Earlier this week, the Australian Competition and Consumer commission (ACCC) issued a draft notice that proposed to revoke eBay’s Safer Payments Initiative in Australia.
“The ACCC acknowledges that having PayPal as the only payment provider has the potential to deliver some benefits to users, such as increased buyer protection insurance in certain circumstances. However, the ACCC believes that consumers are in the best position to decide which payment method is most suitable for them.” — ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel.
I wanted to wait until I received official word from eBay regarding the draft notice before posting here on Ink… the following statement was issued early this morning:
ACCC draft notice undermines online consumer protection
eBay will continue to fight for safety benefits for consumers
13 June 2008: eBay challenges yesterday’s Australian Competition and Consumer Commission’s (ACCC) draft notice and is disappointed that the ACCC’s current view delays the opportunity to provide consumers a more secure way to shop on eBay.com.au with confidence.
eBay intends to work with the ACCC and hopes to achieve a final outcome which has the safety and security of eBay’s members as its paramount objective. eBay will delay the removal of other payment methods from the site until Tuesday 15 July.
PayPal offers consumers a range of payment choices, including bank transfer and credit cards. It’s a safer and easier online payment system that significantly enhances protection for eBay buyers and sellers.
eBay is pleased to confirm that PayPal buyer protection will jump to $20,000 on eBay.com.au for purchases paid for using PayPal from Tuesday 17 June.
eBay believes the consumer benefits of this initiative are worth fighting for on behalf of its buyers which will ultimately benefit sellers.
I’ll see if I can get more information regarding the current situation but wanted to share the latest with you now.
Cheers,
RBH
