PAYPAL PROTECTION IS A FRAUD, YOU ARE NOT PROTECTED

[gifts_of_elegance]

I got ripped off again by PayPal and their so called protection. My claim was for $202 plus shipping and I got a letter saying they were only able to recover $92 which they will credit my account. The listing says that I am fully protected.

I have a previous claim for over $400, they have credited me 52 cents despite the fact that the listing clearly stated that the transaction was protected up to $315.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[lina-mallows]

And to think all this time I believed EVERYTHING eBay/Paypal posted.

What next?

Someone will have the audacity to post here that there really is NO Santa Claus?


PayPal protection has always been a game of smoke and mirrors.
There is the illusions that you have coverage. And, when everything goes as it should, and you don't have to make a claim- you have no idea whether it was really there.
PayPal has so many jingoistic slogans- designed to make you believe something is going on- yet reality is there IS NO MAN BEHIND THE CURTAIN! PayPal is not acting like an insurance policy. It will, and can only recover that which it has available to it, at the time of a claim.
So, once you strip away all the layers- PayPal protection is ONLY as good as the SELLER you are dealing with!

FEEDBACK- DSR'S, length of time on eBay, and COMMON SENSE !!!!
All are better indicators of whether your transaction will go well, than whether PayPal will be of any use to you should things go wrong.

And- just as an aside- how many people complain when they send a MONEY ORDER- and their merchandise doesn't arrive?
There must be horror stories about this situation- and eBay/PayPal could not care less! So, it is still BUYER BEWARE- regardless of what cute little logo PayPal can come up with to lull you into some false sense of security that you are really protected. (Note the cute little umbrella now used that replaced the shield. How close to implying that their service provided is INSURANCE- when it is absolutely positively nothing of the sort.)

[ampurtle]

I saw Santa Claus get in his 2001 blue durango and head off to work just last Friday...

[ampurtle]

As for PayPal protection, it is misrepresentation and needs to be challanged in a class action suite. I can think of 3 US statutes that forbid their activity vis-a-vis "Protection".

[craftycatsattic]

Ouch...I must admit, I've only been burnt twice and they covered me 100% but I think on big dollar transactions it might be best to clear out your paypal account and pay using a credit card...or set up another paypal account just for buying and pay only with a credit card. Even if they don't cover you, you always have the recourse of a chargeback.

[lina-mallows]

As a buyer- this is what I see on the eBay.COM site:
"Pay with PayPal and the full price is covered."

And on the eBay.CO.UK:
"Pay with PayPal and you're fully protected."


"FULL" & "FULLY" don't mean part, or partially, at least according to my dictionary.

Again, this is another case of ORWELLIAN NewSpeak.
1984 pales by comparison to the newly coined incantations of eBay.

[ktowncollectibles]

I've had three boneheads not read the auction details and then hit me with a dispute and 2 claims and Paypal sided both times with the buyer even after Ebay told me I didn't have to refund the item back to the buyer?!?! I'm getting real sick and tired of dealing with buyers that don't read and then as sellers we have no recourse but give them their money back!!

[crazyjayscollectables]

I have never heard of Paypal not covering items. I always seem to lose disputes based on the tracking # issue and as we canadians know, no insureance no tracking. I'm a seller of small dollar value items where insurance would often cost more than the item sold for so the buyer would not buy insurance. I have to basically run on the honor system most of the time, but from my experiences, If there is not a tracking number paypal will refund, if there is a tracking number they won't. No if's and's or but's.
regards
Jeff

[mondocanuck]

I agree crazyjayscollectables, without a bone fide tracking number, Paypal always takes the side of the buyer. I have had 2 separate issues this holiday season and both ended with a full refund to the buyer because of the tracking number issue. Such is the lot of the Canadian seller!

[hockey_card_corner]

A few years back I had the same thing happen. Got ripped off by a couple sellers on $100+ items. I only received what paypal could recover from the sellers account. I asked the what about the rest & they said. " If we can get more out of the account in the future we'll refund you the rest"...

A couple times this year I've had more problems with sellers..I pay $200+ on 1 item & $100+ on the other..items never showed up. I got full refunds on both..1 was covered up to $315 & the other up to $2000..Initially I only got partial refunds. I called Paypal & asked why? They said that's all they could recover..I then mentioned the Paypal buyer protection for $315 & $2000 I was promptly refunded the rest of my money.

I then asked about the other transactions in the past where I only received partial refunds & they said there was nothing they could do about it.. LOL

Anyway, contact Paypal and mention the buyer protection. You should get a Full Refund. Was this a non-receipt claim? or something else?

Try & Have A Merry Christmas!

[gifts_of_elegance]

One was up to $315 and the other was supposed to be fully covered. They were both over $400.

I know that paying with a credit card is the safest way but I spent over $10,000 a month on average and it was most economical for me to pay out of my PayPal balance.

I no longer buy on eBay.

[recped]

I know that paying with a credit card is the safest way but I spent over $10,000 a month on average and it was most economical for me to pay out of my PayPal balance.

Open a personal PayPal account for your purchases, an account that does not have a balance so you can fund all payments with a credit card.

Don't want to deal with exchange issues? Get a US Dollar credit card (obtainable from some Canadian banks).

[gifts_of_elegance]

recped: Not that simple. I would have to transfer my PayPal balance to my bank account, which is automatically exchanged into Canadian funds, then I would have to exchange it back into USA funds to pay off the credit card.
Thanks for the advice just the same.

[recped]

You need a US based bank account in that case.

[indiej12]

Hi Elegance,
I was burned, momentarily, by a buyer in Poland a year or so ago. When Paypal sided with the buyer, I had just spent all my current funds on inventory (rookie mistake). Paypal placed a negative balance on my account as they are not legally allowed to take it from your funding source without consent. So if Paypal is saying thats all they can recover is pure B.S. Recovery of funds from the seller is soley the responsibility of Paypal provided you have done everything properly and the seller has not submitted a tracking #.

I only received the money back when the buyer (scammer) mentioned tried to list some of the serial numbered sportscards I sold him. Gotta love crooks when they are stupid. Anyway, I hope this helps.
regards

[faerywishes]

On December 31/08(what a way to end the year)PayPal canceled my claim for $132.51 USD and it did not go in my favor. The seller provided tracking from a shipment from 3 weeks later and they bought it.

Today I finally had some time to deal with it and spoke to a rep, then a supervisor and then his supervisor.

The last supervisor understood completely.

It took longer and took more work but I will finally get my money back. I took the time to research and had everything documented and the last supervisor could see I knew what I was talking about.

The best protection though is to pay through PayPal with a credit card. I won't make that mistake again.

[faerywishes]

I went into my PayPal account just now and there was my credit. 🙂 I am very relieved as that is a lot of money for me.