Paypal Debt in the UK

Sunday, May 8th, 2011 at 4:36 am

Were going to answer one of our readers questions today…

Today I received a letter from a company called IQOR debt collectors.

The letter said that i owed £189 in relation to my Paypal account. So i called Paypal and they informed me that its due to a dispute that was opened up for an item i sold on e-bay. Apparently Paypal refunded the other person and now want the money from me.

Because I already closed my Paypal account I did not know anything about the case. The other person still has the goods I sold and never returned them to me and when I contacted the person directly he say he isn’t going to be returning it.

Do I have any rights?

Well there’s two approaches to this. If you feel like you are in the wrong when it comes to the sale of your items, the ethically, you should really make the payment and move on. If you do not want to pay any extra fees, then try contacting Paypal or Ebay directly and try to make a payment for the original debt

However if you feel like the charges are unjust, then you can adopt a different approach.

Paypal Debt is a shady area because there was no credit agreement signed. If you want to try and eliminate the debt you should ask them to provide a copy of the Signed Credit Agreement via a Consumer Credit Act (CCA) request. to prove you owe them money. Send this via recorded delivery, and keep the receipt. If IQOR fail to provide the credit agreement within a month, they are in breach of the law in the UK and they must cease trying to pursue the money.

As Paypal don’t have any signed documentation, there is a very good chance that they wont be able to provide any proof as to say you owe them any money. A simple click on their website to say that you accept terms and conditions isn’t going to stand up in the UK courts.

We have had some reports of IQOR being very rude and aggressive. There have been reports from some people who have said that IQOR told them they would be filing a court case. As with many debt collection agencies in the UK they use they’re aggression to try to get you to pay the debt.

Remember this advice is if you feel that the debt is not legitimate. For example I wouldn’t adopt the same approach for any legitimate debt from other companies such as British gas or your Council tax because they use companies that actually follow the correct process. Remember that a court in the UK has to issue an order that allows the use of bailiffs and if they want to pursue the debt they have to go to the County court for CCJ’s and bailiffs.

If IQOR continue to contact you while the debt it in dispute, you should contact trading standards or the financial ombudsman.