Paypal - your rightsWhat is PayPal?

PayPal is an online payment account and has become one of the most popular ways to pay for goods on online auction website eBay. PayPal was bought by eBay in 2002.

Rather than give your bank or credit card details directly to a retailer, you pay money into your PayPal account and use this to pay for your items instead.

This has clear security advantages when dealing with private sellers and retailers that you might not have heard of before. It also speeds up payment for goods (and therefore their delivery), compared with paper-based options such as cheques and postal orders.

What if an item I receive is damaged or doesn’t arrive?

The majority of transactions on eBay go through without a hitch, but inevitably some goods are either damaged on arrival or simply don't turn up at all.

If this happens to you, contact the retailer or private vendor directly in the first instance to try to sort the matter out. Most sellers on eBay are keen to resolve disputes swiftly to avoid you giving them negative feedback via the auction site's buyer/seller rating scheme, as this may deter other buyers from dealing with them.

If a direct approach doesn't work, PayPal has two protection schemes of its own that you can use. The current rules that apply to these schemes are in force until 30 September 2008. These schemes are:

• PayPal Buyer Complaint Policy.