Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Tuesday, 22 July 2008 08:24
Opinion and Analysis
Page 1 of 5
The rebellion against eBay’s PayPal saga with its disputed “stage 1”
and “stage 2” episodes with the ACCC, has seen the rebels write to
Australian Banks, Australia Post and threaten legal action. Now they’ve
turning it up another notch by writing to Reserve Bank of Australia!
iTWire has again received information from eBay buyers and sellers unhappy with eBay’s attempts to force its PayPal payments system onto eBay users.
This latest action follows the investigation of
legal proceedings against eBay Australia, letters written to Australian Banks inquiring about the safety of the Direct Deposit Payment Method and writing to Australia Post to enquire about the safety of the Money Order.
Here is the information we received, quoted in full, in italics:
“STOP PRESS: EBAY MEMBERS REQUEST RESERVE BANK TO REIGN IN EBAY & PAYPAL
“eBay members will be excited by a significant new development in the quest to terminate eBay's ability to force all sellers to offer PayPal as a payment option, to ensure that PayPal's operations and financial safety become regulated by the appropriate authorities in this country, and to ensure that eBay members have the choice to pass on Pay Pal fees to their buyers.
“All of the other means of paying for eBay purchases are governed by Australian Law and the protocols and standards that apply with the exception of PayPal. They, through eBay, are forcing themselves on us and dictating how we will interact with our customers. The steps we have taken are designed to break this pattern of behaviour and return real choice to eBay members.
“Appended below is a copy of a letter sent by the group to the Chairman of the Payments System Board ("PSB") of the Reserve Bank of Australia ('RBA").
=========================
“Mr Glenn Stevens
Chairman, Payments System Board
Reserve Bank of Australia
GPO Box 3947
SYDNEY NSW 2001
AUSTRALIA
“I represent a group of people who use the on line auction platform eBay to buy and sell goods. Some off us are reasonable size sellers while others are very small scale and yet others are principally buyers. In recent days we have conducted a number of campaigns via the eBay discussion boards, on the matters contained in this letter, and have garnered a high level of support.”
Continued on page 2.
