paypal threatening to send my 16 year old to collections

[demj1308]

I received a call from paypal debt collection threatening to send this to collection. My son (16 years old) opened a paypal account to collect money from someone purchasing his paintball gun in canada, without my knowledge. Payment was received and the item was shipped and received by buyer. The buyer complained to paypal the gun wasnt exactly what he expected and paypal allegedly sent 3 email to my son (which he says he didnt receive) after 10 days they automatically refunded the buyer his $425 leaving him with a negative paypal balance. Know paypal wants there money for the refund and the buyer still has the paintball gun. As a minor and based on the circumstances can he be sent to collections and have this placed on his credit report ? No problem refunding the money if we get item back. We are located in florida and the item was shipped to canada.

 

[Ohiogal]

I received a call from paypal debt collection threatening to send this to collection. My son (16 years old) opened a paypal account to collect money from someone purchasing his paintball gun in canada, without my knowledge. Payment was received and the item was shipped and received by buyer. The buyer complained to paypal the gun wasnt exactly what he expected and paypal allegedly sent 3 email to my son (which he says he didnt receive) after 10 days they automatically refunded the buyer his $425 leaving him with a negative paypal balance. Know paypal wants there money for the refund and the buyer still has the paintball gun. As a minor and based on the circumstances can he be sent to collections and have this placed on his credit report ? No problem refunding the money if we get item back. We are located in florida and the item was shipped to canada.

Yes this can be placed on his credit report. He wants to act like an adult, he gets treated as one. He is lucky it is just going on his credit report and he isn't getting in trouble for committing a crime of some sort. He needs to repay paypal.

 

[FlyingRon]

How is it that a 16 year old has an enforceable contract with PayPal?

Certainly they can send him to collections and possibly even ding his credit, but I don't see how they can avail themselves of any legal means to collect.

 

[Zigner]

How is it that a 16 year old has an enforceable contract with PayPal?

Certainly they can send him to collections and possibly even ding his credit, but I don't see how they can avail themselves of any legal means to collect.

Right- they should report the fraud to the local authorities though.

 

[Ohiogal]

How is it that a 16 year old has an enforceable contract with PayPal?

Certainly they can send him to collections and possibly even ding his credit, but I don't see how they can avail themselves of any legal means to collect.

https://www.paypal.com/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US#11


Oh and look at this:
2.1 Eligibility. To be eligible to use the PayPal Services, you must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States or one of the countries listed on the PayPal WorldWide page. This Agreement applies only to Users who are residents of the United States. If you are a resident of another country, you may access the agreement that applies to you from our website in your country.


Maybe sixteen year old boy should be charged criminally for the fraud he committed. Because quite frankly he did commit fraud by signing up when he was not eligible. Then he can have a juvenile criminal record. Will that work for him?

 

[Ohiogal]

OP, does your son want to admit he committed fraud by claiming he was 18 when he signed up for Paypal? Or does he want to follow through and pay what he owes? Those are the choices. He either pays back Paypal or he admits he is a liar which opens the door for Paypal to file a criminal complaint against him. If that happens, depending on the charge, he could have several collateral issues when it comes to applying for jobs, colleges and moving forward in life.

 

[justalayman]

I think a big issue here is that the buyer still has the merchandise. Not disagreeing with the contractual issue but it sounds like paypal has refunded the money prior to the return of the merchandise. To me, the greater fraud here are the actions of the buyer and paypal.

I suggest op needs to step in and address the issue of the retained merchandise with both paypal and the buyer

 

[Ohiogal]

I think a big issue here is that the buyer still has the merchandise. Not disagreeing with the contractual issue but it sounds like paypal has refunded the money prior to the return of the merchandise. To me, the greater fraud here are the actions of the buyer and paypal.

I suggest op needs to step in and address the issue of the retained merchandise with both paypal and the buyer

How do they know it was received? What proof do they have of that?

 

[justalayman]

How do they know it was received? What proof do they have of that?

It was stated it was received as the complaint was "it was not what was expected".

 

[Ohiogal]

It was stated it was received as the complaint was "it was not what was expected".

Missed that. The gun should be returned but OP shouldn't be complaining that her son is an innocent because he is only 16. He lied. And that lie costs him.

 

[single317dad]

How is it that a 16 year old has an enforceable contract with PayPal?

Certainly they can send him to collections and possibly even ding his credit, but I don't see how they can avail themselves of any legal means to collect.

While Paypal might not ever collect, the kid will certainly be banned from using Paypal until he repays the money. That might not sound like much, but it's kind of a pain if you ever want to sell anything online.

 

[TigerD]

Kids do dumb things.
Shipping internationally is a dumb thing.
But, infants that enter contracts cannot be held to them.

This kid and his parents should visit with a consumer rights attorney.

DC

 

[demj1308]

unfortunately kids do stupid things, im sure we all have

Thanks for the poster that pointed out we are not trying to scam anyone out of anything, im more than happy to give paypal there money back, but shouldn't they make a little better attempt to contact the seller before refunding the money to someone, now this person has a item, that hes not returning, and basically hasnt paid for it. Everyone seems to be focused on the fact he clicked a box saying he was 18, but besides that he was doing an honest deal with someone, now that person with paypals help has basically stolen his paintball gun and there attitude is oh well, give us our money.

 

[justalayman]

Everyone seems to be focused on the fact he clicked a box saying he was 18, but besides that he was doing an honest deal with someone,

You are missing the point that he cannot make an honest deal with somebody because he committed fraud to be able to engage in the actions he did. That means there is no such thing as an honest deal after that point.

now that person with paypals help has basically stolen his paintball gun and there attitude is oh well, give us our money.

first, the terms of paypal are going to limit what is available. If he wanted to play the game, he is going to get burned by the rules. I don't use paypal and don't read their terms but I suggest you do and attempt to learn if there are any actions available to you or your son in this situation. Once you have exhausted your rights under paypal, if son wishes to sue the Canadian, well, it simply wouldn't be worth it.

 

[demj1308]

OP, does your son want to admit he committed fraud by claiming he was 18 when he signed up for Paypal? Or does he want to follow through and pay what he owes? Those are the choices. He either pays back Paypal or he admits he is a liar which opens the door for Paypal to file a criminal complaint against him. If that happens, depending on the charge, he could have several collateral issues when it comes to applying for jobs, colleges and moving forward in life.

Are you kidding me, i thought this was a place to get advice, not be prosecuted. The person in the transaction that is really "the bad guy", is the guy that got the paintball gun and got his money back. You seem more upset about a minor doing something stupid by checking a box, the adult who has stolen from a 16 year old doesn't seem to bother you at all. If he could get the item back he would be able to resell it and pay the money back to paypal, were not trying to get away with anything here, he traded the gun for $425, he no longer has the $425 and does not have the gun anymore to resell, where does the money come from to pay them back ?