Can Paypal send me to collections??????

[mattayy]

Hello,

My friend recieved money from an ex, $720 to be exact...however they broke up shortly after and he filed a dispute with Paypal after she had already cashed the money in and he said it was "fraud" even though it wasn't. Now she got a letter in the mail from Convergent saying the outstanding balance of $720 was sent to collections and she needs to pay it...my question is that she doesn't have her SSN on file wiht paypal so will this affect her credit? This happened over a year ago and nothing has shown up on her credit report. 

What do you think she should do? Pay it, but how will she know they still won't put a mark on her credit? Or can they even put a mark on her credit if they don't have her SSN? 

Thanks everyone for your input!

[ttleigh]

Hmm...did she participate in Paypal's investigation? Can you receive money on PayPal without an account (which does require an San I believe)?
I had tenants send their late rent through PayPal then try to dispute a few weeks after I had already pulled the money. Paypal put a hold on my account but notified me immediately and gave me numbers to call and present my side and evidence to show it was legitimate.
But yes I believe it will either show up as a collection or if your friend has completely ignored it there may even be a judgment that will hit the credit report

[RobertEG]

It is not necessary to use an SSN in order to report to a CRA.

If they have adequate personal identifiers, such as full name and address, then the CRA can match with a credit file.

As for how to handle the situation, personally, I would make a pay for not reporting offer to the debt collector. settling that issue and preventing credit reporting, and then bring cvil suit against the ex for recoup of the $ and possible other damages.

[fishbjc]

Your friend needs to read Paypal's fine print.  When Paypal cannot 'collect' from an account on file, yes they will send it to collections.  A SSN isn't needed, they have enough information to float a boat.

[mattayy]

Okay that works, and how do you make sure that they won't report it on her credit even if she pays them?