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The Courts Government The Almighty Buck News

PayPal Settles Class Action Lawsuit 280

Posted by timothy from the lawyers-win-most-cases dept.
ephidryn writes "I just received a notice from paypal which indicates that I may be involved in a class action lawsuit against paypal. Apparently two PayPal users, Roberta Toher and Jeffrey Resnick, filed two seperate lawsuits that were later combined into one class action suit. ZDNet has a story that notes: "PayPal said it would pay a total of $9.25 million to settle the federal class-action suit..." I'm so ready to receive my check for $0.35US" kai5263499 adds "The settlement states that anyone who opened an account between Oct 1, 1999 and Jan 1, 2004 is elegible to participate in the settlement. According to their Plan of Allocation you can fill out a short form or a long form to sign up."
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PayPal Settles Class Action Lawsuit More

PayPal Settles Class Action Lawsuit

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  • the real story (Score:5, Informative)

    by ack154 ( 591432 ) * on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:03AM (#9820435)
    The ZDNet story they link in the article is actually for eBay's problem with double charging fees, but mentions the PayPal situation near the end...

    THIS is the actual PayPal story [com.com] (from 6/14/04), which is referenced at the bottom of the eBay one linked in the article.
    • I got the email too, but I can't figure out if I can claim anything or not. I luckily never had my account suspended or overcharged, but it looks like the suit may get me something anyway... Is that right?

      • Re:I don't understand it all... (Score:4, Interesting)

        by override11 ( 516715 ) <cpeterson@gts.gaineycorp.com> on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:09AM (#9820465) Homepage
        from what I read, you can only join this claim if you had any kind of problem with charges or with paypal's resolving of a problem.
        • You obviously read wrong then. There are two types of claimants, and anyone who signed up between 1999 and 2004 has a claim to a portion of the settlement.
          • Not if you're a resident of the EU...

            Is this why I not that many months ago got an e-mail about my PayPalaccount now being handled by their EU-company instead of the US one???

          • Re:I don't understand it all... (Score:4, Informative)

            by ack154 ( 591432 ) * on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:23AM (#9820557)
            You can make a Long Form Claim if, prior to February 1, 2004, PayPal caused you to lose money because of any of the following: * You experienced an unauthorized or incorrect electronic transfer to or from your PayPal account; * Your PayPal account was improperly restricted or access was improperly limited; * You requested information from PayPal about an account restriction or limitation or unauthorized transfer and you did not receive a satisfactory response; and/or * You experienced or reported an unsatisfactory result from a dispute with PayPal involving a chargeback, a refund, a buyer complaint, or PayPal's Seller Protection Policy, Buyer Complaint Process and/or Buyer Protection Policy.
            Actually, it does seem like you need to have lost money. That's from the long form, and the short form has a very similar wording.
            • No, there are two classes, the first is the standard settlement which only requires you to have openned your account in the window. The other class is the "disputed" class that requires that you fill out one of the two forms and receives a different settlement. The first class divides equally the sum of $1 million, the second divides according to awards.

              • Re:I don't understand it all... (Score:4, Informative)

                by Daniel ( 1678 ) <dburrows@nospAm.debian.org> on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @08:45AM (#9821104)
                That's a nice thought, but the settlement email very specifically states that you have to swear under penalty of perjury that you were harmed in some way by PayPal (that you experienced an unauthorized money transfer, denial of access to your account, etc).

                Daniel
                • Indeed. Are we the only two that seem to be able to read? Right off the page for the short form:

                  You can make a Short Form Claim if, prior to February 1, 2004, PayPal caused you to lose money because of any of the following:

                  * You experienced an unauthorized or incorrect electronic transfer to or from your PayPal account;
                  * Your PayPal account was improperly restricted or access was improperly limited;
                  * You requested information from PayPal about an account restriction or limitation or unauthorized transfer
                  • 2. Statutory Damage Fund Claimants The plan of allocation designates $1 million of the Net Settlement Fund to a "Statutory Damage Fund," to be distributed equally among all Fund Claimants who are not Dispute Resolution Claimants. This means that if you are a member of the Class and do not fall within the definition of a "Dispute Resolution Claimant," as set out above, you can make a claim for a payment from the Statutory Damage Fund.

