PayPal does NOT protect buyers!

[atl-fl]

I have bought several items from eBay and other online merchants using PayPal because I was under the mistaken impression that I had some protection against fraud.

Sadly, I had a rude jolt.

To cut a long story short, I was sold 3 fake Vmoda Vibe Red Roxx by 3 sellers on eBay. All 3 were purchased using PayPal (2 drawn on my Amex card, 1 drawn on my bank account).

One was for me, the other 2 were for gifts for when I returned to Asia.

I realised that mine were fake when I compared them to a friend's - and also the VIP card (which entitles the holder to access V Moda's downloads) was missing from all 3.

I first approached eBay which basically sent me on to PayPal. PayPal said that one transaction was out of the time period, that I could initiate a dispute re the other 2.

Throughout all this eBay and PayPal said they would investigate and take action. One (I cannot recall which) said to file under Square Trade - but the maze they both make one run through makes it almost impossible to file any disputes.

Also, at some point PayPal provides a standard form which does not allow for any explanations.

When all this is going on the announce that the time has p***ed and the dispute is closed - unilaterally.

In this one size fits all procedure, I would not be at all surprised if a junior clerk checked the answers in the boxes against an answer matrix and makes the important decision.

So despite all they say about buyer protection, when it comes down to it they are not there.

Besides, they way they conduct business, especially eBay, they are p***ively encouraging the online trade in fakes and imitations.

Many of the postings I have read complain about PayPal freezing accounts and holding sellers' money - this does not surprise me as their machinations are not transparent. There is no guarantee they protect genuine sellers either - for all one knows they just pocket the money in those accounts.