The consumer has to bear some responsibility in understanding their use of the services. Both the father and the son made every mistake they could in this situation.
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Dad gets nearly $8,000 bill after son racks up charges from microtransactions in FIFA
- Thread starter Enter the Dragon Punch
- Start date
Glitchesarecool
Member
Fucking lol.
You think that a lawsuit over 8k is worth the time and effort? Much less that there would be very little standing for the father and son pair to actually file a lawsuit.
Enter the Dragon Punch
Banned
TheSpoiler
Member
Microsoft should just refund the amount and take away the digital goods. It's ludicrous, because I'm fairly certain each purchase notes that you are buying a thing with real money (but hey, I could be wrong), and the Microsoft Store states that as well, but it'd be the best option for all.
17 yrs old? And he didn't know better? yeah whatever lol.
I have a friend who did this kinda thing but his weakness was Halo stuff spent a fair bit on his dad's card. Before his dad found out when the bill arrived my friend got his 360 confiscated for 8 months and had to work off the amount to pay it back.
I have a friend who did this kinda thing but his weakness was Halo stuff spent a fair bit on his dad's card. Before his dad found out when the bill arrived my friend got his 360 confiscated for 8 months and had to work off the amount to pay it back.
I feel there's more talk of it being predatory solely because in general people give less value to digital goods. I think the value proposition is totally up to the consumer so to me i find it a slippery slope to start trying to say what is valuable to people or not based on your own opinion. I don't see it anymore predatory than CCG's, Amiibos, Skylanders or Lego Dimensions. Again, its just people giving those former things more value because they are physical. Then again can't you buy unlimited digital packs for that marvel puzzle quest game? What about league of legends or hearthstone? Is there really a huge difference in those games and mobile games or is it just because they are more popular with "real gamers" so they are given a pass?
OK then, since you are so well versed in the legal system, answer the question.
Under what legal theory would the dad sue MS for?
What is the cause of action here that would allow a suit to proceed and would survive a motion to dismiss?
shira
Member
$8000 worth of these
How much is one of those?
thomasmahler
Member
If you're 17 and you're not grasping what you're doing at that point, having to pay 8k might be a very good lesson for him.
He'll never pull that shit again, that's for sure.
He'll never pull that shit again, that's for sure.
kamineko
Does his best thinking in the flying car
$8000 worth of these
Sheesh. Could've built a beastly rig instead & still had enough left to become a local legend at the bar
Or bought a very nice collection of original David Bowie vinyl pressings
That FIFA must be strong magic
Enter the Dragon Punch
Banned
depends how RNGesus feels that day
darkinstinct
...lacks reading comprehension.
Whenever I hear these stories I think the dads are the ones racking up the bills and only pretend it was their however old kids because they think they can get away with it.
No way a 17 year old didn't know what he was doing, and if he somehow didn't and can drive I fear for the lives of everyone around him with his decision making.
So what's the solution here?
We have repeated confirmations. Doesn't seem to work.
We have parental controls. Parents don't know or don't want to use them.
Do they need to screw over a lot of people and make it voucher only? No way to buy with your card, have to purchase a PSN or XBL wallet card to make purchases every time?
Make a 1 strike rule for users? "Oh no, we didn't know we were spending real money" Refund and banned from digital purchases in the future.
So what's the solution here?
We have repeated confirmations. Doesn't seem to work.
We have parental controls. Parents don't know or don't want to use them.
Do they need to screw over a lot of people and make it voucher only? No way to buy with your card, have to purchase a PSN or XBL wallet card to make purchases every time?
Make a 1 strike rule for users? "Oh no, we didn't know we were spending real money" Refund and banned from digital purchases in the future.
Can you attach a credit card to the account of a minor? If you can, and the dad attached his card to the son's account, then he is just as much to blame.
I'm sure he wouldn't add his CC to his son's Amazon account and trust him to only use it once.
Yep, our iPad is password protected where only I know the password (not even my wife) and IAPs are disabled.
My son's Apple account on his iPod and MBP has no credit cards and can only use gift cards
My MS account has my CC, but both the profile and purchases are password protected. If my sons want something, they either use a gift card or I buy it on my account.
On my son's Steam account, if he wants something he pays me and I gift it to him.
There might be hoops to jump through, but it's far better this way as I have only myself to blame if anything is purchased.
