I'd have been beheaded by my parents if I'd pulled shit like this in my younger years 10 or above lol.
-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
I need help - my son made purchases on discord through google play and PayPal
- Thread starter darz1
- Start date
When I was a kid, I got in trouble for a $500 phone bill from one of the alternate AOL dial-up numbers being long distance, despite that county having the same area code as my own, so it wasn't entirely my fault. But man, this is on a whole different level.
Yeah for real. 13 is the age of not paying attention to Nintendo's parental restrictions and pretending you're 100 years old to get into Mature-rated games/sites.
We disagree on that, I think 13 years old still need to be protected from themselves.
Hell, many adults get themselves in deep debt because of mobile games.
Same. Any charge at all and I get a notification telling me how much and where the charge came from. It helps tremendously when making sure all my transactions are legit.
People giving educational advices showing they've barely had any parental experience with anything than a tamagotchi.
Otherwise, be careful now with payements methods linked to any online service ;)
Otherwise, be careful now with payements methods linked to any online service ;)
It gonnbe tough getting any kind of refunds but you can call support and tell them your story.
Best thing you can do is grab anything you have that has your CC or PayPal account attached to it and remove them. Just put in your info every time, it's a hassle but you will complete avoid anything like this happening again.
Best thing you can do is grab anything you have that has your CC or PayPal account attached to it and remove them. Just put in your info every time, it's a hassle but you will complete avoid anything like this happening again.
I would investigate to make sure he really did buy these things for his friends. I feel like most mobile games don't really have an option to "gift" spendable currency or such things to friends. So either he bought all that stuff for himself or somehow let his friends use your partner's PayPal information (which is unlikely if he were only able to use it on his device because the information was saved there).
OP
OP
I'm trying to figure all this out. I went into his Discord and read some messages. It looks like he made a whole lot of purchases for himself in the Brawlstars game but then he started buying Nitro subscriptions for discord and basically handing them out to people. Then it looks like he has been arranging competitions in Brawlstars with people on his Discord and somehow he has been awarding the best player or player with the highest score with Brawlstars Gems, which is the in game currency.
this shit is no accident
this shit is no accident
JESUS. Your child has no restraint.
I'm no parent so I won't dive into that... but get in touch with the FTC and see if they have any options open for that. Definitely try giving the merchant and bank a call.
Honestly sounds like that boy was trying to buy himself into the hearts of his friends.
We had a guy in school who stole money from his grandparents to buy weed. Had fresh 50€ bag on him everyday and smoked everybody out.
My best guess is that something like that happened here, digital version.
We had a guy in school who stole money from his grandparents to buy weed. Had fresh 50€ bag on him everyday and smoked everybody out.
My best guess is that something like that happened here, digital version.
He was trying to be the popular kid in school.
Just never put any card information on any of your kids devices regardless of what age they are.
Just never put any card information on any of your kids devices regardless of what age they are.
It's unfortunate this happened. I know this is a huge sum of money but please remember these games are encouraging this kind of behaviour so consider counseling for your child to make sure that he manages to understand how to break free of this cycle of pressure and addiction with games and applications. This would be very beneficial to him later in his life. That he wasn't truthful with the situation shows that he might have known the gravity of the situation but simply couldn't stop because of addiction.
Chalk it up to a life lesson.
Even after you've gone down every road possible, it may not get resolved. Also, realize that it's not 100% the kids fault so don't get too mad at them. You are just as much at fault.
We all did stupid things when we were kids that our parents had to pay for. I dumped my dad's Harley in the garage while I was fucking around with it.
I'm sure this will never happen again now that steps have been taken.
Even after you've gone down every road possible, it may not get resolved. Also, realize that it's not 100% the kids fault so don't get too mad at them. You are just as much at fault.
We all did stupid things when we were kids that our parents had to pay for. I dumped my dad's Harley in the garage while I was fucking around with it.
I'm sure this will never happen again now that steps have been taken.
When I was in like 1st or 2nd grade a 1-900 number of a cartoon dog was on the label of a t-shirt I was given. I was immediately told to never call 1-900 numbers and explained the cost associated and value of money. So I did what kids do and dug that tag out of the trash and held onto it for a bit. I really wanted to talk to that dog.
One day when no one was around I tried it but hung up immediately when I heard a voice. Called back almost immediately afterwards and listened a few seconds then hung up again. Heart racing, I called a third time and this time listened long enough to get a multiple choice answer to direct the flow of the conversation! That shit was more engaging and interactive than Fallout 4's choices. After selecting an option I immediately hung up and never called back.
