In Reply to: very good advise posted by norbit on Wednesday, 26. January 2011 at 10:03 Bali Time:
I paid a 50% deposit on a villa last year (to an agency) and then the agency cancelled my booking as the villa was no longer on their books.
What followed, as I tried to get my deposit back, was nothing short of nightmarish (abusive phone calls, threats, etc from them). In the end, I believe it was the fact that I'd paid with Paypal that saved my bacon. If I'd had to battle it out without a third party intervening on my behalf I don't believe I'd ever have seen my money again.