                    Ok, so what makes me a member of the class?

                    4. HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM PAR
              • Actually, the short form gets you $50, deposited to your PayPal account, or $49 by form of a check. I didn't see details, but I assume the long form would be based upon proveable losses.
      • You can file for statutory damages no matter what, even if you never had a problem with PayPal. From the site:

        If you believe you are a claim member and do not fall within the definition of a "Dispute Resolution Claimant" as defined in the Notice of Pendency of Class Action and Proposed Settlement you can make a claim for a payment from the Statutory Damage Fund.

        Use this form [gardencitygroup.com] to file a statutory damage claim.

  • Paypal still gets interest (Score:3, Insightful)

    by kai5263499 ( 751741 ) * <kai@nOsPAm.werxltd.com> on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:06AM (#9820451) Homepage
    One of the things they ask you when you fill out the short form is if you want the $50 put in your paypal account. Which means paypal will still get interest off the majority of those that do have their $50 sent to their paypal account.

  • Here's the Email... (Score:5, Informative)

    by neilb78 ( 557698 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:08AM (#9820458)


    Dear [Your Name],

    IF YOU OPENED A PAYPAL ACCOUNT BETWEEN OCTOBER 1999 AND JANUARY 2004, YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO A PAYMENT FROM A CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT.

    PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.

    UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
    NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
    SAN JOSE DIVISION

    In re PayPal litigation
    Case No. CV-02-01227-JF (PVT)

    NOTICE OF PENDENCY OF CLASS ACTION AND PROPOSED SETTLEMENT

    1. WHY DID I GET THIS NOTICE?
    You have been sent this Notice because the records of PayPal, Inc. indicate you are a current or former PayPal account holder. This means you may be eligible to receive a payment from the proposed class action settlement in the lawsuit In re PayPal Litigation, Case No. 02 1227 JF PVT, pending in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California in San Jose. This Notice provides a summary of the terms of the proposed settlement. It also explains the lawsuit, your legal rights under the settlement, what benefits are available to you under the settlement, and how to get them.

    2. WHAT IS A CLASS ACTION?
    In a class action, one or more people, called Class Representatives (in this case Roberta Toher and Jeffrey Resnick), sue on behalf of people who have similar claims. All of these people are members of the Class. One court resolves the issues for all Class Members, except for those who exclude themselves from the Class. United States District Judge Jeremy Fogel is in charge of this class action.

    3. WHAT IS THIS LAWSUIT ABOUT?
    In early 2002, Plaintiffs Roberta Toher and Jeffrey Resnick filed separate lawsuits against PayPal, Inc. These two cases were later consolidated into one lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, San Jose Division, entitled In re PayPal Litigation, Case No. CV 02 01227-JF (PVT). The lawsuit alleges that PayPal violated the federal Electronic Fund Transfer Act ("EFTA"), 15 U.S.C. 1693 et seq., including provisions requiring PayPal to supply customers with information about dispute resolution procedures and to follow certain procedures when investigating complaints of unauthorized or incorrect electronic fund transfers. For example, the lawsuit claims that PayPal did not provide account statements in the manner required by the EFTA. The lawsuit further alleges that PayPal has placed inappropriate restrictions or other limits on customers' accounts and engaged in other improper practices. Based on these practices, the lawsuit asserts claims under California state law for conversion, money had and received, negligence, and violations of consumer protection statutes.

