Author: Phil Mattison Date: Subject: PayPal (was: Web Credit Card Transactions)
I suppose whether you have to create an account
depends on what you consider an "account." I have
paid eBay sellers via PayPal, and it required me to
provide the usual name, address etc. that you would
expect when creating any online "account." They
also asked for a password, which I provided even
though I could see no reason for it. They then started
nagging me to confirm my "account creation,"
even though all I wanted to do was pay one seller.
I could see no way to tell them to stop it, so I
ratted them out to SpamCop. Later I got a
nastygram from SpamCop telling me not to
make false reports. As far as I am concerned,
any company that sends unsolicited email with no
way to make them stop is a spammer, no matter
how big they are, and told them as much. I think
PayPal is the used-car salesman of the finance
industry. I have a credit card I use only for PayPal
and eBay so I can shut it down if there is any
trouble. I have seen a lot of poeple get into trouble
by allowing merchants access to their bank
accounts, and PayPal seems desperate to get
in there. Right- when hell freezes over.
--Phil M.