A six-year-old clocked up $800 on his father’s computer by buying “gems” for his video games without realising he was using his father’s credit card to do so (file image).
Photo: 123rf
A six-year-old who spent $800 buying “gems” for his video games left his father without enough money to pay for food.
The case was investigated by Financial Services Complaints, an ombudsman service that deals with complaints about some financial providers, where they cannot be resolved directly.
It said the man had loaded his credit card details on to his gaming computer, to pay for in-game purchases.
But his six-year-old also used the computer and did not realise that he was using his father’s credit card to buy gems for his game.
After a month, his father checked his account and discovered $800 had been spent. He tried to reverse the transactions but was declined because the gems had been used.
He complained to the card provider, saying it should have noticed 100 small withdrawals but the provider argued it was not liable.
FSCL reviewed the complaint and asked whether the card provider could resolve it on a compassionate basis, without the need for a full investigation, because the man was struggling financially and could not afford to buy food.
The card provider agreed to reimburse the full amount on a one-off goodwill basis.
FSCL ombudsman Susan Taylor said it highlighted how problematic it could be to store credit card details on a device.
“I know it’s convenient, but if anybody else gets hold of that device, starts playing, exactly in this case, obviously a six-year-old no doubt didn’t understand that they were spending their dad’s money. But don’t store your cards on any devices where somebody else can use that device.
“And that really goes for your phone and computer as well. If you’re letting somebody else use your device and you’ve got cards stored on it, then they may be able to use those cards.”
She said people should also check their account balances daily to spot problems quickly.
Taylor said when people did not protect their cards with a PIN or password, the card issuer was not required to reimburse any losses.
FSCL does not identify the people who complain, nor the provider they complain about.
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