MANILA, Philippines?As mentioned last week, a reader complained that she bought an item online that cost P12,500 but never got what she paid for.

The ?seller? collected her payment through G-Cash and was unheard from since. The reader wanted to know if G-Cash was remiss in releasing the money.

I asked Juan Antonio Tan Pajarillo, a young man who occasionally sells stuff online, if G-Cash erred in paying the seller.

He said paying services offered by companies like Western Union and Globe, had only two goals: to make sure money was transferred efficiently and that the recipient was who he said he was.

?Western Union... would ask for an ID first before releasing the money,? Pajarillo said. G-Cash would probably just require a claimant to show a text message from a Globe user that he/she should get X amount of money.

Western Union, he said, had a warning message on its website on the risks of wiring money for online transactions.

?But that?s about all they can do. The ID system is also not a very reliable security measure,? he said. Pajarillo said crafty scam artists could easily produce bogus IDs to give clients a false sense of security.

Transact on eBay

He stressed that transacting on eBay would be safe if a buyer followed the rules.

?The essential rule is if you find something you like, never transact outside the website... [A vendor] cannot sell easily because eBay checks all information [real name, address] registered in its database.

Sellers were also required to state the item?s condition clearly, he added.

Buyers should place a bid before remitting their payment. ?It is against policy to simply contact the buyer through text or e-mail and make final arrangements. Placing a bid is tantamount to entering a contract. If you win the bidding and things don?t work out, you can file a complaint and [eBay] will do the dirty work,? he said.

In a situation like the G-cash incident, the seller would be banned and be held liable for breach of contract, Pajarillo said. ?I?m not sure if the money will be reimbursed, though.? But he stressed that placing a bid was a buyer?s best protection if he/she was paying cash.

Pajarillo said people would actually be better off using credit cards because the charges would not be credited until after they had signified that they received their purchases.

Meanwhile, G-Cash, which has partnered with eBay Philippines (www. ebay.ph) as a legitimate form of payment for local transactions, offers tips to protect its clients from fraud at its Security & Resolution Center (www.ebay.ph/securitycentre).

For more information on G-Cash, call 2882 using Globe or Talk Mobile phones or 7392882.

Send letters to The Consumer, Lifestyle section, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Chino Roces Ave. cor. Mascardo and Yague Sts., Makati City; or e-mail lbolido@inquirer.com.ph.