Massive negative PayPal balance

[Wigwambam]

To cut a very long story short I’ve got £15,000 negative balance with PayPal mainly due to gambling but the deposits weren’t made to gambling sites. What’s the process PayPal go through and how long have I got to pay it back? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! 

[unclebulgaria67]

Not my area of knowledge. Others will comment.

 

I think Paypal will pass to Debt Collection Agency to chase for payment and if you owe the amount, with no issues to raise, then you would have to come to an arrangement. 

 

What are your other financial circumstances ? Any other debts ?  Are you working ? Do you own any assets such as property ?

 

It is about what you can afford to repay each month, without putting yourself in hardship. 

 

Have you contacted Paypal asking for help ?

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wigwambam]

I’ve got a loan with an outstanding balance of £21,000 with 22 months left on it, the payments are £1052 

 

I’ve got 2 credit cards, 1 with zero balance and the other with £3200 balance.

 

I’m private renting at the minute and yes I work full time and earn a decent wage, my wage just about covers my bills and utility bills. 

 

How do you mean no issues to raise? 

 

Thanks for the reply 

 

The balance will only show negative balance in a week or so, the direct debits only got sent back yesterday 

 

I’ve seen on other threads people saying to totally ignore DCA’s and pay PayPal back direct at whatever is affordable.

 

The last I want is a DCA knocking at my door!

 

My plan is to keep them at bay for 4-6 months then top up my existing loan to pay them off.

 

Does they seem a good plan or not? I’m hoping someone on here as been in the same situation and can advise. 

 

Do they come knocking at your house though? My partner doesn’t know about this and I’m hoping that’s how it stays. 

 

Can they take me to court? If so how long before that would happen? 

 

I’ve opened a new bank account and I’m going move all my regular income and outcome out of that, so at least I’ll not miss any payments and damage my credit file.

 

My old bank account and debit card are still linked to my PayPal.

I’m hoping I can still use these to repay the balance off (will take a very long time though) 

 

To cut a very long story short I’ve got £15,000 negative balance with PayPal mainly due to gambling but the deposits weren’t made to gambling sites.

 

What’s the process PayPal go through and how long have I got to pay it back?

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated! 

[dx100uk]

nothing a dca can do to you

they are not bailiffs

and have

zero legal powers on any debt

let alone one from a co based in luxy as they ran away from our uk tax laws.

 

dx

 

[aburobert]

Paypal over all the years it has operated in the UK have not, to my knowledge, taken anyone to court.

 

Saying that there is, I suppose, a first time for everything though it is highly unlikely you will ever end up in court.

 

You have the taken IMHO the first correct steps in isolating your income away from the Paypal debt by opening a new bank account that is not linked to Paypal.

 

In my opinion there are two options a) contact Paypal and offer a monthly repayment figure that you can reasonably and easily afford. They may come back asking for an income expenditure breakdown. This they cannot insist apon - only a court can order you to produce this. Remember they are going to try and obtain as much money from you as they can whatever your circumstances so make sure you only pay what you can easily afford. b) Totally ignore them. In this case close the linked bank account to Paypal. You are likely to get a flood of letters threatening all kinds of dire repercussions mostly from their in house debt collectors. If Paypal act true to form this blizzard of paper will eventually stop and you will hear no more from them This was the case with myself - but then my debt, though considerable, was not as high as yours.

 

If you have not done so get some help for your gambling addiction and forget Paypal until they actually issue Court papers which, as said, is highly unlikely. If it happens then come back for advice on how to deal with it then. 

[Wigwambam]

Thank you for the reply.

I feel sick with worry and I can’t eat or sleep because of it!

Totally my fault and I hate myself for it,

 

I’ve 3 young children and we wanted to buy an house within 2 years which as gone out the window. 

 

I might have to do a mixture of both A and B,

I can get the amount down to £11k but that’ll max out both my credit cards and leave me with virtually nothing to pay PayPal back with, or leave it as it is and try and talk to PayPal and pay back little bits till I can get a loan to pay the outstanding amount back.

 

Can I ask how long did your debt take to pay back and what’s the worst they did ?

Was it just a barrage of letters?

How many/long did this last? 

 

I’ve excluded myself from every online gambling site in the UK for 5 years, can’t believe how deep this as got! 

[aburobert]

You are getting yourself into a state without reason.

 

Paypal will chase you but only for a limited time then contact will cease.

