Dad Blames Microsoft for Son's Xbox Live Spending Spree

[The Wooster]

Dad Blames Microsoft for Son's Xbox Live Spending Spree

Father, Sam Ghera, has a beef with Microsoft after his 12-year-old son spent £1,150 on Xbox Live.

Sam Ghera has sent a complaint to Microsoft after discovering his 12-year-old son, Nik, had been spending up to £100 a day on "Fifa and Call of Duty," racking up a total bill of £1,150 over six months. Ghera only found out about the numerous charges to his credit card when he went to an ATM, only to be told he had insufficient funds to make a withdrawal.

"He didn't realize it was costing real money," Ghera told the Daily Mail. "With sites like eBay and iTunes it always asks you for a password before you make a purchase, but with Xbox Live you just press a button and then your money's gone."

Ghera entered his credit card details into Xbox Live in order to pay the monthly subscription fee, but he didn't release that the service automatically retains your credit card details for later purchases.

"I didn't even know that it was storing my information, and even if that thought had entered my head I would have thought there would be something in place so it wasn't so easy to spend money," Ghera added.

"I contacted Microsoft but, six months down the line, they're still saying they're looking into it. I'm waiting for them to get back to me."

Microsoft responded to the report, pointing out that the price of downloadable content is clearly stated during the purchasing process. The company failed to note that, as a 12-year-old, Nik shouldn't have been playing Call of Duty in the first place, but it did mention that children's XBL accounts are automatically restricted.

"Xbox Live accounts registered for children's use have online activity automatically defaulted to off, and these can be enabled, should the parents wish, in the family settings section," said a Microsoft Spokesperson.

"These settings include specifying the email address to which all purchase notifications are sent and using other features, such as 'over the shoulder approval', that allows the account holder to give permission for purchases by typing in a password."

Source: The Daily Mail [http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2171930/X-Box-Live-Boy-playing-Call-Duty-Fifa-ran-1-150-bill.html]


Permalink

 

[Raven's Nest]

I have a sneaky suspicion that the folks at Microsoft have only one thing on their mind...

Spoiler

Parents... Do not let Microsoft babysit your child. That is all.

 

[Eri]

As usual, completely the parents fault.

Also the kid is retarded for thinking it didn't actually cost money despite the system telling him it did. I know I was fairly dumb at 12, but certainly not to that extent.

 

[saintdane05]

Here we go again. Time to go through the whole "it should have been the parent watching".

<youtube=FAVKG0I6XXA>

 

[PatrickXD]

Shouldn't that say 'XBL' or just 'Xbox Live Account' as opposed to 'XBLA'?
Quibbling aside, this is just further evidence of a disconnect between the consumers and their products. This guy obviously failed to realise the importance of Family Settings on the Xbox 360. I'm not necessarily pointing any fingers here, but this situation could have been avoided if the guy was more observant, or if Microsoft further reinforced the registration process to Xbox Live with warnings, aimed at parents, directly regarding this kind of issue.

 

[McMullen]

Let's see... letting the kid on XBL on an unrestricted account, letting the kid play a mature game, not realizing your credentials are stored, and not explaining beforehand to the kid about online transactions. That's a rather impressive streak of failures, on issues that everyone should address with their kids when booting up the console for the first time. I've handled it and I've seen everyone else handle it appropriately. It does suck that it hit him that hard, but this is something that people should pay attention to.

There could indeed have been more safeguards in place, but blaming MS is going too far. The man already failed to use several existing safeguards.

 

[DugMachine]

Parents need to be more careful with where they're putting their credit card information. Even if the system has a confirmation process you should still monitor it closely.

Microsoft, don't give him a dime.

 

[teebeeohh]

well the dad either didn't know or care enough to set up the xbox properly so his son can use it without wasting money. WHY THE FUCK is nobody bothered that the kid plays cod?

edit: do not quote this unless you bothered to read the rest of this thread

 

[The Wooster]

Shouldn't that say 'XBL' or just 'Xbox Live Account' as opposed to 'XBLA'?

You're absolutely right. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[KeyMaster45]

WHY THE FUCK is nobody bothered that the kid plays cod?

Because we know it happens due to parents who are under the assumption that all games are appropriate for children, and that it's not their responsibility to make sure what their kid is playing actually is. Plus the stereotypical player of CoD, MWF, or Battlefield on the 360 is a 13 year old brat shouting obscenities and racial slurs over the microphone. Hell, just the other day I was talking with a guy while in line at Gamestop and he was telling me how he and his wife felt their 11 and 9 year old sons were old enough to be playing CoD. It took every ounce of restraint I had to not tell him otherwise. What's sad is that it's those kinds of parents who end up in situations like this and also blame games when their kid grows up to be a rampaging asshole.

