Paypal credit I didn't know about

[adda 0]

I've answered part of my own question by poking around. I have a Paypal account; in 2012 I also was given

a "Bill Me Later" (paypal credit) account after I applied due to some promotional offer.  My "preference" is that I pay out of my actual Paypal

balance UNLESS I opt otherwise. I only used the account twice:

 

8/1/2012              purchase    35.98         (payments: 25.00  on  8/16/2012   and 30.00  on 12/4/2012 and 23.96  on 12/24/2012)

5/30/2013           purchase     14.99         (payments: 21.99  on 07/09/2013)

 

January 2017, I needed a car battery. My credit was utterly destroyed in divorce; to the best of my knowledge, I no longer HAD any credit accounts. 

I was looking on-line and saw a battery at Advance Auto and saw they take Paypal as payment. I scrounged around and found my log-in info and learned I

had a balance in my account (from sales of items several years before) that would cover the purchase.  So I purchased the battery and used the "paypal checkout". 

Since I had pretty nearly wiped out the remaining balance with the purchase, I never thought to go back and look at the account.

 

A few weeks ago, I got a call from a debt collector saying they were collecting on behalf of Paypal. Since I knew nothing about it, I told them I couldn't discuss anything because I

had no knowledge of what they were talking about.  I called Paypal; the credit account is closed and I don't have access to anything on that from my end. The day I bought the battery, it shows (in

my REGULAR Paypal account) a debit for the battery BUT there is no running balance.  When I click for more details, I can see that the amount was refunded to my (regular) Paypal account and

applied to the credit account.  I would have been delighted to know I had ANY credit available, so pretty sure I would have noticed if there was an "option" for using paypal credit vs my paypal

balance. Also, I'm thinking that it wouldn't have initially been taken FROM my Paypal balance, then "refunded" when the credit account somehow picked it up.

 

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-against-paypal-for-illegally-signing-up-consumers-for-unwanted-online-credit/ 

I did sign up, BUT my preference was set to "use my Paypal balance" as preferred method of payment (unless I opt otherwise and an option exists at time of purchase). And of course, it would be

"nutty" for the money to be in the Paypal account and me to just not pay the credit line, if I knew it had been used! From the above link, " made them use PayPal Credit instead of their preferred

payment method, and then mishandled billing disputes. "  I had to call the debt collector back (per Paypal representative) in order to get information on my account, so I haven't yet made a

formal dispute (in writing).

 

The consent decree Paypal entered is dated 2015; my purchase occurred in January 2017. I obviously need to dispute this (they want $285.53 for what started as a "paid in full" purchase of

$106.99).  I'm sick of having to deal with things that shouldn't even be happening, though, especially when I find previous action related to similar complaints. I'll do more research, but

for the sake of covering my bases: do I need to dispute this in writing with BOTH Paypal and the debt collector they assigned it to? And should my dispute contain any reference to

the past problems that they are apparently still practicing? Or merely state that I believed I paid from my Paypal balance, as per my preference in my account, and had no reason to believe

I had a credit balance?

 

I've attached a copy of the activity from my REGULAR paypal account when the purchase was made; this is all that was accessible to me when I went into the account and it is actually more

confusing than helpful, although I'm guessing (??) my regular account was used as "placeholder" until  a credit authorization was issued? Finally, I've been wading through e-mails as well; I found

one dated May 2014 noting "unusual activity" on my account. However, I didn't use my regular account at all since before that; and when I did, there were no flags or requests for me to contact

them.

 

Any thoughts or guidance would be helpful; when I explained this (that I made a purchase using my BALANCE) to the Paypal representative, then the collector, nobody seemed interested in the facts, just that they decided (FOR me) that they would initiate a credit transaction that I never knew about (I have now updated all the contact information in my account). Thanks.

 

 

 

 

 

[Harry Seaward 1,356]

Send a DV to the debt collector and see what comes back. If they validate, you'll have to take it up with PayPal.

Did you never receive any billing statements? Including paperless? If you did, and you didn't dispute the charges with PayPal, you're stuck with it.