 

My debt to them was never repaid. This was not deliberate on my part - I did try to pay money into the Paypal account that was in negative territory but Paypal had frozen the account so I could not transfer anything into it. If this happens to you make sure you take a screen shot showing it was not possible to pay them. Under NO circumstances pay anyone other than Paypal - DO NOT attempt to pay any debt collection agency unless possibly they have purchased the debt. As far as I know Paypal do not sell on debts so pay no one but Paypal.

 

It is highly unlikely you will be doorstepped and Paypal do not use credit reference agencies so your debt will not affect your credit scores. If things have changed I am sure someone will put me right here.

 

In my case I still owe Paypal a considerable amount but as there has been no contact from them for several years the debt should shortly become statute barred which means they can chase the debt but can no longer enforce it (this happens after 6 years of no contact).  

 

Do not borrow money to repay Paypal. If you do go down the route of paying them only pay what you can easily afford. Do not get yourself deeper into debt because of this.

[dx100uk]

paypal dont do court

paypal debts dont appear on credit files

 

it might pay you send all of your other creditors a pro rata letter

this can be found in the debt collection section of our library.

 

dx

 

 

[Wigwambam]

A couple of reasons I’m going out of my mind,

1 is if my partner finds out what I have done and think we’ll be over!

 

Another is I’m not 100% sure how I obtained the money was legal.

It seems to easy just ride the storm of phone calls and letters and things will go away even though I’ve read threads on here were that as happened. 

 

Can I ask what % of the original outstanding balance was paid off before they went “quiet” on you? 

 

I do want to pay them back because I feel awful and hate owing money but till I’ve paid my loan off (22months away) I honestly can only give them £100 a month tops. 

 

What’s a pro rata letter? I’ve never heard of this? 

 

Am I right in thinking if the worst came to the worst and they took me to court (ccj) that this would be months away? 

[dx100uk]

now go read my last post again

it shows you where the pro rata letter is.

send it to all your creditors you cant pay

 

as for the paypal debt

they don't do court.

 

dx

 

[Wigwambam]

The only one I’m struggling to pay back is PayPal and they aren’t a creditor.

All the others I can manage just about. 

I’m just scared to death what will come of this. 

[dx100uk]

nothing 

are you not reading between the line here......

[Wigwambam]

I’m trying my best, I just can’t see how they would just leave it at that after a month or 2 of letters and phone calls? I really appreciate the messages by the way. I’ve been so ill thinking about it the last few days and all this sounds too good to be true. 

[dx100uk]

granted its not nice to do it and ofcourse you'll be or have or are seeking help with your issue.

but if you type in your exact thread title in the custom google search box after hitting our squares CAG logo up top

you'll be able to read the other threads here.

 

get things sorted but don't feel pressured by anyone.

all financial orgs that have lent money must be seen to help you under their industry guideline

use the prorate letter and even p'haps investigate irresponsible lending claims too

 

dx

 

[aburobert]

Your position is not untenable in any way. You have already mitigated partially any impending disaster by opening another non Paypal linked bank account so they cannot arbitrarily seize what they want.

 

First thing to remember you are in control here. Whatever you offer to pay them must be something you can reasonably afford even if its only a pound a week and you must pay it to Paypal. If like me they freeze your account then there is no way you can reasonably pay them. They are not going to give you another account to pay it into.

 

The reason I got into difficulties with them was because I had recurring large payments being made to a supplier of mine which continued after I was rushed into hospital for series of emergency operations. When I came out of hospital Paypal had simply frozen the account which I discovered when I tried to pay money into it to alleviate the huge deficit that had accrued. So I paid nothing of what I owed. I received about 4 or 5 threatening missives which I ignored as well as any phone calls. I tried for several months to make payments into the account and in the end I gave up. Despite all the threats nothing actually happened.

 

If you read all the answers to your posting as well as all the other Paypal posts I doubt you will find any evidence of Paypal doing very much to enforce outstanding balances and funnily enough they do not make it easy for those that wish to repay them as I discovered.

 

So stop getting yourself into a flap over something that is very unlikely to be nothing more than a storm in a tea cup.

 

Make or start you offer to re-pay them at a figure you can easily afford then forget all about them except to make your regular payment if you can still do so.

 

DO NOT under any circumstances get yourself deeper into debt over this.

[Wigwambam]

Really appreciate the advice, I’m just a complete bag of nerves over this!

 

Luckily they only have my mobile number, home address and email address so besides sending the DCA’s heavies round (which you say as never happened) there’s not much else they’d do except take me to court about a debt I’m more than willing to pay back just over time and not all at once.  

 

Out of curiosity are the DCA letters marked up “ Debt Collection Agency” anywhere on the envelope?