Pathfinder
Member
I do so love these lack of personal responsibility stories, and then the people who jump in defend them and criticize Microsoft for not properly protecting the "victims" from themselves.
im conflicted,
this 17 year old kid cant be dumb enough to think it was a one time purchase or w/e (im not even sure i understand the logistics of what he says happened),
but if he knew it was more than a one time thing then theres no way he would have spent 8000 dollars on it,
so i have no clue how it happened
this 17 year old kid cant be dumb enough to think it was a one time purchase or w/e (im not even sure i understand the logistics of what he says happened),
but if he knew it was more than a one time thing then theres no way he would have spent 8000 dollars on it,
so i have no clue how it happened
You have to buy a pack for around 7,500 coins or 150 fifa points.
500 fifa points is worth - £3.99
Each pack is purely based on luck, with some packs differing in rarity and scale (rarer costs more etc).
But you can build up coins by playing games on fifa or selling players you have either bought or got from packs.
Messi (non inform) on ps4 is worth 850,000 coins on the market.
Edit - Each in-game FIFA match gives you around 300-600 coins, based on performance.
D1renegade
Member
Lol, what an idiot
shira
Member
BoxManLocke
Member
I'd like to see what kind of FUT squad he was able to build with this much money
Bet he buys him a smartphone that's even worse when it comes to this stuff lol.
Pathfinder
Member
Doesn't matter. The parent provided the card, and access to use the card on Xbox Live.
The most they should be obligated to do is cut the bill in half.
pinkurocket
Member
.... That's a whole lot of money for a 17yo to mistakenly spend. The kid knew what he was doing, he was just hoping no one would notice. When his dad confronted him, he acted the fool. Hopefully they all learn a good lesson from this, just a bit of an expensive one unfortunately.
No normal person would spend that much money in a game, so I'm gonna guess the son wasn't taught the proper value of money. The dad gave him access to a device with a CC connected to it, that is just asking for trouble. He probably didn't get that many little transactions can add up quickly. It's not EA's fault, this isn't a case of an 8 year old accidentally tapping money away. And even that could be questioned since it's easily avoided by not having your CC connected. I dislike these types of microtransactions as much as the next person, but it's nothing new either. I was phoning Habbo Hotel for credits like 10 years ago. A two second call, paying through the phone bill. Easy for kids to do (I did it behind my parents' back, but I learned that was wrong pretty quickly).
But seriously... 8000$ ?? In amobile FIFA game ?? That's just crazy.
Edit: woops I thought this was a mobile game #didntreadtheOP that's even weirder
No normal person would spend that much money in a game, so I'm gonna guess the son wasn't taught the proper value of money. The dad gave him access to a device with a CC connected to it, that is just asking for trouble. He probably didn't get that many little transactions can add up quickly. It's not EA's fault, this isn't a case of an 8 year old accidentally tapping money away. And even that could be questioned since it's easily avoided by not having your CC connected. I dislike these types of microtransactions as much as the next person, but it's nothing new either. I was phoning Habbo Hotel for credits like 10 years ago. A two second call, paying through the phone bill. Easy for kids to do (I did it behind my parents' back, but I learned that was wrong pretty quickly).
But seriously... 8000$ ?? In a
Edit: woops I thought this was a mobile game #didntreadtheOP that's even weirder
But...
Darryl M R
Member
Would RNG microtransactions be easily argued to be just another form of gambling?
Sounds like this is the next step for the gaming industry to push forward and set standards.
Sounds like this is the next step for the gaming industry to push forward and set standards.
Multiple purchases. It's the digital equivalent of a CCG. Think of it like buying multiple Magic packs trying to snag a Black Lotus.
The dad didn't just give him an account connected to the card. The dad straight up gave him the credit card to use "for emergencies."
pinkurocket
Member
Oh, well I just assumed. :I
XenogearsX
Banned
Rest in peace in peace ?
The son's a fucking idiot, and so is the father. So many classic lines in the OP.
WTF? Why should EA do anything? The father and son's fault, no one elses.
mikefrails
Banned
He tried to warn us.
Said while he cashes the checks for all the IAPs that people bought from the Kardashian mobile game.
DrunkShogun
Member
The kid was dumb and the dad was even dumber. Clearly the kid knew what he was doing but just didn't make notice how much he spent. I'm against company's use of micrograms action but this all falls on the father & son.
Just buy him a system with no online services or one that's already had said services shut down. Inb4 he complains about graphics
It's criminal that there aren't 'upper limits' on in-app purchases, especially for games. No one should ever have to spend more than say $50 to get all of the available content of a game. I could say the same thing for hearthstone (of which I have happily pumped in at least $300 to date).
Pathfinder
Member
You are not wrong. The warning signs were all there.
