College Student Sues Auction Site eBay and Online Payment Site PayPal

Hayden Barnes, of Warren Wilson College in Asheville, NC filed suit on Tuesday in United States District Court Western District of North Carolina against Internet auction site eBay, Inc. and it’s subsidiary Internet payment site, PayPal, Inc. alleging the companies encourage users of the service to sell and ship items internationally without warning customers it disqualifies them from PayPal’s money-back Seller Protection Policy.

The suit stems from a dispute between Barnes and PayPal, Inc which began on April 20th, 2005 when PayPal notified Barnes an item he sold on eBay, paid for via PayPal was purchased with a stolen credit card. The funds in Barnes’ account were placed on hold and later reversed. Barnes had already shipped the item to Russia, leaving him no recourse. Barnes claims he had no warning he would not qualify for PayPal’s Seller Protection Policy. He claims that as users list their items for sale, eBay actively encourages them to make their item available for sale internationally and to list their item with “gift services”, one of which is shipping to an address other than the billing address on the buyer’s credit card. That is what Barnes did when he was approached by “Kathleen” who posed herself as an American employee of a computer reseller in Russia, who requested Barnes ship the item there. Little did he know “Kathleen” was a scammer who, as Barnes later discovered, had stolen the credit card information of an senior citizen from St. Charles, MO and shipped the item to himself in Saratov, Russia. The suit seeks reinstatement of the funds reversed from his PayPal account plus court fees.

Earlier this month a similar class-action lawsuit was brought against eBay, Inc and PayPal, Inc. by eleven customers who sought restitution for PayPal’s failure to honor it’s Buyer Protection Policy. Thousands of other PayPal “horror stories” including many similar to Barnes’ as well as additional information on other suits brought against PayPal and eBay, can be found online at http://www.paypalsucks.com

Case Facts:

Case 1:05CV92
Filed April 26, 2005
Assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge: The Honorable Judge Dennis L. Howell Barnes is filing his case acting as his own attorney

Copies of the filing, about 60 pages including attachments, are available by contacting Barnes at the email address or phone number above.

According to Peter Kang of Forbes Magazine:

eBay shares are down 44% this year.
PayPal fees accounted for 21% of eBay’s 2004 revenue.
PayPal was the payment method of choice for 74% of eBay auctions in 2004.PayPal recently announced merchant charge hikes of over 60%

Biographical Information on Thomas H Barnes:
Thomas H. Barnes is a 20-year-old sophomore at Warren Wilson College, a small liberal arts college outside of Asheville, NC. He attends night classes to earn his EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certification and is an active volunteer firefighter at the Swannanoa Volunteer Fire Department. Barnes is transferring to Western Carolina University, in Cullowhee, NC in the Fall to pursue a degree in Emergency Management. Barnes has no formal legal training, other than being active in Mock Trial in high school.


 

Related Internet Articles

• Get the Top 10 Internet Marketing Trends from Web Digest for Marketers
  27 April 2005



• New Report Finds Measurable Differences between Internet Yellow Pages and Local Search Engines
  26 April 2005



• BuilderDepot Selects Celebros as E-commerce Solution - Leading Edge Search and Navigation Technology to Power
  24 April 2005



• Internet Research Addict Shoots 34 Google Videos To Get Mom Off His Back
  18 April 2005



• Inceptor® Develops Technology that Detects Click Fraud
  11 April 2005



• Information Technology Coordinator Dave Baum gets Rave Reviews from Noble County Council
  11 April 2005



• Internet Locator Unveiled
  6 April 2005



• Report Quantifies Web Presence of Research, Media and Technology Organizations
  5 April 2005



• Sports Internet Destination! Releases Free Version of Top Sports Sites Search Engine
  5 April 2005



• Mozdex.com Internet Search Engine Incorporates Search Result Clustering
  4 April 2005

#1 - HostGator

Unlimited Domain Hosting Only $10 a Month Founded in 2002, Hostgator.com, LLC has quickly grown from its humble beginnings in Boca Raton, Florida into one of the most respected names in the web hosting industry. Renowned for exceptional customer support and unrivaled in terms of customer satisfaction, Host Gator is poised to take the lead in the highly competitive and densely populated world of web hosting providers. For more information! Click Here

#2 - 1&1 Internet Inc.

Got Root?! 1&1 Dedicated Servers starting at $99 mo. We guarantee the highest product quality, top security, and unshakeable reliability. 1&1’s advanced Data Centers have been built from the ground up using the most advanced technology available, giving our global network a strength that is beyond doubt. The power and stability of 1&1’s systems allows us to be first to market with web products that are innovative yet dependable. For more information! Click Here

#3 - ServerPronto

Get a full dedicated server starting at just $29.95! ServerPronto is a dedicated hosting subsidiary of Infolink, one of a few profitable Data Center Corporations in the world. From it's beginning in January 1999, Infolink served the "Value Orientated" segment of the Internet market. Not by offering a sub-standard product at a low price, but by offering a top-quality, feature rich product at an incredible price. Since the beginning Infolink has enjoyed dramatic growth while other's in the industry have suffered. We operate our own network in the USA and maintain redundant Fiber Optic Rings which allow us to directly peer with Tier 1 Internet Backbones. For more information! Click Here