$70 in Collections from NCO... Ridiculous?

[dogf]

Hey guys. I opened a PayPal account in Canada under my brother's name when I was 18 last year as I couldn't myself.

We used a post office as the address and a ⊗⊗⊗⊗ DoB. The linked credit card was virtual and I used my own cell phone number, a real bank account (my brother's).

We closed the account a couple months ago as I was going the stealth route after finding these forums, however just 2 weeks ago I got an email from Paypal saying that a buyer issued 2 chargebacks for $35 each from a month old transaction and $70 was deducted from our CLOSED account.

I thought nothing of it, until yesterday I got a call from the post office saying there was a letter here for my brother. We picked it up and it was from NCO Collections demanding $70 for the outstanding balance or being subject to bad credit.

A day or so after I start getting 3-4 phone calls a day from NCO Collections which I don't answer.

I'm really concerned about my brother as I'm responsible if anything happens to his credit rating. Can they affect his credit score without having our home address, heck they even call my personal cell phone to speak with him. I really need some solid advice from people who have experience with this.

[slokor]

They wont touch his credit record. Especially since there is no way to even prove the account was his.
Your mistake was using your real phone number for this.
Just ignore those calls (theyre a pain I know) and don't repeat the same mistake again.

[TGMT²]

You are causing yourself a lot of aggravation for just $70.

Seriously, just pay it and be done with it. If you care about your brother, then why chance it?

If it was me, I would call PayPal and find out why your account is getting hit with this. Since you didn't mention the circumstances of the chargeback, I have to assume the transaction was probably dodgy with something you sold.

[dogf]

Originally Posted by TGMT²

You are causing yourself a lot of aggravation for just $70.

Seriously, just pay it and be done with it. If you care about your brother, then why chance it?

If it was me, I would call PayPal and find out why your account is getting hit with this. Since you didn't mention the circumstances of the chargeback, I have to assume the transaction was probably dodgy with something you sold.

It was 2 virtual items, I think that pretty much says it all. Also, from what I researched, NCO requires you to disclose your SIN, real home address, and phone number when trying to inquire about the collection... so paying it back is definitely not a first consideration.

[dogf]

Originally Posted by slokor

They wont touch his credit record. Especially since there is no way to even prove the account was his.
Your mistake was using your real phone number for this.
Just ignore those calls (theyre a pain I know) and don't repeat the same mistake again.

This provides some relief for me, hopefully this is true.

[slokor]

It is.
Like you said they have your SIN number and have no way to prove you actually owe anything to anyone. Theyre taking paypal's word for it at this point and based on that word alone they cant do anything really - except harass you by phone.

[RoxJox]

My guess is Paypal already wrote off the debt as uncollectable, and sold the rights to attempt to collect to NCO, for pennies on the dollar.

It's the independent collection agency (NCO) that is now chasing you. Imho the worst thing you can do is acknowledge the debt. The burdon of proof is on the party seeking relief (NCO). For the amount involved that's unlikely to happen.

They do have to pay the workers that call you daily. My guess is that since it's only $70, they'll give up at some point.

However, I'd recommend just paying the $70 and not worry about it.

[last3379]

Pay it or your brother isn't going to be happy