Three calls of only a matter of moments on the phone and I was good. Went about my life until the phone bill arrived. By that point I had forgotten I even called the hotline. I knew things weren't good when my mom, while talking to my dad in the kitchen, suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper. And within that whisper I heard the name of the dog.
At that moment I looked down and saw the dog logo on the breast of the shirt. I immediately got hit with dread and took off in a dead sprint towards a back door the opposite side of the house of my parents. My life was over. Time to become a hermit in the woods. No time to grab supplies we will figure it out when we hit refuge.
To this day, I'll never know the super-human abilities my dad had that day. As I reach the door, there stands my dad outside on the other side of the door, Jason Voorhees style. There is no logical explanation behind it, he traveled at the speed of light and was there to bring reckoning upon me. I didn't even try to open the door. I looked down, it was over.
I got a whoopin'. I got grounded. I couldn't watch cartoons, play video games, or really do anything for a month. Even my neighbors that I rode to school with were informed I couldn't do any of the above, so for weeks my life was over.
..yeah, I don't have anything of value to actually add to this thread for ya, OP other than if you have super dad powers go ahead and use them and your kid will never once think about calling a 1-900 porn line during his blossoming adolescence.
One day when no one was around I tried it but hung up immediately when I heard a voice. Called back almost immediately afterwards and listened a few seconds then hung up again. Heart racing, I called a third time and this time listened long enough to get a multiple choice answer to direct the flow of the conversation! That shit was more engaging and interactive than Fallout 4's choices. After selecting an option I immediately hung up and never called back.
Three calls of only a matter of moments on the phone and I was good. Went about my life until the phone bill arrived. By that point I had forgotten I even called the hotline. I knew things weren't good when my mom, while talking to my dad in the kitchen, suddenly lowered her voice to a whisper. And within that whisper I heard the name of the dog.
At that moment I looked down and saw the dog logo on the breast of the shirt. I immediately got hit with dread and took off in a dead sprint towards a back door the opposite side of the house of my parents. My life was over. Time to become a hermit in the woods. No time to grab supplies we will figure it out when we hit refuge.
To this day, I'll never know the super-human abilities my dad had that day. As I reach the door, there stands my dad outside on the other side of the door, Jason Voorhees style. There is no logical explanation behind it, he traveled at the speed of light and was there to bring reckoning upon me. I didn't even try to open the door. I looked down, it was over.
I got a whoopin'. I got grounded. I couldn't watch cartoons, play video games, or really do anything for a month. Even my neighbors that I rode to school with were informed I couldn't do any of the above, so for weeks my life was over.
..yeah, I don't have anything of value to actually add to this thread for ya, OP other than if you have super dad powers go ahead and use them and your kid will never once think about calling a 1-900 porn line during his blossoming adolescence.
As an online business owner and seeing minors and thieves attempt to make orders somewhat often, you just have to be more vigilant about what your kid has access to. Kids and teens can and will spend their parents money, and most will lie about it.
A business like mine can spot a fraudulent order and flag it but these apps aren't going to be as discriminate with verification. It's just another transaction. The nature of the product makes pursuing a refund sketchy but it doesn't hurt to try.
In the worst case, just teach them the value of the money they spent recklessly and the hard work that goes into earning it. Own up to it, be responsible and yada yada.
A business like mine can spot a fraudulent order and flag it but these apps aren't going to be as discriminate with verification. It's just another transaction. The nature of the product makes pursuing a refund sketchy but it doesn't hurt to try.
In the worst case, just teach them the value of the money they spent recklessly and the hard work that goes into earning it. Own up to it, be responsible and yada yada.
Kids stealing money from their parents is pretty rough, but $2000 over a short amount of time? I don't even know what you do with that, especially when they are at an age to know it's wrong. Hopefully you didn't really need it, because based on the story it's highly unlikely you are getting that money back. Sounds like you could get some from supercell though.
Just make sure that any device they're given access to doesn't have saved payment information, or requires a pin to verify purchases.
This has been my approach thus far and it has worked well enough.
Even for my 14 year old, he does not have any of my payment info attached to his account so when he wants to buy something he either needs to buy himself a gift card or I can add money to his account, but nothing is ever purchased directly from his account and/or devices using my payment info.
Also, for things like Netflix, Disney+ or Prime, I do not give him the passwords to my accounts, even when they are shared by our family. I will log into the service on their device so they can use it, but if it logs out for whatever reason then I need to log into it again for them. I feel this way they get used to not having my passwords (even though they are different for every account) and they can't share it with friends.