    PayPal does not believe that it did anything wrong. In fact, PayPal disputes that the EFTA, originally passed in 1978, applies to its business. PayPal denies any and all liability for the claims alleged in the lawsuit. The Court did not decide in favor of the Plaintiffs or PayPal. Instead, beginning in the fall of 2003, the parties began a series of settlement negotiation sessions mediated by United States Magistrate Judge Edward Infante. Eventually, in November 2003, both sides agreed to a settlement in principle. By settling their claims, both parties avoided the uncertainty and cost of a trial. The settlement provides money and other benefits to the Class. On June 11, 2004, the parties entered into a formal, written Settlement Agreement, which is on file with the Court and available on the Internet at https://www.paypal.com/settlement/. By entering into the Settlement Agreement, PayPal is not admitting any wrongdoing. PayPal continues to believe that it did not do anything wrong. The Representative Plaintiffs and the attorneys appointed by the Court to represent the Class believe that the settlement is fair to Class Members. By this notice, the Court is not expressing any view on the merits of the lawsuit.

    4. HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM PART OF THE SETTLEMENT?
    On July 12, 2004, Judge Fogel entered an order granting preliminary approval of the settlement and certifying the

    • Yikes! (Score:5, Funny)

      by Mark_in_Brazil ( 537925 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @08:11AM (#9820860)
      The beginning of that letter looks like a 419 e-mail.
      Dear [Your Name],

      IF YOU OPENED A PAYPAL ACCOUNT BETWEEN OCTOBER 1999 AND JANUARY 2004, YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO A PAYMENT FROM A CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT.

      PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE CAREFULLY.
      I just imagined it continuing a bit differently...
      My name is Joe Smith. I work for the United States District Court, San Jose division. A major legal settlement has left the sum of US$9.2M (NINE MILLION TWO HUNDRED THOUSAND US DOLLARS) in an account belonging to a company here. Since I work for the court, I cannot legally access this money. If you simply fill in your PayPal information on this page [gardencitygroup.com], I can begin the process of transferring the money out of the "dead" account to your PayPal account. I think it is fair to leave 30% of the amount for covering administrative fees, taxes, and any other expenses that may accrue. For your help in transferring this money, you will receive 0.0054 percent of the money in the "dead account"
      And so on...

      --Mark

  • Legal Fees (Score:5, Insightful)

    by usefool ( 798755 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:09AM (#9820466) Homepage
    $3.4 million (about 1/3) of which would go to paying its customers' legal fees

    So who's the winner here?

    • Re:Legal Fees (Score:4, Funny)

      by DaHat ( 247651 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:11AM (#9820481)
      I always knew I should have gone into law.

    • Re:Legal Fees (Score:2, Insightful)

      by dave-tx ( 684169 )
      So who's the winner here?

      The lawyers, as usual. In every class action lawsuit that I've been a part of (as a member of the class), they're the only ones making any money.

      That in itself doesn't really bother me, it's just that the whole thing seems like a waste of time, money, and resources.

      • The lawyers, as usual. In every class action lawsuit that I've been a part of (as a member of the class), they're the only ones making any money

        What are their costs in bringing and conducting the class action? Those are among the most expensive litigation. How many class actions don't end up going anywhere, leaving the lawyers with a big loss, since preparing for a class action is expensive?

    • Re:Legal Fees (Score:3, Informative)

      by squarefish ( 561836 ) *
      direct from the email

      10. HOW WILL THE LAWYERS FOR THE CLASS BE PAID?
      From the inception of the litigation in early 2002 to the present, Class Counsel have not received any payment for their services in prosecuting the case, nor have they been reimbursed for any out-of-pocket expenses. If the Court approves the proposed settlement, Class Counsel will make a motion to the Court for an award of attorneys' fees of up to $3,332,500 and reimbursement of expenses of up to $135,000, to be paid from the $9.25 mil
    • More importantly, who's the loser? Paypal.

      They only did a small amount of damage to each user, so the users themselves aren't really entitled to a lot of money.
  • Man, Pay Pal is good stuff. I hope this doesn't get them flushed down the old corporate crapper. I know several people who were protected against fraud because they used PayPal. Can I get a witness up in here for Pay Pal?
    • Man, Pay Pal is good stuff. I hope this doesn't get them flushed down the old corporate crapper. I know several people who were protected against fraud because they used PayPal. Can I get a witness up in here for Pay Pal?

