Paypal in Settlement Deal with 28 States

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Thought I 'd share this before heading off to bed
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PayPal, the online payments unit of EBay, has agreed with attorneys general from 28 U.S. states to improve how it notifies users of their consumer rights, the company said on Thursday.

Under the deal, PayPal will also pay $1.7 million to the states.

In addition, PayPal said it reached a settlement in a proposed class action lawsuit by PayPal customers in a U.S. federal court in Brooklyn. PayPal agreed to set up a settlement fund of $3.5 million, less court costs and attorneys fees.

PayPal said it will, among other things, shorten and streamline its user agreement and communicate more information relating to its protection programs. The company said it has already complied with many of the voluntary deal's terms.

Changes include shortening the user notice that PayPal customers agree to when signing up for the company's services. PayPal also agreed to clarify the buyer protections consumers have when conducting online financial transactions.

"It (the settlement) has to do with consumer protections between buyers and sellers when you make a transaction," said PayPal spokeswoman Amanda Pires. "We are in the process of doing a lot of these things."

Under the terms of the settlement deals, PayPal is not admitting any liability for any of the allegations in the two cases, PayPal said.

The state attorneys general involved in the deal represent Alabama, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.

The federal lawsuit was filed in 2005 on behalf of a class alleging PayPal did not clearly communicate information about its consumer protection programs related to specific types transactionsclick me.

The legal settlement will be presented for preliminary approval to the U.S. District Court in the coming months.

The shares of San Jose, Calif.-based eBay were 50 cents higher at $27.62 in afternoon trading Thursday on Nasdaq.