safeguarding payment for goods

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KRO

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hi,
i hope i am posting in the right place if you were to purchase something you saw advertised from someone you dont know, (value £300-£350) which form of payment do you think would be the safest way to do this: bank transfer or paypal......:thinking:
 
Is this a private sale, ebay or a company?
 
oops sorry, private sale and from someone with little / no feedback elsewhere
 
Of the two, Paypal, absolutely never by bank transfer!
 
thanks steep, actually to be fair paypal is what the seller recommended...:thumbs:

also after discussing this with a mate, he also agreed but suggested that i get the seller to make a payment request to me for the payment.........does this make sense......:thinking:
 
oh i've just had another thought, would/will it affect things in any way if the seller ask's for paypal as a gift, surely this wont actually allow me any saftey net as such in the event of any problems.........:help:
 
KRO said:
oops sorry, private sale and from someone with little / no feedback elsewhere
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In that case, nothing will give you any protection other than visiting the seller with cash and only handing it over when parting with the goods.

Neither Paypal or Paypal Gift offer any protection outside of ebay deals.

Bank transfer is not any better, once you have sent the money it is not easy to get it back.

If you send a cheque, the seller will usually wait for it to clear before sending the goods, how do you then get that back?

It is all about trust, if you don't trust someone why would you deal with them? How do you know that the item is as described, you have to take their word for it.

I offered to buy something from someone on here, they have sent the item before I have paid for it because they trust me, I have borrowed equipment and have lent equipment, to people on here some of which has been worth hundreds of pounds all because of trust, if you have a bad feeling about the deal, it may be best not to do it.

The other option is escrow: where you send the money to a 3rd party and they send the item to the same third party and when both have been received he forwards them on to the recipients. A lot of trouble and relies on someone else being involved and extra postage fees.

You pay your money and you take your chance!
 
check with pay pal late last year the introduced protection if out the sale is out side pay pal

although people belive they were covered by paying the fee you wasnt basically it was like sending a gift and this was from pay pal when i had a problem just double check they have now introduced it
 
it's all down to trust, I bought a laptop and various bits and pieces of computer equipment and took the trouble to visit and test them, then paid cash. There was a problem with one item (scanner) which the seller agreed to refund, but never did. I ended up issuing a summons and eventually got the money back but it was so much hassle I wonder if it was worth it. I would say make sure you have an actual address and keep all the details so that if there is a problem you know where to get hold of the seller.
 
See ye here.

Also note (from Section 8 of page linked above): A commercial transaction involves buying and selling goods and services, or payments received when you “request money” using PayPal. A personal transaction involves sending money (initiated from the “Personal” tab of the “Send Money” flow) to, and receiving money into your PayPal Account from, friends and family without making a purchase (that is, the payment is not for goods or services). If you are selling goods or services, you may not ask the buyer to send you a personal transaction payment for the purchase. If you do so, PayPal may remove your ability to accept any or all payments for personal transactions.
 
If you fund your paypal payment with a credit card I think you get the same cc protection as buying from a shop.
 
Steep said:
If you fund your paypal payment with a credit card I think you get the same cc protection as buying from a shop.
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Actually I'm not so sure about this?
I think the credit card company's attitude is likely to be that they have made the payment to Paypall so that's the end of it as far as they're concerned. And paypall are pretty good if it's an eBay transaction, but fairly useless if not.

I think Ed had the best advice in an earlier post, basically, if it doesn't seem right, just walk away from it.
 
Steep said:
If you fund your paypal payment with a credit card I think you get the same cc protection as buying from a shop.
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This, I believe, is incorrect - see http://www.wider-implications.info/case_studies/wi_03.html for a 2005 ruling by the Financial Ombudsman Service indicating that using a credit-card to pay through Paypal would mean the loss of protection from Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.

People don't seem to be aware that you lose this protection when paying with a credit card through Paypal. And if you are spending over £100, this protection can be really valuable.



The Paypal protection you obtain when buying through eBay is pretty good, but how much protection you get by using Paypal for non-eBay purchases may surprise you if you have not checked into it - check into it in detail before you rely on it to see if it comes close to giving you the protection you require, or not.
 
EdBray said:
...The other option is escrow: where you send the money to a 3rd party and they send the item to the same third party and when both have been received he forwards them on to the recipients. ...
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Since 1 November 2009, with the introduction in the UK of the Payment Services Regulations, escrow services finally come under the auspices of the FSA and HMRC.
You will find genuine escrow companies at the FSA online register at www.fsa.gov.uk/register/psdFirmSearchForm.do (try searching there for 'escrow' as an example) and/or at https://customs.hmrc.gov.uk/msbregister/checkTerms.do (for example, try searching there for 'tru' in the name box and 'NW11' in the postcode box).

These new online escrow services may offer exactly the service you are looking for, and cost only £3 or so all-in to use.

Beware, there are many, many fraudulent escrow services which look real - even quoting UK addresses, phone numbers and fake FSA & HMRC registration numbers. They look extremely professional, and any money posted to them (or goods sent relying on them) will be lost forever. So only ever work with a firm on the FSA register and/or the HMRC register, which will be safe.
 
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