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How to get debtor to pay up?
In August I sold a package of clothing (about 150 items) to a woman on eBay for $550.00. She paid for them using paypal, and paypal deposited the funds into my account. I delievered the packages to her the next day to save her the cost of shipping since we live in the same city. The transaction seemed to have gone well- I transferred the money into my bank account and she was happy with her new clothes. However, 3 weeks later Paypal reversed the payment because her bank funds did not cover the payment. Paypal immediately deducted the $550.00 from my account and said the only recourse I had was to contact the buyer. So I contacted the woman, who agreed to send a money order for the transaction. 2 weeks later, after never receiving the payment, I contacted her again. She apologized for the delay and said she would now send the money. This went on for a while, and she finally admitted to not having the money to pay me. I agreed to a payment plan at the end of October and said she could pay me bi-monthly as much as she could afford until the debt would be paid off by the end of the year. 2 more months went by and still no payments. Every time I contacted her she would make up another excuse. The final deadline for paying was the end of December. I have yet to receive any payments and she has been wearing the clothes for nearly 5 months. Early-on she threatened declaring bankruptcy if I went after the money through the court, but as of December 27th she basically told me that I will have to sue her in order to get the money she owes me. Paypal says I do not have any protection from them because I delivered the items to her instead of shipping them, despite the fact that I have documents showing she is in possession of the items. Almost all of our corresponding has been through email, so I have all of her promises to pay well documented. What should I do to get the money she owes me? Is my only recourse to take her to court, and if I did that would I be able to also seek money to cover my legal expenses? The whole situation has been very frustrating.
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