Seven Reasons Not to Use PayPal

One of the companies that has emerged to satisfy the needs of consumers and retailers is PayPal. This company allows its users to make payments and charges instantaneously. People who regularly make Internet transactions, for example on e-Bay, generally find PayPal a practical way of carrying out their commercial activities. That's why it's not unusual that more and more online stores accept PayPal as just another form of payment. The system of Internet payment is extremely simple: when the user wants to pay, they simply type in the email account and the seller charges the sale. PayPal then withdraws this money from the user's account and transfers it to that of the seller. If the money in the PayPal account doesn't cover the total expenditure, PayPal charges the difference to the credit card listed. Up to this point, it appears all advantages, but there are at least seven fundamental reasons why you are not advised to use PayPal:

1- PayPal is NOT a bank, it's a private company which lends its financial services and is not backed by any banking system. If PayPal goes bankrupt you lose your money.

2- According to PayPal's User Agreement, in becoming a user you give up the right to be reimbursed for fraudulent or unauthorized use of your credit card.

3-Lack of legal protection, as a US company, any dispute that comes to court must be resolved in the US, making it that much more difficult for foreign users to defend their rights by legal channels.

4- PayPal's conditions are unfair and constantly changing; Throughout their pages of conditions you can appreciate the lack of international legislation concerning this type of company. According to its User Agreement, PayPal can preventively freeze the accounts of users without having to give any explanation. There are numerous threads in on-line forums explaining these types of abuses by PayPal and there have even been filed class action lawsuits by users.

5- PayPal can freeze your account indefinitely, in the same way as in point four, to recover the funds frozen requires a lot of paper work and patience, as their customer service is almost as efficient as that of e-Bay. And of course PayPal will oversee the frozen funds during the course of the "investigation."

6- the user always comes out the loser in any problem that arises, as PayPal is the only judge and makes the decision that most favors the company. If the user receives a payment made with a stolen credit card, the funds will be frozen. If the money is lost during the processing of the payment, the user will have to fill out innumerable forms in order to recover it. If the buyer doesn't receive the product, they will only recover part of the cost, even though PayPal can always seize these funds from the seller.

7- PayPal accounts are desirable loot for cyber-criminals. It's common to received falsified emails pretending to be from e-Bay or PayPal, with the hope of gaining access to the users' accounts. Although PayPal is not the only company that has been a victim of spoofing, it's certainly among those that suffer the most. The use of PayPal means having to accept the business ethics of this company and hope that it acts honestly for the sake of prestige; but owing to the lack of legal framework regulating this type of activities, PayPal is not an institution that offers its users any guarantees.

By Carlos Cabezas López
http://www.casoabierto.com

More info at Ebay forums