Page 1 of So you think you know PayPal?

Over the years I`ve bought many items from a variety of sources, paying for them by PayPal.

I recently bought an item from the ioffer site in the USA. As there was an option to pay for this by PayPal, I felt confident that I would be covered in the event of anything going wrong.

Unfortunately, something did go wrong, the DVD disc that I`d ordered proved to be both faulty and incomplete. There was a full minute missing from the start of the movie on the disc.

After 6 weeks of getting nowhere with the seller, I contacted PayPal and made a claim.

Here is an extract from their reply:

"I have reviewed the details of your account and can tell you that our policy is to investigate claims filed for items that are significantly not as described if they were purchased on eBay and were paid for with PayPal (using the category `eBay item` and the respective auction number).

Since you purchased your goods independently of eBay or have not marked your goods as eBay items while paying through PayPal, we are not able to investigate your claim."

So there you have it; if you pay for an eBay item by PayPal, you have a chance with a claim in the event of something going wrong. Otherwise forget it.

I got stung by PayPal 2 years ago after buying something from a site that offered PayPal as a payment method, and then the item never got sent and the company disappeared overnight.

PayPal didn`t refund any of the customers and it got quite a bit of publicity at the time.

So I realised then that they don`t offer any kind of payment protection at all. >:(

Even if it IS an Ebay item, PayPal are worse than useless.

I bought a Wii from the US, faulty and supposedly just the internal drive. Picture shown had a complete casing etc.
I received a unit that was disgustingly dirty (took two days to strip it apart and clean it with antibacterial cleaners), missing all of it`s casing screws and missing it`s battery clip (on the wii a battery clip is very difficult to find a replacement for without buying a full casing)

According to PayPal the item was "not significantly misdescribed" because it didn`t mention having the battery clip (although it was visible in the picture) and they wouldn`t refund.
I took it back to my CC company and lo and behold, 30 days later, there was my refund from them.
Moral: Don`t trust paypal but always use credit card and go to the CC company if there`s an issue.

Jimbo : oÞ

"Making Teenagers depressed is like shooting fish inna barrel"

I`ve been slating paypal for years but every man & his dog seems to think it`s brilliant.

I even offer a discount if someone uses a different method to pay on ebay but no, not a single cheque or postal order yet.

www.paypalsucks.com

why take life so seriously..its not like you are going to make it out alive

This item was edited on Thursday, 2nd July 2009, 20:28

Paypal is convieniant, but when it goes wrong they are s***e

That thing 2 years ago Sue Brown, nowt to do with a refurbished 32" lcd telly was it? "RedHot100.co.uk" or something similar? If so, I got done for a £100.00 quid too. Paypal investigated, found in my favour & then said that as the account had been cleared, they couldn`t & wouldn`t refund me, wouldn`t release details of the bank account for an investigation & generally dicked around until I gave up...was a lot of publicity about this at a similar time too Needed that loss around Xmas like an extra hole in the head! Haven`t used them since & never will again & I make an effort to ensure all colleagues, family & freinds don`t either...****ers. :¦

Edited for crepe speeling ind grammu. ;)

This item was edited on Thursday, 2nd July 2009, 22:53

Quote:
Paypal is convieniant, but when it goes wrong they are s***e

It`s just as easy to do an on-line bank transfer....and seriously, how hard is it to stick a cheque in the post? 3 minutes of your time to write cheque & envelope?


why take life so seriously..its not like you are going to make it out alive

it`s much quicker and easier to use paypal,
click next enter password, next next, done

online bank transfer I use with friends, but that takes longer to set up, as you have to log into your online banking enter payment details etc, then that can take 3 days

cheque you have to factor

day 1 assume "win" in evening, find cheque book, write cheque,
day 2 post cheque
day 4 cheque arrives at recipient
day 5 recipient pays cheque in
day 8 recipient confirms cheque has cleared
day 9 recipient posts item
day 11 item arrives


paypal
day 1 pay for item, recipient receives payment
day 2 recipient posts item
day 4 item arrives

1 week saved, maybe longer depending on post office, time it takes cheque to arrive due to weekends etc.

Flyer - no, my problem was a site called GameChimp that were supposedly selling games. I got scammed for less than £30 thankfully. Though it still pained me to have to buy that game elsewhere a second time, as it felt like it had cost me £60 in reality! :o

Ancient history now, but the experience opened my eyes. Yes, PayPal is convenient, but there is no payment protection.

I try to use Google Checkout wherever possible these days, but I don`t know if they are any better. :/

Quote:
day 1 pay for item, recipient receives payment
day 2 recipient posts item
day 4 item arrives

Not if you buy from me.....I`m not posting anything until funds are cleared in my bank account. I can`t spend paypal money on my shopping or petrol. Plus the fact it could be paid for with a stolen card and paypal take the money back so I have no item and no money. And this happens - a lot.

As for your 11 day cheque thing....
Day 1 - win item & post cheque..
Day 2 - seller receives item & pays in cheque.
Day 5/6 - cheque cleared & item posted.

Do you really buy stuff on ebay you need that quickly?





why take life so seriously..its not like you are going to make it out alive