Incomplete protection of eBay buyers under new regulation

Now customers in UK making purchases on eBay auction will be fully refunded by PayPal in case of being defrauded. Before this measure was introduced buyers who purchased items such as a laptop or furniture risked losing hundreds of pounds on something that might not work or even arrive. Those customers who buy an item worth more than £150 using PayPal on eBay will now have protection.

For a few years PayPal users that account for over 50% of all UK eBay members submitted numerous complaints on the existing regulations. With the former rules customers felt less safe to shop on eBay than buying on the high street. Such websites as paypalsucks.com and paypalwarning.com were invaded with thousands of comments where customers expressed their dissatisfaction with PayPal’s dispute resolution service.

Under the previous rules the buyer protection scheme was limited to £500 per purchase if the seller had 98 per cent or more “positive feedback”, falling to a maximum of £150 if the seller had a lower score. As a result shoppers who bought anything above those limits were unable to obtain a full refund.

Yet, as per customers’ poll the newly introduced regulation that also give sellers unlimited protection from buyers who do not pay up, is not adequate. “Intangible goods” such as airline tickets, or motor vehicles were not included into the new protection rules. Besides, it doesn’t offer protection for users who have had their PayPal accounts hacked into and cleaned out by fraudulent buyers.

Buyers using PayPal to fund purchases from other online retailers, such as Topshop, Skype and Photobox, will also be without the new cover. 

If these customers want a refund, the amount they can claim will be limited to what is in the seller’s PayPal account. Anyone who uses PayPal and their credit card together will also forgo their rights to a refund from their card provider should PayPal refuse their claim.