Paypal Protection Gives Online Shoppers False Sense of Security - RealWire
Maybe it Works better on Half.com? Seems to work ok for the guy on the left...he seems to sleep okay at night!
Savvy consumers shouldn’t rely on the Paypal’s Protection for Buyers, which includes the Buyer Complaint Policy and Paypal Buyer Protection for eligible ebay purchases.
Paypal have a tendency to frustrate both buyers and sellers by closing disputes for reasons only known to them. Additionally, their Protection for Buyers imposes over-restrictive time limits, has significant exclusions and has some major limitations:
Inadequate Time Limits
To be eligible for Paypal Protection for Buyers you must start the dispute process within 45 days of payment being sent and if you are going to escalate this, you must do so within 20 days of raising the dispute. This is not adequate. For example, you might not discover that the item you bought is counterfeit until it develops a fault after many months, or you may be advised that the item will not be delivered until back in stock, which may take several weeks.
Significant Exclusions
It is wrong to think that all products are automatically covered under Paypal’s Protection for Buyers. There are exclusions and it isn’t always apparent where this is the case and depends on the particular ebay site being used and the item being purchased. Two notable exclusions are motor vehicles and airline tickets.
Major Paypal Buyer Complaint Policy Limitations
The Buyer Complaint Policy which provides protection for transactions outside ebay also has two significant limitations.
First, Paypal will not make a decision on whether an item is “not as described”. For example, if you buy a new book and it turns out to be used or is damaged, you can use the process to make a dispute, but you are on your own. Paypal will not get involved nor make a decision either way.
Second, for items that are not delivered Paypal will only refund your money if they can recover this from the seller. Fraudsters know this and are likely to withdraw your money as soon as they get it.
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