      Can you spell ASTROTURFING?
    • Paypal saved my ass when some dude from the Philipines ordered a notebook PC and a modded Playstation using my account -- while my network is ironclad at home, it turns out that the one at work... not so much. Never doing anything like that at work ever again. I could have been out $2000+ because of fraud, but they fought the good fight.

      On the other hand, back in 2002 they beamed $172 into nowhere and never returned the money, so some of this lawsuit does kinda ring true. The crap I had to go through wa
    • I've known many, many people who were royally fucked by PayPal, so I have to disagree. You're talking about a company that acts like a bank, but is not regulated like a bank. You're talking about a company that can arbitrarily freeze assets with no accountability. In my mind, PayPal is a big fraud, and I would never give them a dime. If you want to buy something, and you want protection, use your credit card: that's *real* buyer's fraud protection. It's mandated by federal law.
    • I'm with you on this one. PayPal is convenient as hell. I've had some problems with their customer service, but no worse than I've had dealing with "reputable" firms like MBNA. I'm happy to have the service.

  • Watch out! (Score:3, Funny)

    by DJ-Dodger ( 169589 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:10AM (#9820474) Homepage
    Sounds like another one of those phishing scams to me! ;)

  • Comic gold (Score:5, Interesting)

    by CarrionBird ( 589738 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:12AM (#9820487) Journal
    I just love how they claim that banking laws don't apply to them. It's amazing what you can get away with if you have the cash.

    • Re:Comic gold (Score:5, Insightful)

      by KarmaOverDogma ( 681451 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @08:36AM (#9821030) Homepage Journal
      Actually, they do have to follow a good number of finance/commerce laws, but to get to your point: perhaps they make these claims because they haven't been defined as a Bank yet.

      You may want them to be, since they do so many transactions that affect monies and commerce in the states and worldwide. But until you can set up a mortgage, loan, or interest bearing savings account with them, I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for them to be cited for bank law violations: you can't put a (legal) square peg in a round hole. They avoid offering these services precisely for the reason that seems to upset you.

      The appropriate legal solution here would be to reform banking laws in the new age of internet finance to have relevant legal banking code apply to them.

      .
      • They take peoples deposits and hold it for them (while collecting interest or investing the aggregated funds). If that's not a bank, what is it?

        Now that I thnk about it, how can paypal absorb an online bank (X.com) and still say they're not a bank?

  • Why is paypal to blame for this? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by carnivore302 ( 708545 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:13AM (#9820490) Journal
    Really, the article states that paypal didn't hold up to some regulations which require them to have some kind of service in case a deal goes wrong. I buy something from you, and it appears to be broken. Now I should be able to resolve this through paypal. This might be good for the customer, but from paypal's view this is nuts. They are just an intermediary that handles the monetary transactions.

    As an analogy, suppose you pay something using an ATM, you can't honestly expect the bank to resolve your problems with the product you just bought.


    Come on, CLICK HERE [tradesims.com]. I know you want to do it.

    • Re:Why is paypal to blame for this? (Score:5, Informative)

      by SlashdotMeNow ( 799901 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:18AM (#9820522)
      Paypal has a long history of bad customer service. Example: If someone used a bad / blocked credit card to pay you via PayPal, they immediately froze your account and all other money from legitimate sources. They are the ONLY credit card facility that will not take any risk. Read their terms and conditions for receivers of money. Result of this is that thousands of legitimate sellers lost access to millions of dollars for months and months while Paypal refused to help them. PayPal = Evil monopoly.
      • Credit card companies will do the same for "card not present" transactions. The problem with Paypal is that they do not make it clear that they will do it, in fact they do the opposite, they promote Paypal as a safe alternative to other forms of payment. If you have a contract with a credit card provider for handling credit card transactions directly, the consequences of accepting transactions without the card being physically present are more clearly laid out.
        • Credit card companies will do the same for "card not present" transactions.