 

[DTWolfwood]

Microsoft does need to add an option to make it so you need verification for purchase <.< Almost got hoodwinked by Apple in the same way. Those in-app purchases are just as insidious.

 

[mindlesspuppet]

Let's see... letting the kid on XBL on an unrestricted account, letting the kid play a mature game, not realizing your credentials are stored, and not explaining beforehand to the kid about online transactions. That's a rather impressive streak of failures, on issues that everyone should address with their kids when booting up the console for the first time.

snip

You forgot the part where he didn't look at his bank statement once over a 6 month period.

 

[McMullen]

Let's see... letting the kid on XBL on an unrestricted account, letting the kid play a mature game, not realizing your credentials are stored, and not explaining beforehand to the kid about online transactions. That's a rather impressive streak of failures, on issues that everyone should address with their kids when booting up the console for the first time.

snip

You forgot the part where he didn't look at his bank statement once over a 6 month period.

You're right, I saw it, but the amount of time that represents didn't register; I interpreted as a span closer to 6 weeks.

Christ, that's just asking for trouble, even if you're not paranoid about unauthorized transactions.

 

[DJ_DEnM]

Ghera entered his credit card details into Xbox Live in order to pay the monthly subscription fee, but he didn't release that the service automatically retains your credit card details for later purchases.

Sorry but shouldn't that be "realize"?

 

[sethisjimmy]

"He didn't realize it was costing real money," Ghera told the Daily Mail.

Bullshit. It clearly shows you how much the points cost, and gets you to confirm that purchase. The Father is just blind to the kid's bull because everyone wants to think their kid is a little angel.

It's still the Father's fault overall. Check what kind of security something has before you stick your credit card on it, don't just ASSUME it's the same as eBay or Itunes. Also don't leave your credit card information on your system if anyone can access it.

 

[NLS]

Let's see... letting the kid on XBL on an unrestricted account, letting the kid play a mature game, not realizing your credentials are stored, and not explaining beforehand to the kid about online transactions. That's a rather impressive streak of failures, on issues that everyone should address with their kids when booting up the console for the first time.

snip

You forgot the part where he didn't look at his bank statement once over a 6 month period.

Not only that, but 1150£ over 6 months, and THEN notice that you're out of cash? I would understand it if he suddenly can't cash out from an ATM because his son suddenly drained him of 1150£ last week or something. But 1150£ over a 6 month period isn't really that much to warrant that he's suddenly out of cash. Which probably questions this father's own money use and spending control.

 

[Worgen]

Well, hes technically not wrong about blaming ms for this. They have made it very easy to buy things and as far as I know there is no way to take you'r credit card off an account unless your updating it to a new card. Hell, I've heard about them charging expired cards before. I think Jim Sterling had a rant about that.

Most services do require some kind of password before you actually buy something so its rather understandable if he assumed the 360 would have something similar.

Although I have no idea how the hell the kid managed to spend over 1k on cod and fifa.

 

[teebeeohh]

WHY THE FUCK is nobody bothered that the kid plays cod?

Because we know it happens due to parents who are under the assumption that all games are appropriate for children, and that it's not their responsibility to make sure what their kid is playing actually is. Plus the stereotypical player of CoD, MWF, or Battlefield on the 360 is a 13 year old brat shouting obscenities and racial slurs over the microphone. Hell, just the other day I was talking with a guy while in line at Gamestop and he was telling me how he and his wife felt their 11 and 9 year old sons were old enough to be playing CoD. It took every ounce of restraint I had to not tell him otherwise. What's sad is that it's those kinds of parents who end up in situations like this and also blame games when their kid grows up to be a rampaging asshole.

maybe i am just stupid or retarded or really really naive but i just don't get how people can think a game where you shoot people in the head with more or less accurate depictions of modern weapons is something a child should play. i mean i get that as a parents you neither can nor want to control everything your child does but who in their right mind allows kids to do that?
my parents didn't allow me to watch violent movies when i was a kid, i still did it, especially when i was visiting friends but i still it helped me form a more differentiated opinion towards violence in media than FUCK YEAH BLOOOOOOOOOOOOOD(which is also an excellent game)

 

[Screamarie]

Whether his kid did or didn't realize it (which is possible with the points system...I suppose...I'm kind of stretching here), it's his dad's fault because either he didn't set up his son's account properly or he let his son do it.

He let his son have an adult account with no restrictions and let him play games intended for someone who is 6 years older. If he had taken the time to just read the instruction manual when he got his kid the Xbox, this wouldn't have happened.

Also....EVERYONE SAVES YOUR CREDIT CARD INFORMATION!