Consumer Advice November 2009
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Just what is
PayPal?
Increasingly, when you buy online, you'll be given the option
to pay by PayPal. But what is it and why would you need it?
PayPal - www.paypal.co.uk - owned by eBay since 2002 is a fast,
safe way to pay and be paid online. Money is transferred from the
buyer's to the seller's account without any exhange of
details so it's really secure. It also allows the buyer to pay
by credit card - into their PayPal account - even though the seller
isn't necessarily set up to accept card payments.
You can also transfer money to another PayPal account holder - good
if you have family in another country without easy access to their
bank account, or if you don't want to be dealing with bank
details. There's no charge for paying money to friends and
family via your PayPal balance or via your bank account but if you
use your debit or credit card, there's 3.4% + 20p to pay (by
either party). If you're selling goods and your monthly income
is less than £1500, the same fee per transaction applies.
Other functions
- There are all sorts of discounts, deals and cashback offers when you buy from one of the partner sites. Just click on 'Offers'.
- Lots of online shops let you use PayPal to make your purchase, just click on the logo. It means you don't have to hand your details over to lots of different companies, they're all in one place.
- With the Postage function you can pay for and print out postage labels for goods you've sold via your account.
- Link your web-enabled mobile phone up to your account so you
can use it on the move.
The PayPal Top Up Card is a prepaid card that you use like a debit card to pay for goods. - Top it up from your account for free or via a post office or PayPoint facility - £1 fee. The card costs £4.95 and is available from the site.
Problems?
PayPal can help you resolve disputes as a buyer where the item
hasn't arrived or is 'significantly not as described'
or if money has been taken out of your account without your
authorisation - click on 'Security Centre' to find out what
to do.
Q&A's
What's
cooking?
Q: As it's getting colder I'd like to buy a slow
cooker to make some warming stews, but where do I start? There are
five of us and I work all day so I want it to be as foolproof as
possible.
A: These are the features you need to consider:
- Size - For five of you go for five or six litres. Any smaller and you won't be able to cook enough for all of you.
- Controls - Choose a cooker with auto-cook controls, which starts on high to get the cooking going and then switches to low - it's meant to give better results. Otherwise, the high setting will take three to six hours and is best for chicken; medium is not so fast and slow is for those really cheap cuts and takes up to 12 hours to cook them. The 'keep warm' or 'hold' option lets your food stay warm without drying out or cooking further - perfect if you're not quite ready for dinner as soon as you get in.
- Pot - This is likely to be heavy whichever one you choose but the Crock Pot Sauté range has a stoneware one, suitable for the hob, oven dishwasher and freezer! - though some reviews criticise it for cooking too quickly. Choose an oval shape if you want to cook a roast chicken.
- Timer - This feature automatically switches to 'keep warm' when the time's up - good if you're late home.
Recommended? The Morphy Richards 48715 Oval
Stainless Steel Slow Cooker got top marks in a Which? magazine
test. Buy it for £39.17 from the manufacturer - www.morphyrichards.co.uk.
The recipe books you get with most slow cookers are quite limited.
If you want more inspiration try a book like New Recipes for your
Slo-Cooker by Annette Yates (W Foulsham, £9.99), which is
really well reviewed on www.amazon.co.uk where you can buy it for
£6.40.
Too many PINs
Q: I
have so many PIN numbers and passwords to use for online accounts
and businesses, how can I keep track of them all?
A: The problem is you want to keep things
simple and streamlined enough that you will remember them but not
so simple that a fraudster could work them out. On the sites that
matter - your bank and other finance sites, for instance - you need
strong PINs and passwords that are different to one another. For
sites where you simply need to register to join, it doesn't
matter if passwords are simple and the same.
For passwords, choose a word that's meaningful to you then add
a few numbers in the middle or pop a questionmark at the front,
just so long as you remember it. For PINs, you could try thinking
of a four-letter word, spelling it backwards and changing the
letters to corresponding numbers. Or use the digits from the
registration of your first car or the date of an important event.
If you're still having problems remembering, lock them up in an
online 'safe' like www.keepass.com, which is a free service. You then
need only one (very good!) master password to access them all.
Extra bit: Shake up of the care system
Did you know that for the first time there are more people over 65
than there are under 18? With increased longevity comes increasing
costs so the Government is looking to create a new National Care
Service for England that is fair, simple and affordable. Get
involved, find out more and fill in the questionnaire at www.careandsupport.direct.gov.uk
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