In a message dated 1/3/04 5:14:01 AM Pacific Standard Time,
questor@cinci.rr.com writes:
> I saw this on local TV last night...
>
> This is a warning about Paypal's supposed "insurance" coverage. This
> warning about Paypal may affect CR member choices about using Paypal to insure bike
> part purchases off ebay and from other sellers on the Internet. I wonder if
> any CR members used Paypal "insurance" with purchases from Carsten and what
> the result was...
>
> Paypal offers an added fee "insurance" to be sure you receive a package you
> ordered from a seller. However, the coverage is not clear to most Paypal
> buyers. The insurance will only cover if a package is delivered, not the
> completeness or condition of the contents.
>
> It seems that some Paypal buyers have been scammed where an empty box is
> mailed to them or a container that contains incomplete or unrelated items to
> what they thought they had purchased. Paypal insurance has declined coverage
> for affected buyers by claiming that a package was received by the buyer which
> satisfies the insurance requirements.
>
> So the bottom line is that Paypal insurance is not what it is cracked up to
> be... E CAVEAT EMPTOR
>
> Regards, Steve Neago
> Cincinnati, OH
>
> BTW, in a related search for info, I came across this CNN Article dated
> 3/26/03 that describes other related Paypal fraud concerns...
>
> PayPal draws ire of stranded customers
>
> March 26, 2002 Posted: 8:42 a.m. EST (1342 GMT)
>
> By Tom Mainelli
>
> (IDG) -- While most of PayPal's 15 million customers are blissfully buying
> and selling with the online payment company's handy service, a small but vocal
> group is questioning the firm's commitment to customer care.
>
> PayPal's online payment service has earned a well-deserved reputation for
> exceptionally low fraud. The company claims that only 0.42 percent of its
> transactions in 2001 ended in fraud, well below the 1.3 percent fraud rate average
> of online credit card transactions measured by Gartner Research.
>
> But some customers who experience account problems because they are
> mistakenly caught in PayPal's fraud prevention programs, as well as those who
> experience the rare case of actual fraud, say the company's e-mail and phone-based
> support are sorely lacking. IDG.net INFOCENTER
>
PayPal is a California corporation, if there really is a problem, this
information should be relayed to the State Attorney General, Bill Lockyer and/or our
United States Senators, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer. If you are in
Calee-for-nee-a citizen, your state Senator or assembly person would be good bet
also.
Bill Lockyers webpage is: http://caag.state.ca.us/
Stevan Thomas
Alameda, CA