PayPal shake-up protects buyers of 'intangibles'

http://www.theguardian.com/money/2014/apr/12/paypal-protection-extended-covered-digital-services

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People who pay for services and digital goods using PayPal will soon enjoy better protection as part of a shake-up that will also see customers given much more time to report a dispute.

In response to feedback – and criticism from some quarters – PayPal is extending its UK "buyer protection" to cover services, digital goods, travel tickets and other "intangible" items. From 17 June, it will reimburse UK buyers if they do not receive these items or services, or if they don't match the seller's description.

PayPal's buyer protection has covered physical goods for many years, and the new rules mean this is being extended to a variety of non-physical items, ranging from music downloads and airline tickets to car rental and holidays.

From the same date, PayPal is also extending the amount of time buyers who encounter a problem have to report a dispute, from 45 to 180 days.

This will help those who, for example, book a ticket for an event several months in advance, paying via PayPal, but nearer the time find that the seller has disappeared or gone out of business.

It could also help those who, for example, buy a DVD box set and later, after working their way through it, find that the last disc is faulty.

The new rules apply to people with a UK PayPal account who buy from sellers in the UK and overseas.

PayPal claims to have more than 18m active accounts in the UK.

A spokesman says the new protections "will give buyers even more confidence when shopping for products and services".

Cameron McLean, PayPal's UK managing director, says it "is delighted to give people in the UK even greater reassurance when buying goods and services". The Guardian and Observer have previously featured complaints from buyers of items such as theatre tickets and furniture who have lost out because of the 45-day rule.