Topic: Paypal

[Lona]

I don't know how many members use paypal on the internet to pay for goods. I have found to my cost that paypal is anything but secure.  It appears that if you pay for goods and the recipient closes their account before sending goods, then you have no recourse to claim your payment back.

I would advise any members who have had bad dealings with paypal to visit.......

www.paypalsucks.com

It's frightening to hear just how much control this company has over your bank account and credit card.

[Simon]

Well, I do use PayPal, but I never leave any funds in the account, my credit card would protect me from any fraudulent transactions, and I have no money in the bank account I gave them, so they won't get much out of me!  I think, to be fair, that for every unhappy customer, there are probably thousands of happy ones, but you never hear from them, and I would speculate that many of the people who have been victims of fraud, are the ones stupid enough to respond to 'phishing' e-mails with their security details.

[Lona]

Well, I do use PayPal, but I never leave any funds in the account, my credit card would protect me from any fraudulent transactions, and I have no money in the bank account I gave them, so they won't get much out of me!  I think, to be fair, that for every unhappy customer, there are probably thousands of happy ones, but you never hear from them, and I would speculate that many of the people who have been victims of fraud, are the ones stupid enough to respond to 'phishing' e-mails with their security details.

I am neither stupid or would respond to 'phishing' e-mails, Simon.  I paid in good faith using ebay's paynow feature.  The seller cleared out his account without sending me the goods and paypal take no responsibility for that.

I would think a better method for paypal to adopt would be to retain the money for both parties until the deal has been concluded.

[chorleydave]

Needless to say, just as I would NEVER EVER use it's parent company Ebay, as I think it sucks and is a ripoff merchants paradise, nor would I ever use Paypal. (Ebay took over Paypal in late 2002.)  Here is an interesting article about Paypal, posted just prior to Ebay's acquisition of it in late 2002.

http://www.auctionguild.com/generic93.html

[Simon]

Well, I do use PayPal, but I never leave any funds in the account, my credit card would protect me from any fraudulent transactions, and I have no money in the bank account I gave them, so they won't get much out of me!  I think, to be fair, that for every unhappy customer, there are probably thousands of happy ones, but you never hear from them, and I would speculate that many of the people who have been victims of fraud, are the ones stupid enough to respond to 'phishing' e-mails with their security details.

I am neither stupid or would respond to 'phishing' e-mails, Simon.

I know that, Lona, and certainly wasn't implying that you are stupid, but some people do respond to these e-mails, which are becoming more authentic and convincing by the day.  You have obviously been the unlucky victim of a fraud in this case, but, nevertheless, even if PayPal don't cover you, surely your credit card company will?  I actually did get a refund through PayPal on one occasion, but that was with the co-operation of the seller.

What I was saying is that there must be thousands of PayPal transactions every day, but it's only the ones which go wrong you hear about, a bit like you only hear about the planes that crash.

[Lona]

What I was saying is that there must be thousands of PayPal transactions every day, but it's only the ones which go wrong you hear about, a bit like you only hear about the planes that crash.

Regardless of what you say Simon, what is the point of using paypal if they have no powers to monitor your transaction or protect you from fraud. They are literally pimps and are getting commission from people for processing monies, they are not a bank and are not governed by any legal body.

Buyers are virtually encouraged to use paypal by ebay for secure reasons and are going to think it's perfectly safe when in reality it is purely a go between.

[Simon]

Fair point, Lona.  Whatever I say won't help you, if your seller has done a bunk.  Yes they are a go-between, but if you paid through PayPal using a credit card, then the crdit card company should help.