"You won't find another online financial institution that's better at protecting its sellers than PayPal," boasts its website. Jale Avcil sheltered under this cheering promise when she used the services of the online money transfer company to sell an iPod via its sister company, the online auction house eBay.

The successful buyer bid £265 and Avcil sent the item by special delivery. However, the buyer claimed the item never arrived, which was odd since Royal Mail's tracking service showed that someone of the same name had signed for it. Months later, Avcil discovered that the buyer had claimed a refund via his credit card issuer and that PayPal had sanctioned a chargeback. Avcil then discovered another eBay seller who had had an identical experience with the same buyer, but PayPal was unmoved.

"I don't believe eBay or PayPal read their messages, and anytime I contact them I get fobbed off with generic answers obviously read off a computer screen from somewhere overseas," says Avcil.

The curious part is that PayPal had recently amended its protection policy. The new rules apply to chargebacks made after 30 September 2008 and reimburse sellers who meet certain criteria. Avcil's case clearly meets all of these and, although she sold the iPod before the cutoff date, the chargeback was filed after 30 September. None the less, Paypal's press office tells me that as the actual transaction predated this, she does not qualify for a refund. It will, it says magnanimously, offer her the £265, but merely as a goodwill gesture to make up for its poor communication skills. Only after I email the press office a copy of its own protection policy does it realise that Avcil is indeed covered. She is now to get additional compensation for the seven months it has taken to persuade PayPal to keep its promises.