          So a credit card company will refuse to pay any of the money owed to a company if someone uses a stolen card there (including money paid before the questioned transaction), as well as refuse to let them accept new transactions? I've had a disputed charge before, and the online retailer didn't have to shut down their credit card processing because someone challenged a charge (as PayPal will force you to do).

    • Re:Why is paypal to blame for this? (Score:4, Informative)

      by gbjbaanb ( 229885 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:29AM (#9820592)
      I think this is because Paypal will charge your credit card, and there are quite a lot of consumer laws concerning cards that state you must have a course of redress if anything goes wrong, re-billing if the card they accept turns out to be stolen etc etc.

      The difference with cash is that you're not playing with credit - just real money, and that's not regulated.

      I think Paypal just want to be an intermediary with no obligations other than to say 'nothing to do with us mate', and 'we have charged you our fee for using paypal. have a nice day'.
    • As an analogy, suppose you pay something using an ATM, you can't honestly expect the bank to resolve your problems with the product you just bought.

      If I use a credit card, I certainly can expect the bank to resolve my problems. Why? Because, unlike an ATM card where it is a *direct* link from the transaction to your money in the bank, the credit card is a separate service that collects from one party and distributes to the other... Just like PayPal.

      From a quick glance at the reasons behind the consume

  • Payment? You must have experienced a loss... (Score:4, Informative)

    by pjkundert ( 597719 ) * on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:14AM (#9820497) Homepage
    The rules of submission require you to state that you experienced a financial loss, due to very specific circumstances. Most PayPal account holders (the vast majority, I think) have experienced no financial losses as a result of any of the claims stated in this class action's resolution.

    Therefore, don't get too excited -- the average PayPal account holder gets nothing from this Class Action resolution...
    • Not necessarily, here is one of possible reasons:

      You requested information from PayPal about an account restriction or limitation or unauthorized transfer and you did not receive a satisfactory response

      So if you ever emailed their support about something related to the account and were not satisfied with their response, you are in :)
      • "So if you ever emailed their support about something related to the account and were not satisfied with their response, you are in :)"

        You forgot to add: AND if you are American you are in.

        Paypal fucked over everyone all over the world, but it is good that at least some people geting their money back :).

    • Did you not read the article? (Score:5, Informative)

      by diogenes57 ( 43063 ) <dehua1234@yahoo.comTWAIN.cn minus author> on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:40AM (#9820655) Homepage
      Everyone is entitled to statutory damages:

      "The plan of allocation designates $1 million of the Net Settlement Fund to a "Statutory Damage Fund," to be distributed equally among all Fund Claimants who are not Dispute Resolution Claimants."

      If you want to claim these damages, you must mail them a letter with your signature. So I suggest you don't bother as the amount of the stamp will likely be greater than the amount of the settlement damages paid.
    • Uhh, no. To receive compensation you only need to have opened an account with Paypal during the specified dates (~1999 - 2004).

      Even if you want to do the long form, and apply for a bigger piece of the pie, you only have to show that they didn't deal appropriately with the resolution of an issue.

  • USA != the world (Score:4, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:14AM (#9820499)

    The settlement states that anyone who opened an account between Oct 1, 1999 and Jan 1, 2004 is elegible to participate in the settlement.

    No it doesn't. It explicitly excludes residents of every country Paypal operates in except for the USA. I wish people in the USA wouldn't use the word "everyone" when what they mean is "everyone in the USA".

    • Uhhh, you must be American, lamely presuming that Canadians such as myself still live in igloos, and don't "have the internet". Or perhaps you forget we are a country, who knows...
    • Actually, the way paypal works, you wouldn't have to worry about considering a resolution that involves USD, major currencies are accepted as forms of payment by paypal, and only USD is offered in this settlement.

