PAYPAL
(paypal@quicktest.co.uk) 

We stopped taking PayPal in 2009, there were too many problems.
If you think PayPal has improved since then - please let me know.

- using Paypal Checkout took you to a Paypal system that overrode our own ordering system, and allowed customers to make payments that were not guaranteed, and in six months we had to refund 78 payments, annoying for customers and very frustrating for us.

The following (remainder of this page) was an explanation of just some of Paypal's many rules, but you don't have to read any further, WE NO LONGER ACCEPT PAYMENT BY PAYPAL.

FOR HISTORICAL INTEREST ONLY:

We accept PayPal from customers who have PayPal accounts with confirmed addresses and the transaction must comply with PayPal's Seller Protection Policy. If you have just paid for an item by PayPal and your payment has been refunded, the reason is listed on this page, if you think this is unfair please contact PayPal, these are not our rules!

These are the main terms copied from the PayPal web site (the text in square brackets is my own):

-[the transaction details must be] 'Eligible' for Seller Protection by checking [our] 'Transaction Details' [if your Paypal account is not 'Eligible' PLEASE do not start arguing with us - take it up with Paypal]

- [we must] Retain online trackable proof of delivery, such as Royal Mail's Recorded Delivery. [we 'must not] hand deliver an item or post it in any other way that cannot be tracked online [therefore someone must be in to sign for the parcel, even if it is low-value]

- [we must] Post to the buyer's address provided in the 'Details' link in [our] account history [so DO NOT give us a different delivery address]

- For items with a value of £150 or more, [we must] provide proof of signature from the recipient

- [we must] post the item within seven days of receiving payment [so we cannot accept overseas orders where you have requested "Ordinary un-insured Air Packet"]

- [we must] only accept payments in full from a single PayPal account.

If your payment does not comply with these terms your payment will be refunded and you will be referred to this page.

You do not have to use PayPal, there are many other methods of payment: credit card, cheque, Bank Transfer, Postal Order, Bank Draft, Building Society Cheque, Counter Cheque, Personal Money Order, Moneygram.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 

Q. Why have you refunded my money? I have been with PayPal for years and there's nothing wrong with my account!
A. That PayPal has not guaranteed this transaction does not mean that there is something 'wrong' with your account, it just means they regard this particular transaction as too 'risky' to guarantee, this might be because your address is "unconfirmed", it might be for another reason, we don't know why and we have long-since given up asking, you must ask PayPal yourself.

Q. You say you have refunded my money but I've checked my bank account and I can't see it - where's my money?!
A. PayPal is American, the transaction is processed through the international banking system, and so for U.K. customers it takes about 2 weeks (they say, "7 to 9 working days"). Also, PayPal have various payment methods - Paypal account, bank account or credit card, so please check all three.

Q.  I've never had problems with PayPal before, why do other sellers accept PayPal without conditions?!
A.  Yes, other sellers accept payments that are not guaranteed, we do not. 

Q. ...but aren't all PayPal payments guaranteed?
A. No. If the transaction does not conform with PayPal's rules, payments can be 'returned' up to six months later, every seller gives PayPal permission to reclaim the money directly from their account and settling a dispute takes between 75 and 100 days, read PayPal's terms and conditions.

Q. How do I know if my payment will be ELIGIBLE?
A. You don't - you have no way of knowing (and we have no way of knowing), PayPal will decide when you make the payment.

Q. Are you seriously saying that if I pay by PayPal (so that you receive the money) you are likely to refund my money and refuse to send the goods?
A. Remarkable as it seems, these are PayPal's rules. I am surprised that this is legal. But these are PayPal's rules.

Q. I have a confirmed address, so what other reason can you possibly have for refusing my order?
A. To comply, we must send the item by an insured / trackable method, you may have selected our special extra-cheap international service "Ordinary Air Packet with no insurance" posting method. Not only are we likely to make a loss on the postage, not only is the transaction now 'ineligible', but we are also expected to pay Paypal's exorbitant charges. So there really is no way we can accept such orders.

Q. Why don't you fix it so that I CAN'T select the slow uninsured service? - instead of wasting my time by letting me pay, then saying I should have selected another service!
or
Q. I'm outside the UK / USA / Canada and so my payment is automatically 'INELIGIBLE' - so why don't you simply not offer PayPal to these countries?
A. We tried. But when you click the PAYPAL EXPRESS CHECKOUT button you are taken to a PayPal system that overrides our own website. This is frustrating for us too!

Q. What does PayPal say about 'guaranteed' payments?
A. PayPal tell us:

We are asking customers to use their best judgment with each transaction. It depends on the product being sold, the location it is being shipped to and the location of the buyer. It is a question of whether the seller feels comfortable about the transaction, if there is in anyway any feelings of discomfort or uneasiness then the seller should not continue with the transaction.

I am 'uncomfortable' with any payment that is not guaranteed. This is NOT a reflection of what I think of any particular customer, this purely because of PayPal's policy.

They also tell us:

If you accept credit cards, whether in person or through PayPal, you may encounter a chargeback from a buyer - just as a seller accepting personal cheques might receive an occasional bad cheque. Chargebacks are an unfortunate but realistic cost of doing business, and most sellers factor this cost into their business plans.

- however, they forbid us to make a surcharge for accepting PayPal, so it is not possible to "factor this cost into [our] business plans" - they expect us to charge all our customers more to cover the risk of taking Paypal, that's simply not fair for the great majority of customers who pay by cheque or credit card.

I know that PayPal is easy and I know that there are many fans of PayPal, but it is very unreliable, if you wish to re-order please pay by credit (or debit) card like 99% of our customers, or if you don't like using your credit card on the internet, make a bank transfer or send a cheque.

PayPal - an analogy (for U.K. Customers)

Before visiting a shop you telephone to check that they accept cheques and they say yes, they do accept cheques but only with a Cheque Guarantee Card. You then go all the way to the shop, spend time choosing the goods, go to the checkout, write out a cheque and show them your cheque card. The shop has the very latest technology so they are able to bank the cheque immediately. A few minutes later they tell you that they can't accept the cheque because your cheque card isn't valid for this particular transaction. You ask them what is wrong with the card and they tell you that there is nothing 'wrong' with the card, it is merely that it is not valid for this particular transaction. You want to know why they didn't tell you about this when you telephoned and they explain that there is no way of knowing until after you have paid. They refund your money. You are not pleased. The retailer is not pleased either because customers keep complaining, so he (the retailer) calls the bank. The bank tells him that he doesn't have to accept cheque cards because most cheques are OK, and that they advise him to accept all cheques without a card - unless he feels 'uncomfortable' in which case he should refuse to hand over the goods and refund the money.