On 8 Oct 2012 at 23:51, Jean-Christophe Helary wrote:
> As has been mentioned already in the thread, Paypal is not just any
> "vendor".
>
> Paypal is a *secure payment method* vendor.
One thing to keep in mind: in the US [dunno about other countries] credit
card purchases, *by*law*, are *VERY* protected and the table is tilted in
favor of the customer. This has several implications, the primary one
being that you lose those protections if you pay via PayPal[*].
> The problem being not whether the data transmitted is encrypted or not,
> but how easy it is to hack into The Source's database where payment
> information is stored, as opposed to hacking into Paypal's databases.
This isn't really much of an issue [for folks in the US, at least]. If
there are bogus charges on your credit card, you dispute them and they go
away. It is really not very much trouble. The problem with PayPal is
that you [the consumer] lose those federal protections -- the only
'protection' you have are PayPal's policies which are more biased in
favor of the vendor[**]. I never use PayPal if I can use a credit-card
directly instead.
[*] The reason why is that legally you are not doing a financial
transaction with the vendor: you are ONLY doing a transaction with
_PayPal_ (basically, the "transaction" is for PayPal to act as your
agent to make the purchase -- since they *did* that, as per your
instructions, you can't dispute the charge with PayPay -- they'll
simply reply that "you told us to make <THIS> payment and we did"
and you'll be stuck paying the credit card bill while the mess is
sorted out [if it even is]].
If the *vendor* had done something wrong or improper, that's a
separate matter and _not_ covered by the federal credit card laws
(since you didn't enter into a credit card transaction with the
vendor!). You're in a position more akin to using debit cards:
where the vendor already has their money, you're stuck paying your
credit card bill [and so you're out the cost], and you only get
compensation back when/if it is resolved in your favor. By contrast,
With credit-card disputes, the charge is suspended *immediately* [and
so you don't have to pay a dime until the dispute is resolved, and
the default is that the charge will be reversed unless the vendor can
show that it is proper.]
[**] Compare PayPal's "Resolution Procedures" with the legal
requirements for resolution for credit card transactions.
/Bernie\
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Bernie Cosell Fantasy Farm Fibers
mailto:[email protected] Pearisburg, VA
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