      Maybe you should stop feeling so ripped when you can actually enjoy many of the advantages of the US in your own country. All these people ungrateful about non-us options, while they're depending on US money.
    • Actually it doesn't exclude all countries that they work in other than the US. I'm a customer located in New Zealand, who was royally fucked over by them, and the text of the letter and site does not exclude New Zealand.

      Of course, I can't actually get any money out of them, because you bastards Slashdotted the site as I was half way through filling out the form :) Maybe tomorrow I'll have more luck.

      Oh, but the form insists you give it a valid US zip code. That aint gonna happen, considering my country doe
      • but the form insists you give it a valid US zip code. That aint gonna happen, considering my country doesn't even use zip codes.

        90210 is a valid US zip code. Does the form say A> The valid US zip code of the place you reside or B> A valid US zip code.

        If the correct answer is B you are in! It doesn't say you have to live within the zip code you give them, it just says give them a valid US zip code ;)

        This is a joke.

    • Re:USA != the world (Score:5, Informative)

      by nacturation ( 646836 ) <nacturation&gmail,com> on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @09:10AM (#9821345) Journal
      Maybe you should read the settlement. It excludes:

      "... anyone who resides in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, The Netherlands, or United Kingdom"

      Of course, this leaves the following countries which ARE eligible (according to their signup form, but exclude any countries which weren't available before 2004):

      United States, Anguilla, Argentine, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Hong Kong, Iceland, India, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

  • $0.35 bleh... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Rosco P. Coltrane ( 209368 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:15AM (#9820508)
    If they could just release the $150 on my 3-year-blocked account, that'd be better... Why did I do nothing to recover my money by force (i.e. go to small claims court or hire an attorney)? because it's less expensive to be scammed out of $150 by Paypal than to wrestle that money out of them, and that's why they get away with this. Why people would sign up with a non-FDIC insured bank (because that's what they are in effect), I'll never know. I did and I won't ever again.

    Oh well, with any luck, soon I'll only be out of $149.65...
    • The problem isn't that their not FDIC Insured (the amount of money people keep with them is minimal), it's that they're not regulated as a bank and don't have to follow banking regulations.

    • It is *NOT* limited to 35 cents (Score:5, Informative)

      by brunes69 ( 86786 ) <slashdot@nOSpam.keirstead.org> on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:23AM (#9820554)
      That is just the poster ramling about nothing.

      The amount you get for filling out the "short form" is $50.

      The amount you get for filling out the long form is undetermined. **It all depends on how many people bother to collect**. The judgement was for 9.25 million - 3.4 million for legal leaves 5.85 million for settlements. Unless millions of people apply ( unlikely) you would likely get your $150 back, no problem.

      ***DO APPLY***
    • They did the same thing to me. I had an account cancelled that was "verified" by them and they immediately froze my twenty bucks in the account. Keep in mind I had done nothing wrong nor had anyone with whom I had transactions - they just said "you can't cancel that account without providing us another" and bam, that was it.

      After being treated this way I sure as hell wasn't about to give them "verified" access to ANOTHER account so I figured the twenty bucks long lost and chalked it up to experience. About

    • For me, it was in the range of $700 they were going to hold forever. I did actually get them to release it, without jumping through the hoops they required. I wrote up an email stating that they were putting me out of business and apartment, and cc'd it to webmaster/postmaster/support/abuse@paypay.com/eba y .com. Oh, I think I cc'd a few others as well.

      I never got a single email reply (infact, through the whole dispute I never received a single human written email), but the money did turn up in my bank acc

  • future lawsuits (Score:5, Informative)

    by AssFace ( 118098 ) <`stenz77' `at' `gmail.com'> on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:21AM (#9820536) Homepage Journal
    The wording of this says that you are automatically in the lawsuit. But if you want the money, then you have to claim it via an electronic form and then mail in the signature.
    If you don't do that, then you don't get the money - but you are still considered to be in the lawsuit - which means that you then waive the right to sue them in the future for related issues.

    But if you don't want to be in the lawsuit, then you have to also mail something in.

