The one time I had a problem with a seller not delivering after I paid with paypal, I first tried to get the bank to reverse the credit card charge. They refused, with some sort of lame excuse to the effect that they could not reverse the charge since I had authorized it. I did not read the fine print of the cardholder "agreement", but my guess is that different banks offer different levels of service for refunds in cases where you did indeed authorize the charge but are dissatisfied with the purchase. (Miraculously, the seller had not cleaned out his account, so we used paypal's dispute resolution process to get the money back - less paypal's $25 fee, of course.)
Regarding protection with debit cards vs. credit cards, this FTC page gives the basics. Debit cards do offer less protection against unauthorized charges. I believe that some banks voluntarily offer the same protections, but it is not required. Which brings me to another question (caution - curmudgeon alert): just exactly what is the advantage of using a debit card? If the money comes directly out of your checking account as you use it, then one must obviously have the money in the account to pay the charges. So why not just charge everything to a credit card and pay the bill in full every month from that same checking account? That way you will get the credit card protections. (For those that might be inclined to build up a huge balance on their credit card rather than pay it off, I suppose that the debit card forces some financial discipline.) Debit cards seem to me to just be a way to essentially give money to the banks and credit card issuers for them to allow you to use your money, with zero risk to them. (Don’t get me started on how the price of virtually everything is inflated by 3% or more to account for the credit card holdback fees and that anyplace that accepts credit cards should be required to give a discount if you pay in cash or cash equivalent.)
Re: protecting oneself from paypal
|
|
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »
|