Paypal sent a collections notice...what?

[Anonymous]

Hi Guys,

I received a letter from a collections agent saying I owe them about $600. At one point I sold a phone on ebay, I shipped the phone out but mistakenly did not request a tracking #. The buyer said he never received the phone and I was told to refund the money. I was about 16 years old and the account was in my own name. What do you guys think I should do? Keep in mind that :

1) I was under 18 with the paypal account and ebay account in my own name and not someone elses. Aren't all contracts with minors void?

2) I sent the phone out and am not a thief.

3) This was over 5 years ago.

Thank you for any help on what I should do so that this debt does not go on my credit report. If I have to pay it I will but just sucks that I really did send the phone out but had no way to prove it.

[Anonymous]

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@Anonymous wrote:

Hi Guys,

I received a letter from a collections agent saying I owe them about $600. At one point I sold a phone on ebay, I shipped the phone out but mistakenly did not request a tracking #. The buyer said he never received the phone and I was told to refund the money. I was about 16 years old and the account was in my own name. What do you guys think I should do? Keep in mind that :

1) I was under 18 with the paypal account and ebay account in my own name and not someone elses. Aren't all contracts with minors void?

2) I sent the phone out and am not a thief.

3) This was over 5 years ago.

Thank you for any help on what I should do so that this debt does not go on my credit report. If I have to pay it I will but just sucks that I really did send the phone out but had no way to prove it.

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There are some instances where a debt incurred as a minor are valid, but your case is not one of them.  You can send the CA a Cease & Desist and they have to disappear.

If the debt appears on your credit report, you can dispute it and it should be deleted.

[RobertEG]

When you signed up with any of them, I am sure that you agreed, as a term of use of their normal service, that you were a legal adult. 

If you did, even though really a minor, fraudulent representation is not usually a very effective legal defense.

[Anonymous]

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@RobertEG wrote:

When you signed up with any of them, I am sure that you agreed, as a term of use of their normal service, that you were a legal adult. 

If you did, even though really a minor, fraudulent representation is not usually a very effective legal defense.

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Fraud, if it was relevant, would be something the creditor would have to invoke as a defense against having the issue dismissed due to the lack of legal, binding contract.  Given that the statute of limitations for damages due to fraud are usually very short -- shorter than for other forms of debt -- it's unlikely fraud could be successfully argued.

The SOL for criminal prosecutions on fraud are also relatively short -- typically 3 years or less.  Since the account was closed before attaining the age of majority, it can't be argued that the fraud was an ongoing event so if it were possible to charge someone with fraud in this situation, they'd have to be charged as a minor.  It is highly unlikely any DA would look at that as other than a complete waste of their time and resources.