunct online takeaway since 2018

hungry House - 15/05/2017 - £32.89 - as above

EK Products limited - 15/05/2017 - £13.95 - No idea who these are

Tallying these up they make a total of £1168.19 which is short of the £1223.64 she says is outstanding. Next i question the £130 and £270 transfers from myself to myself and she tells me money was sent from the hotmail address to the gmail address and so i quickly ask if both email address are associated with one account is it even possible to send money from one to the other?

She completely skips over this and proceeds to tell me i owe this money and how do i intend to pay it back and that any money received via either email address will be used to pay off the negative balance. Again i reinforce that i am not acknowledging this debt as mine and would like to raise it to a higher level.

I am completely confused and with the broken English of these PayPal agents its very difficult to talk with them. She ended the call by telling me they will investigate the situation and get back to me within 5 days 

As i said, i have no knowledge of these transactions, the last email for a purchase via this PayPal is from 2016, i have never had any debt collectors contact me on behalf of PayPal, i have never had any communication from PayPal about negative or outstanding balances and it all seems a little strange that i receive some money and all of a sudden they discover a 7/8 year old debt and want me to pay it?

Any help would be appreciated. 

Thanks

middlingditch

Hi, sounds like a nightmare.
I would go straight to raising a complaint with PayPal and take it from there. Take the front foot.

ManyWays

I think this sort of complaint should be in writing, not over the phone., so email them at enquiry@paypal.com and put "I am being chased for a debt that is not mine - complaint" as the Subject.
Say what you have said here as briefly as possible and end by saying this is either a mistrace by Paypal or fraud/identity theft. In either case this is not your debt and you would like confirmation from Paypal that you will not be asked to pay this.

Also check your credit records to see if this mystery debt appears there, if it does, say in the complaint that you want it removed. 

RAS

Agreed you need a complaint. 

Were it not for the fact that you are expecting a payment into the account, I'd just have pointed out that the debts are statute barred. Slight risk that the other party whose account might have been missed up with yours might have made some sort of payment or written acknowledgement in the last 6 years, but unlikely if was fraud.

sourcrates

PayPal are now, since last year, FCA regulated, so if you remain unhappy with the response you get from them, you can now escalate the matter to the FOS to look at.

Something you were unable to do previously.

I agree this should be in writing (email) and not over the phone, never complain over the phone as points can be missed and its far too informal especially where money is concerned.

scrappysphinx

Thanks all, i will put together an email and send it over. I have looked at clearscore, i'm not sure if there is a better alternative, and i can't see anything about defaults or paypal on there at all. In fact the only negative point it shows me is that i was late paying a water payment to Severn Trent last year. 

Worryingly i have received an email from europeanservices@paypal.com thanking me for contacting PayPal about the amount currently owing on my account and giving me details on how to transfer money, which is in bold font, to resolve the negative balance. This suggests to methat they are indeed believing this to be my debt expecting me to pay it. 

I have also sent an email to Cityfibre to ask them if they can stop the paypal payment and switch the reward over to an Amazon voucher instead. I doubt this can be done but i don't know unless i try. 

Actually i just discovered i can see my credit report on here via credit club. 

Under All accounts i can see no mention of PayPal either open or closed and looking under my public records it says i have no bankruptcies or insolvencies, no judgements and no cifas flags. 

RAS

If Paypal recorded this debt against you credit record, it will have been removed 6 years after the default was issued. Since these transactions are from 2017, all reference to the "debt" could have been removed from your records. That means they can't enforce payment in the courts

That doesn't mean that they haven't got internal records that make it difficult for you to use Paypal. 

sourcrates

As mentioned above, if the transactions were from 2017, they would have been removed from your file last year or the year before, depending on the date of default.

And if you didn`t acknowledge those debts or make payment to them within that 6 year period, they would be statute barred by now, so they can`t take you to court, what they can do, as RAS mentions, is limit your access to PayPal services, so whether these debts were yours or not, very little can be done now either way.