    It also states that the lawyers get at least $3+M for this and that is out of nearly $10M.
    I don't know how many people are in it, but the remainder of the money would then be split amongst those people.

    So at most it is still under $100 - that isn't enough to pay me off so that I can't ever sue them again - even if it is only in a specific area.

    • Re:future lawsuits (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Aerk ( 697405 )
      The lawsuit applies to incidents that occured between Oct 1, 1999 and Jan 1, 2004. That means that, if in 2005 PayPal seizes all your money, you can still sue them.

  • Short form Vs Long Form (Score:3, Funny)

    by Roofus ( 15591 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:22AM (#9820545) Homepage
    you can fill out a short form or a long form to sign up.

    I can do either a short form or a long form? That's like saying:
    1) I can be the recipient of a swift kick to the nuts
    2) or I can have some ice cream.

    I wonder which one I want to choose.....
  • With the amount of the settlement per-person, this feels like a mail-in-rebate. I.E., the amount is so small vs. the hassle (filling out a form) that most people will likely forgo the cost of a cup of coffee so they don't have to fill out anything.

    Which means, in the end, that this verdict will mean very very little to paypal. They should give their lawyers a bonus.
  • Does the settlement apply to international cusomers as well?
    • Since you failed to read the settlement itself than you probably wont read this but...

      4. HOW DO I KNOW IF I AM PART OF THE SETTLEMENT?
      On July 12, 2004, Judge Fogel entered an order granting preliminary approval of the settlement and certifying the following class for purposes of the settlement: All Persons who opened a PayPal account during the period from October 1, 1999 through January 31, 2004. Excluded from the class are any judicial officer to whom the lawsuit is assigned; PayPal and any of its affili

  • $0.35 (Score:5, Informative)

    by loconet ( 415875 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:29AM (#9820594) Homepage
    "I'm so ready to receive my check for $0.35US"

    Think again ..... ;)

    "The claims administrator will not issue checks for less than $1.00. Such amounts will instead be reallocated to those claimants who are entitled to receive distributions."

  • Meh (Score:3, Insightful)

    by KiloWatts ( 800923 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @07:41AM (#9820663)
    In my opinion, it's great that they plan to shell out 9 million dollars in order to "just forget it and move on", but it comes nowhere close to the damages and losses acquired by the thousands of people who have had serious issues with them. They still have the right to freeze your account, they still have the right to keep your money at their own discretion, and they still have the right to take it out of your ass if someone else screws you with a bad card. As far as I can tell, the only thing they're agreeing to change is how they handle disputes. Meh. Something's gotta be done about online-payment companies. A simple payoff accomplishes nothing.

  • eBay now rounds a bill of $30.78 up to $30.80. Despite the fact that the system tacks on only a few cents to each transaction, the customers said the additional charges add up over time.

    Sounds familiar [imdb.com]
  • But I never put any money in it or used it in any way.

    What does this mean for me?

  • not free money (Score:3, Informative)

    by yohan1701 ( 779792 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @08:10AM (#9820853) Homepage
    you still need to have a reason to file a claim.

    You can make a Short Form Claim if, prior to February 1, 2004, PayPal caused you to lose money because of any of the following:

    • You experienced an unauthorized or incorrect electronic transfer to or from your PayPal account;
    • Your PayPal account was improperly restricted or access was improperly limited;
    • You requested information from PayPal about an account restriction or limitation or unauthorized transfer and you did not receive a satisfactory response; and/or
    • You experienced or reported an unsatisfactory result from a dispute with PayPal involving a chargeback, a refund, a buyer complaint, or PayPal's Seller Protection Policy, Buyer Complaint Process and/or Buyer Protection Policy.

  • to determine when you signed up for a PP account (Score:4, Informative)

    by gmr2048 ( 176781 ) * on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @08:16AM (#9820891) Homepage
    Log into your paypal account. In the My Account/Overview section, look for your Name, Email and Status, click on the little number in parentheses next to status (looks like this):

    Status: Verified (23)

    That will give you your member info box with your sign up date.

