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Widower shattered after PayPal sends his deceased wife threatening letter

<p>PayPal has issued an apology after sending a letter to a customer who died of cancer, saying her death had “breached its rules”.</p> <p>Howard Durdle, whose wife Lindsay passed away in May after a battle with breast cancer, provided PayPal with copies of his wife’s death certificate, her will and his ID, as they requested.</p> <p>Lindsay was first diagnosed with breast cancer a year-and-half earlier, and it spread to her lungs and brain.</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="379" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7819768/3_500x379.jpg" alt="3 (37)"/></p> <p>When Howard discovered that PayPal’s response was to send a letter to inform him that his wife had “breached its rules”, he was shocked.</p> <p>He posted the letter that he received at his home in the UK to Facebook.</p> <p>The letter said his wife owed PayPal £3200 ($A5700) and said: “You are in breach of condition 15.4(c) of your agreement with PayPal Credit as we have received notice that you are deceased … this breach is not capable of remedy."</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><img width="500" height="488" src="https://oversixtydev.blob.core.windows.net/media/7819767/2_500x488.jpg" alt="2 (100)"/></p> <p>“What empathy-lacking machine sent this?” Howard asked on Facebook.</p> <p>After Howard’s post drew attention, PayPal apologised to the widower, admitting that the letter was “insensitive”.</p> <p>The company then launched an investigation into how the letter was sent to begin with.</p> <p>“We apologise to Mr Durdle for the distress this letter has caused,” the PayPal spokesman said, reported the <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong><a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-44783779" target="_blank" title="www.bbc.com">BBC</a></strong></em></span>.</p> <p>Howard told the <em>BBC</em> that PayPal had said the letter was either sent because of a bug, a bad letter template or human error.</p> <p>Reportedly, the company said it would be able to share the findings of the investigation because it was an “internal matter”.</p> <p>“I’m in a reasonable place at the moment ─ I’ve got quite a level head on my shoulders ─ and am quite capable of dealing with paperwork like this,” Mr Durdle, who is a member of the charity group Widowed and Young, said.</p> <p>“If I’m going to make any fuss about this at all, it’s to make sure that PayPal, or any other organisation that might do this kind of insensitive thing, recognises the damage they can cause the recently bereaved.”</p>

Legal

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Why you should use PayPal for online shopping

<p><em><strong>Lisa Du is director of <span style="text-decoration: underline;"><a href="http://www.readytechgo.com.au/" target="_blank">ReadyTechGo</a></span>, a service that helps people gain the confidence and skills to embrace modern technology.</strong></em></p> <p>Who loves online shopping as much as I do?</p> <p>I love the convenience of being able to make a purchase online. I can get the same shopper’s thrill from buying a dress online that I would if I were to get in my car, make the trip to my local shopping centre, and buy it in person - except I have the added benefit of doing it from the comfort of my own home.</p> <p>With every perk, however, there is a risk. In the case of online shopping, there are several:</p> <ul> <li>The product I purchased does not match its online description</li> <li>The product that was sent to me is defective</li> <li>The product that was sent to me is completely different to what I ordered</li> <li>The product I ordered does not come at all!</li> </ul> <p>Every online shopping site will have its own return policy. Some can be very lenient, and allow full refunds for returns. Others are very strict, and may not allow returns or exchanges at all.</p> <p>However, there is a way for you to insure that all of the above risks are covered for you, regardless of the vendor’s policies: PayPal.</p> <p><strong>Here's why</strong></p> <p>PayPal protects you from all of the aforementioned risks. How?</p> <p>Well, if you’ve purchased an item that does not arrive, or arrives looking significantly different to how it was described, you have the right as a buyer to file a dispute within 180 days of the payment. You will then be able to make a claim for a refund within 20 days of filing this dispute, and PayPal will protect you for the full price (plus shipping costs) with a ceiling of $20,000 per item.</p> <p>This does not extend only to tangible products. PayPal also protects you if, for instance, your hotel double-booked, the event you bought tickets for was cancelled, or the download you paid for did not download.</p> <p><strong>How to get a PayPal account</strong></p> <p>To use PayPal, you will need to have your own PayPal account. This is simply a matter of going onto the PayPal website and creating an account for free (click here).</p> <p>Follow the prompts, and you will be able to link your bank account to your PayPal account. Now, whenever you make a purchase under PayPal, all it takes is entering your PayPal login details. Then voilà! The purchase is made.</p> <p>If you’re worried about PayPal storing your bank account details, don’t be. PayPal makes great efforts to keep your information secure and safe from fraud, identity theft, and hackers.</p> <p>The PayPal way of paying incurs no extra costs and no downsides. It is faster, safer, and protects you from the risks of online shopping. It is also a great way to pay for flight tickets when you’re travelling overseas!</p> <p>Now you can enjoy all the benefits of shopping and booking online with the confidence that you will not be wronged!</p> <p><strong>Related links:</strong></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/06/14-tricks-that-will-change-how-you-use-your-ipad/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">14 tricks that will change how you use your iPad</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/06/the-best-technology-for-keeping-in-touch/"><strong><em><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The best technology for keeping in touch</span></em></strong></a></p> <p><a href="/entertainment/technology/2016/05/hints-for-using-gmail/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><em><strong>5 hints for using Gmail</strong></em></span></a></p>

Technology

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Is PayPal safe?

<p>PayPal, which processes more than nine million payments every day, has become one of the most popular ways to send and receive money online. But how safe is it? For the most part, it’s perfectly safe to use. It’s important to remember that any form of online transaction incurs some risk – data breaches and technical glitches are possible but these aren’t unique to PayPal. Currently with its strong security record, PayPal is one of the safest payment methods available, especially for buyers. Let’s explore why.</p> <p><strong>Data security</strong></p> <p>PayPal’s website is secure and encrypted, using all the same security features as any financial institution. Take the standard precautions you would for online banking.</p> <p><strong>Bank account and credit card numbers</strong></p> <p>Rather than providing your credit card details to every online store, you do it once for PayPal. PayPal then encrypts your information, which is located on a PayPal serve behind an electronic firewall. They do the job of checking the security and reliability of the websites you purchase from so using PayPal is safer than giving your credit card number directly to a website.</p> <p><strong>Disputes and frauds</strong></p> <p>If you buy an item that never arrives, PayPal does have a Buyer Protection program that can cover you. Buyer Protection is similar to the protection offered by credit cards, which means if the seller failed to deliver what was promised, you can usually get your money back.</p>

Technology