PayPal Trouble (1 Viewer)

[Scott_G]

Well I learned something today. I'm sure most of you may know this, but I didn't.
I did a paypal with a private party for some parts. I used paypal with my credit card and waited for the package. I went through several emails with the seller, first there was a fire then several "I'm just getting ready to send that out" emails followed, then no response
Well I filled out the complaint form at paypal. A week later I get this email.
*******************************************
PayPal has concluded the investigation of your buyer complaint. As our policy states, we conducted this investigation on a best effort basis and made no guarantee of funds recovery.
Case ID:
Transaction Date: 09/24/01
Transaction Amount: $65.00
Seller's Email:
Seller's Name:
Our investigation has revealed that the seller is at fault; as a result you are due a refund. However, we regret to inform you that we were unable to recover funds from the sellers account, as the seller's account balance is $0. If this transaction occurred on an auction site, we encourage you to contact that auction site, as they may provide you with insurance coverage.
We value your business and regret that you have had this experience. To avoid similar experiences in the future, we recommend that you read our Security Tips on our website located at:
http://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr...ention-outside
Sincerely,
Complaint Resolution Department
************************************************** **
After searching on the web I find out that PayPal is NOT an escrow service. They claim no liability if you get screwed.
I'm lucky I used a credit card - I'll just reverse the charges and see what happens. If not, I've learned a $65 lesson.
This really bums me out, I thought PayPal would credit me the cash if no one paid up.
Anyone else out there had anything similar ?

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Paypal is not an escrow service. They are just a credit card processing center. They say clearly in their terms and conditions that they are not escrow, and are not protecting anyone against anything. You didn't need to search the web to find that- simply read the legal guidelines when you sign up for the account!

-Vince

 

[John Miles]

Edited: too much of a flame, in retrospect.

Suffice it to say that this isn't PayPal's "problem," despite the title you gave the thread.

 

[JasenP]

Complaint Resolution Department

That doesn't sound like much of a resolution to me!!!!

 

[Bill Balcziak]

You didn't need to search the web to find that- simply read the legal guidelines when you sign up for the account!

A slight oversimplification, since most people also read PayPal's marketing pitch when they signed up--which blatantly implies such protection. I read both, and I found the language to be ambiguous and misleading.
I don't think there's any question PayPal wants you to believe you are protected in case of fraud. Otherwise they wouldn't spinkle terms like "fraud protection" and "buyer protection" throughout their web site.

 

[Richard_Huntington]

Pay Pal was able to reverse a fee for me when the seller refused to answer phone calls or emails. But I had it done just 3 days after the money was sent. If I had waited longer, the seller could have pulled the money from his account and I would have been screwed.

 

[Brian Perry]

I was not aware that Paypal would actually try to get your money back in the event of a deadbeat seller. I always assumed there was NO protection, but from this thread it appears that if the other party still has funds in their account, Paypal can refund your money -- is that right?

 

[BryanZ]

I've been a seller and used paypal (only for one transaction thus far). My balance is $0 as I received payment from the buyer. I also emailed him the tracking number of the item and informed him how much insurance was on the item. Unfortunately, there are untrustworthy sellers out there and that truly is a shame. The item I sold? nOrh rosewood 3.0s. I wish you the best, Scott, in your struggle to recover the money you are rightly owed.

 

[Bill Balcziak]

Here's an excerpt from an e-mail PayPal sent me today about their "fraud protection" service.

"Warning! Online Fraud Could TRIPLE During Holidays

A recent Wall Street Journal article reports "retailers expect fraud to triple during the holiday season compared with the rest of the year." That's on top of the overall rate of online buyer fraud of 1.13% estimated by industry experts at the Gartner Group."

If you sell on eBay™, services such as Billpoint™ (also known as eBay Online Payments) that do not offer you fraud protection place your bottom line at risk. When fraudulent buyers initiate a chargeback (a credit card reversal), sellers are usually left to pay the bill. Most chargebacks happen over a month after the purchase, so you won't even know they're coming until it's too late."

"Fortunately, PayPal's Seller Protection Policy gives you the tools you need to avoid costly chargebacks during the holidays and all year 'round. Protect yourself by making PayPal the only online payment service in your auctions."

Sounds pretty bold, considering the relatively weak-tit protection they actually offer.

 

[Greg_Y]

As PayPal gets ready to file for an IPO and their customer service dwindles to almost useless, I've cancelled my PayPal account.
Anyone who uses PayPal might want to check these two links:
www.paypalsucks.com
www.paypalwarning.com

 

[Scott_G]

Fortunately, PayPal's Seller Protection Policy gives you the tools you need to avoid costly chargebacks during the holidays and all year 'round. Protect yourself by making PayPal the only online payment service in your auctions.

Yea - that's what got me ... didn't read the fine print.

My biggest complaint stems from not giving me any info on the deadbeat seller. If they don't want to credit my account, give me the sellers real name / address so I can deal with them. PayPal's privacy policy also protects the ripoff kings.

 

[Mike St.Louis]

Scott,

I had a bad auction experience with Ebay and Visa took care of it (after 60 days had expired).

You should check with your credit card company. They are usually quite good with these things.

 

[dougW]

The problem I see is that Paypal charged your card, but they don't actually deliver the service. Consequently, not sure what the CC company's policy would be in this case. In this case, the charging vendor doesn't actually deliver service. What's the ruling? I would be curious to know. I am sure there are precidents already.

Tough luck, but consider yourself lucky it's 65.00, and not 650.00 for example. To bad a few bad apples give web selling a bad rap.

Lex