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Teh One Who Knocks
12-18-2017, 12:25 PM
Tom Herbert for Metro.co.uk


https://i.imgur.com/PEiVlTA.jpg

A mum was devastated to learn her teenage son had accidentally spent an entire month of her wages playing FIFA.

The unnamed Irish woman has now issued a warning for parents to be aware after her 14-year-old completely emptied her bank account just a few days before Christmas.

She says her debit card was registered to FIFA 18 on the Playstation which meant, unbeknownst to her son, that every time he bought ‘points’ she was charged.

The woman, who did not want to be named, claims her son was unaware money was being taken out of her bank account while playing because the game doesn’t tell you it has a cost element or you are being charged.

But when she later went to withdraw money out she was shocked to discover it had been spent, the Irish Mirror reported.

It has left the family, from Cork, facing the prospect of a dismal Christmas after her whole month’s pay, including overtime, was drained.

She said: ‘This was my first Christmas working full time and then to go to your bank account and find it empty with the whole month’s pay and overtime in the buildup to Christmas just gone is horrendous.

‘I had to take my son out of school after speaking to the bank so that he could go home and take everything offline as money was still going out of my account.

‘He is so upset he is staying in bed. He is withdrawn and is blaming himself. He reckoned he has spoiled Christmas for his family. I can’t even get him to school.’

She said there is nothing she can do but wants other parents to be aware.

But Sony, the company behind Playstation, have refused to return the money.

Metro.co.uk has contacted Playstation for comment.

Goofy
12-18-2017, 12:34 PM
Microtransactions are ridiculous :|

Teh One Who Knocks
12-18-2017, 12:38 PM
If the game didn't say that the kid was actually spending real money, she should have a case to get her money back.

Goofy
12-18-2017, 12:54 PM
If the game didn't say that the kid was actually spending real money, she should have a case to get her money back.
Im pretty sure it does ;)

Hal-9000
12-18-2017, 07:27 PM
My friend's son did the same thing on Steam :lol:

Different game, but he managed to use dad's credit card to buy 'extra's and I saw the list in an online invoice.

Basically Steam allows you to pay for a game with a credit card or Paypal, then they can keep the info active within your account. If you're not careful, some games will offer 'extras' and use your payment method behind the scenes.

Godfather
12-19-2017, 02:45 AM
Micro-transaction addiction (or a term like it) is going to be something you hear a lot about the next ten years I think... it's essentially a gambling addition but with no real world chance of winning... as opposed to almost no real world chance of winning.

It's not something I can be particularly sympathetic towards but I also don't know a lot about addition medicine, maybe some people do have genetic dispositions toward getting hooked in shit like this?

DemonGeminiX
12-19-2017, 06:09 AM
I play Clash of Clans and you can buy a lot of shit that you could get for free, it would just take you that much longer to get them if you go the free route like I do. I feel bad for the kids that actually take the game so seriously that they have to bypass all the waiting and waste their money on a stupid game that they'll grow out of in six months.

lost in melb.
12-19-2017, 06:13 AM
I think they should double bill the mum. And dock the kids pocket money.