    -gary

  • Amazing (Score:4, Funny)

    by The AtomicPunk ( 450829 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @08:16AM (#9820895)
    The lawyers get $3.3M. Wow. Where do I sign up to be a class action ambulance chaser? :)
    • > Where do I sign up to be a class action
      > ambulance chaser?

      Law school... duh?

    • Re:Amazing (Score:3, Informative)

      by Chilltowner ( 647305 )
      I highly recommend people read "A Civil Action" (versus seeing the movie). It's a non-fiction account of a environmental case in Woburn, Massachusetts, where left-behind waste caused significant cancers in local residents. The suit was settled, and the payoff to families was smaller than they'd hoped for or needed. The law firm got quite a lot of the money. BUT the firm still ran at a loss and had to close. Why? Plaintiff lawyers fight an incredible uphill battle when they're up against large corporat

  • Which way to swing? (Score:2, Interesting)

    by La_Boca ( 201988 )
    Is it smarter to apply and collect whatever money you may (if you cannot prove damages), or to exclude yourself for the future if something bad DOES, indeed, happen to your account (and your money). I would try to exclude myself personally seeing that if 2 million people apply for their part of the settlement, i'd only get about $0.50.

  • PayPalSucks.com (Score:5, Informative)

    by umrgregg ( 192838 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @08:27AM (#9820968) Homepage
    The folks over at PayPalSucks.com have been fighting the shady practices of PayPal since its inception. It's a great source of information and a good browse for everyone who has accounts with PP. Just keept the bias in mind ;) Here's a link [paypalsucks.com] to their discussion forum regarding the settlement. Very informative.

  • Finally (Score:2, Funny)

    by dtfinch ( 661405 ) *
    What PayPal does is whenever they have a dispute with a user who has a dynamic ip address, every single user who winds up with that ip and logs in gets their account automatically suspended and any money in it stolen by PayPal. It hasn't happened to me so I won't participate in the lawsuit but I've seen it happen affecting people I know and work with. Paypal takes their money and tells them to go * themselves, pointing to a 20 page agreement that was shown in the 5 line scrolling text area which they clicke

  • $0.35 it is.... (Score:3, Funny)

    by JustinHoMi ( 471764 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @08:35AM (#9821020) Homepage
    I'm so ready to receive my check for $0.35US

    Well now that you put it on /. it WILL be $0.35! THANKS.

  • To claim your $0.35 ... (Score:3, Funny)

    by PetoskeyGuy ( 648788 ) on Wednesday July 28, 2004 @09:00AM (#9821242)
    Please send a self-addressed stamped envelope...
  • "If you make a timely, valid claim using the Short Claim Form, you will receive a payment of $50, unless the amount needed to pay all of the Short Form claims exceeds the Short Form Fund. In that case, the Short Form Fund will be divided equally among all Short Form Claimants."

    Damn you, Slashdot Effect! Now the settlement really will be $0.35 per person...


  • As a result, PayPal said it would pay a total of $9.25 million to settle the federal class-action suit, $3.4 million of which would go to paying its customers' legal fees.

    Once again, the only real winners are the lawyers, skimming off the top, the only benefactors of a situation in which neither the defendant or the plaintiff win (assuming that you agree that an award of less than $1 isn't a "win" for a single person's perspective).

  • Suspicious (Score:2, Funny)

    by brj ( 665333 )
    Does anyone else find it strange that the claim forms ask for your PayPal password and credit card number?
  • My wife has recently been purchasing some equipment over Ebay. Many of the sellers use PayPal. An interaction between the multiple auctions, PayPal, and the per-charge limit on her credit card meant that she got flagged as a possible fraudster. As a result, not only have several of her auctions not closed -- people who were already paid have lost their money. That is, people who sold us stuff, received the money from PayPal, and sent the stuff had their money pulled back out of their accounts. The mone

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