eBay collection questions.

chris_gringo · ‎07-23-2013

Short story: About a year ago my wife sold a new tablet on eBay and the buyer reported it as broken. When he returned the item to us he sent a completely different tablet and even though we fought it with eBay he was refunded in full. My wife refused to pay eBay the $180 back so she has a negative account.

She checked her credit report a few months back and nothing was reported by ebay. She has been recieving emails saying that they will send this to a collection agency if she doesn't pay ."To avoid possible referral to an outside collection agency, you must pay the amount you owe immediately." She still refuses to pay because she was ripped off. I just want to pay it off before it damages her credit because I would like to purchase a home next year.

If it hasn't shown up on her credit report yet will it still show up if I decided to just pay off her debt after a year has already passed?

I've read something about PFD letter but is this only after they send the bill to collection agency?

Should we fight the charge somehow or just suck up the loss?

Shogun · ‎07-23-2013

2 options.

Get an attorney and fight it

Pay the money and be done with it.

That's about all I can see in this situation.

Sorry you were the victim of a scam artist.

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Jasir · ‎07-23-2013

I agree with Shogun. Your wife's pride may be hurt short-term, but if she allows the debt to go to collection her (and your) credit bargaining power can be damaged for 7 years. If you are able to pay the $180 do so immediately, especially as you are planning on seeking high credit very soon. Call eBay and explain you have an outstanding debt. Confirm with them that the debt has not yet gone to collections and is still in their possession. If so, pay them right away. Save receipts and tell them you want a letter confirming the debt was PIF. Good luck!

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unusuallyconfused · ‎07-24-2013

If the priority is saving your wife's credit score/credit history (by not having this issue go to collections), then the answer is obvious:

Pay the $180 immediately.

However, even if you do that, I'd seriously consider contacting eBay's executive office (office of the CEO, for example) and clearly outlining exactly what happened and how shameful eBay is as a company for letting you get scammed and then making you pay for it. Advise the office that you did pay the debt ONLY to avoid it going to collections but that you would like them to have another look at the issue and request that they do XYZ ( you MUST provide them with how you would like the issue resolved - help them by telling them exactly what you want and WHY you should get it).

As much as it hurts the ego to pay the money on account of a scammer, why cause further damage to yourself (credit score) on account of that scammer, too???

On a sidenote, if you're able to ID the scammer, there's an excellent chance that you could file a small claims case against that person and get your money back plus limited damages. Seriously look into all viable options or just pay the debt and move on.

If you want justice and satisfaction you're going to have to put some effort into the process; otherwise pay and leave it alone.

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RobertEG · ‎07-24-2013

+1

I would only add that you can always pay with the clear stipulation that they dont report, and that payment is thus being made only to resolve any issues that might negatively impact your credit until finally resolved.

Nothing would then preclude you, if payment clearly does not infer acknowledgement of the debt, from then pursuing civil action over the debt itself, and getting the matter legally resolved........