I suppose as well they’d only send the big boys around if the DCAs bought the debt off PayPal which you say as never happened as well? 

 

 

Also you say you received 4 or 5 letters in total? Was this over a couple of months including both PayPal and the DCAs? I

was expecting 4 or 5 a week!

 

if they do freeze my account I wonder if I could transfer money from friends and family’s account to knock off the outstanding balance? 

[aburobert]

I'm off to Africa on business for a couple of weeks shortly so will not be able to keep tabs on your thread again until I return to the UK at the end of the month.

 

So my advice it stop worrying. The wheels of the debt collection industry revolve fairly slowly. You will not get a flood of letters. But you may get a flood of phone calls at all times of the day and night. Answer them and wait for them to identify themselves. If they are debt collectors close the connection and block the number. If you do have any contact with them make sure it is in writing only so you have a verifiable paper trail that can be referred to at any time.

 

If they freeze your account so you cannot pay off the balance at a figure you decide (NOT THEM) - I would ignore them but make sure you have proof the account is blocked. They are shooting themselves in the foot by not allowing you to reduce the balance. When the account is frozen you cannot do anything with it.

 

Get on with your life. Stay well away from any gambling temptations and remember this will not appear in any credit reference reports. Take it as a lesson learned and thank your lucky stars you did not dig yourself a deep hole with credit card and bank loan debts  to feed your addiction.

 

Good luck - I will check your thread again when I am back in the UK so keep it updated. There are many here who will give you all the re-assurance you need and any help in dealing with these people.

[Wigwambam]

Thank you so much for the advice reassurance you’ve given, I’ve been living off caffeine and nicotine the last couple because of the worry.

I’ve excluded myself from all forms of gambling for 5 years. 

Going back to the DCAs letters, are they marked up “Debt Collection Agency” on the envelope? 

I don’t expect the debt to written off and I want to pay them off ASAP but I can’t and it’s going to take me along time to get over this financially and mentally! 

[aburobert]

I'm off in an hour so this will be my last posting until I return to the UK.

 

As far as I remember the debt collectors envelopes were plain with a return address on the reverse and maybe a company logo on them. There was nothing stating they were from a debt collector on the outside.

 

Just remember you are in control so pay only what you can reasonably afford if you are able to. Don't volunteer anything else and keep off the phone to them. Make it clear you will only communicate by letter. Make your position clear to them and do not engage in endless letter tennis with them.

 

They will attempt to get as much money out of you as they can in the shortest possible time so do not commit yourself to anything that may cause you financial problems down the line. Get it into your head you are in control not them.  

[Wigwambam]

Thank you so much for your help! My PayPal will probably show negative balance towards the back end of this week so I’m thinking the letters, emails and phone calls will start a few days after then.  

 

It’s been so much help coming on here and talking to someone who’s actually been in my situation, I’ve read threads on other forums were people have said “they WILL take you to court” and “you’re in the ” etc but I guess that’s from people who haven’t been in this mess and are guessing! 

 

Have a good trip and I’ll post on here as things develop and fingers crossed (I’m praying like mad) that things go the way they have for others! 

[dx100uk]

forget stupid dca's

what part of they cant do anything are you not understanding.

what part of PP don't do court?

pp don't sell their debts

pp debts don't appear on credit files

 

just remember the threads you are reading are from YEARS AGO.

before they moved abroad and are NOT relevant today

 

they cant send anyone around

they are not bailiffs nor ever can be.

 

pers id forget this PP debt

and get on with sorting the others or preventing more damage.

 

if you know you are going to have payment issues 

act now not till you have them

 

dx

 

 

 

 

[Wigwambam]

Sorry, I know I come across like I’m over thinking this and to be honest I am!

 

But it’s a persons natural instinct to think the worst.

Like mentioned in a previous comment further up the thread “there’s always a first” and knowing my luck I’ll be the first. 

 

My current bills will always be paid on time so there’s no issue on that side. 

 

Once PayPal start to hound me I’ll start making regular weekly payments (ranging from £1 to £100) to start paying it off, I’m hoping if they see this that it will pacify them? 

[dx100uk]

grr.. they cannot do anything to you.

out of jurisdiction.

 

 

[Wigwambam]

I just can’t get my head around how they just leave these massive outstanding balance’s “go” 

[dx100uk]

because they are not registered as a company in this country so have no recourse to our legal system.

that's their problem for running away from the UK and avoiding £b's in tax 

 

its how their business model has always worked since that decision

just like all the ebay fraud they allow to happen

they simply write it off as it cheaper than paying UK taxes.