Paypal I love you!
Which! Has been on breakfast TV this morning basiaclly saying that paypal is not a good option for buying online outside ebay, basically as it is not a credit card and if something goes wrong - you ar enot covered.
Now I would always say that if you are buying something BIG online or offline (TV, PC, Laptop etc) that you should use a credit card, bue to the insurance that they offer, and protection against non delivery and company going bust etc.
But for buying every day items (dvds, books, cds) through a respected merchant you have the same protection you have when using cash or debit card. It really all comes down to the merchant. Checking online reviews, testimonials (although both of these can be faked) how long the company (not just the website) has been running etc are more important.
Using your credit card with a dodgy merchant is more likely to lead to identity fraud, best use paypal and have a minute %age chance of loosing your £9.99 for the DVD than possibly having your card maxed out through to fraud.
Views that paypal should be regulated like a bank are something I do respect, and I am actually supprised that they havent been challenged before now.
Basically PayPal is a fantastic little service and it is the best thing to happen to online startups. Paypal is safe, but a little caution about the merchant should be exercised.
There does not seem to be a video or text report about this story as covered this morning on the BBC breakfast website, if they show this on iPlayer - it was on about 9.30 Saturday