Words of wisdom.
Sad but learn the lesson for the future, OP.
I don't have kids or anything but this made me slightly worried about google saving payment details on my phone.
It does require my fingerprint to confirm for each purchase, but i'm wondering how secure that actually is in the event somebody else gets a hold of my phone?
It does require my fingerprint to confirm for each purchase, but i'm wondering how secure that actually is in the event somebody else gets a hold of my phone?
Take away his phone, remove all payment info, delete all games or just format it. Buy him a $10 burner from 7-Eleven to use until he has finished paying you back.
Make him work/pay off the $2010+18% monthly interest at minimum wage. He can deliver papers or do labor for you or neighbours.
Make him work/pay off the $2010+18% monthly interest at minimum wage. He can deliver papers or do labor for you or neighbours.
Guys he didn't ask parenting advice, he probably knows how to deal with this without any of us getting involved. I hope everything works out OP, must be a tough situation to deal in this climate.
For a lot of people, $2000 is "you're not making rent this month" money.
Homelessness is a hell of a life lesson...
Sell his computer to recoup some? This is a tough break for you, OP.
Don't know where you live and how the laws are. If nothing else works you can try to bluff and mail the game company or discord that they engaged in an unlawful contract with a minor without parental consent (especially if some of the charges are recurrent), and that you'll sue unless they settle for half or something. They might consider it not worth it and do it.
lock the phone down
cancel the credit card
dont let your son have access to payment info
you might be out of luck here, unfortunately.
cancel the credit card
dont let your son have access to payment info
you might be out of luck here, unfortunately.
My kids devices are absolutely neutered, absolute overkill is the best method for this type of stuff.
That's rough. I'm no parent and never will be, but looking back to me at 13 I think it would've been a good lesson to learn the value of $2000 and how shitty it is to be in debt. I'd get him to pay it back, even if it takes years to do so. And if he successfully did it I'd even reward him for it (don't tell him there is a reward at the end)...turn a negative into a positive. And then I bet his chances of getting into serious debt trouble later in life would be significantly reduced. But what do I know, I'm just some rando giving parenting advice on a video game forum.
18% monthly interest? LMAO this is the funniest post I've ever seen on this site. Get a grip for fuck's sake.
OP, I think you should absolutely first and foremost remove all payment info from the phone your son uses. Format it, do whatever you have to. You may also want to make sure your computer, your phone, etc have extra layers of security (pin, fingerprint) to ensure he doesn't do this with your other devices.
And yes, you should make him work the money off. But, y'know, in a sensible sense. Not with 18% monthly interest like a fuckin' mob boss. Don't charge interest. You're a parent, not a monster. Seeing as he's in his early teens and can't have a job, have him do chores for yourself and/or neighbors, with a set amount for each task (e.g. $20 to mow the lawn, $20 to shovel snow from driveways, etc.) until he zeroes out his debt. It'll teach the value of the dollar without forcing him into a loop of neverending debt that so many of us with student loans fall into with interest rates.
Sorry this happened to you, by the way. It's tough being in your position. I sincerely hope you're not in dire straits without that money. If you are, reach out to others. Do not be afraid to ask for a little help in these trying times.
You want advice with your son, I dont know your living situation, but I'd quickly make him realize that $2000 is a huge amount of money/can make or break rent/being homeless. Would take away the internet from them for anything not school related and basically kill their social life aka facebook/discord/no games for a year minimal. Tell them if they want that stuff back beforehand to start making money/selling all their stuff to cover the $2k.
Oh and if they give lip, just threaten to go into their Facebook and post what they did (this is only if your kid has no remorse whatsoever aka don't do this unless the kid is asking for it)
Advice on your money.... ugh I mean you can try calling it but man, it's not the same getting your money back like it was in the old days of these apps.
Oh and if they give lip, just threaten to go into their Facebook and post what they did (this is only if your kid has no remorse whatsoever aka don't do this unless the kid is asking for it)
Advice on your money.... ugh I mean you can try calling it but man, it's not the same getting your money back like it was in the old days of these apps.
I don't think killing his social life during COVID is a good idea at all. It could actually lead to many issues.
OP said his son may see a child therapist, that's the best possible outcome.
Isn't the legal capacity of minors limited and the legal transactions they do illegal, when they spent an amount of money that is to high? Or is this just a thing in Germany?
