Negative paypal balance

Cjdjjdhdhdhhd

Hey guys, throaway account for anonymity.

Long story short, ive stopped using paypal. But someone i sold something to has disputed it. My paypal is now negative 650 eu.

What sort of criminal charges could i face if i dont pay? Hypothetically ofcourse

Peregrinus

Nothing in the facts that you have given suggests that you would be facing any criminal charges. But, then, you have given very few facts.

You're more likely to face a civil claim from Paypal seeking the money (they reckon) you owe them.

It's not a huge amount (to Paypal) but they will likely pursue it, becaue retail financial institutions have a strong interest in not getting a name for being willing to write off small sums due to them. Plus, I'm not sure whether it might impact on your credit rating.

Cjdjjdhdhdhhd

Peregrinus wrote: »

Nothing in the facts that you have given suggests that you would be facing any criminal charges. But, then, you have given very few facts.

You're more likely to face a civil claim from Paypal seeking the money (they reckon) you owe them.

It's not a huge amount (to Paypal) but they will likely pursue it, becaue retail financial institutions have a strong interest in not getting a name for being willing to write off small sums due to them. Plus, I'm not sure whether it might impact on your credit rating.

Would it be even worth it? 750* seems like a small number to go to court for.

Wouldnt they just pass it on to a collection agency?

Peregrinus

I've no idea what their processes are, sorry.

Cjdjjdhdhdhhd

Peregrinus wrote: »

I've no idea what their processes are, sorry.

Ok well heres the thing. Buyer is claiming he never received the package. Im just worried about being taken to court for criminal fraud

And ive no intention of paying off that negative balance

Peregrinus

I've no idea how Paypal's dispute process works, but from what you say I infer that if payor asserts that he never received goods/value, Paypal refunds him and debits your account.

If that's how it works then undoubtedly when you opened your account you will have ticked a box accepting terms and conditions which included an acknowledgement on your part that Paypal would do this, and you authorised them to debit the amount concerned to your account and agreed your laibility to Paypal if the balance of your account was insufficient. This is not something they are likely to have overlooked. So if they do choose to sue you, odds are their case will be a strong one, unless it turns out that they have failed to take some steps that their own terms and conditions require them to take.

It's also possible - again, I have no idea how Paypal works - than when you signed up you gave them an authority to debit your bank or credit card account, and gave them account details, so they may simply invoke that authority and take the money from your account with another institution, and so won't need to sue you at all. (Unless you have also closed that account, of course.)

I can't see Paypal making a fraud case against you. To do that, they'd have to prove that you acted dishonestly, which is typically a very hard thing to prove - an impossible thing to prove, on the facts you give here, since in fact you didn't act dishonestly. Why would they take on that burden? To recover, all they have to prove is that you owe them money, which (if Paypal works the way I am guessing and you have signed their T&Cs) you probably do, and they can probably prove quite easily.

Captain_Crash

If the customer said they didn't get it, then you'd have been asked to provide proof of delivery (provided the item is covered by the Seller Protection Policy). If you didn't provide it then a refund is issued and should your account have no balance, then its taken into a negative standing.

They wont take you to court, the amount is too small, but it will go to a collection agency and they'll hound you for the rest of your days... And in 58 years, when your sitting on your front porch in your new house in the South of Argentina sipping green tea, the phone will ring, and though the crackling noise and static you'll hear the following words...

"Excuse me sir, I'm calling regarding a personal business matter in relation to an amount owing to us, do you have a moment to talk"

Under His Eye

Captain_Crash wrote: »

If the customer said they didn't get it, then you'd have been asked to provide proof of delivery (provided the item is covered by the Seller Protection Policy). If you didn't provide it then a refund is issued and should your account have no balance, then its taken into a negative standing.

They wont take you to court, the amount is too small, but it will go to a collection agency and they'll hound you for the rest of your days... And in 58 years, when your sitting on your front porch in your new house in the South of Argentina sipping green tea, the phone will ring, and though the crackling noise and static you'll hear the following words...

"Excuse me sir, I'm calling regarding a personal business matter in relation to an amount owing to us, do you have a moment to talk"

Statute of limitations. They would be rightly told to foxtrot oscar.

Captain_Crash

Under His Eye wrote: »

Statute of limitations. They would be rightly told to foxtrot oscar.

I'm presuming you didn't get the tongue in cheek nature in the reference to the collections agency chasing. If PayPal themselves are going to collect, it'll be done long before any statute comes into effect

EdgeCase

It's almost definitely a civil matter, not a criminal one.

Do you have tracking information for the item you sent? If so, get a POD (Proof of Delivery) from the carrier, send this to PayPal via their website and that should be that.

If the carrier lost the item, then you should be raising a dispute with them for a refund.