A 17-year-old boy bought packages of FIFA 16 for several thousand Canadian dollars – using his father’s credit card.
For Lance Perkins, a nice surprise came just before the Christmas holidays. According to CBC, the father of a 17-year-old teenager received a credit card bill of CAD 7,625.88 on December 23. That’s almost €5,000. He was completely shocked when he saw the bill, he told CBC News.
Perkins reported that he had given his son the credit card so he could run errands at the nearest convenience store for the family. Apparently, the teenager conducted very different transactions.
The 17-year-old, who frequently plays FIFA 16: FUT mode in his free time, was responsible for the high amount. In FUT, it is possible to purchase FIFA Coins for real money, which can then be invested in packs containing players and consumable items. One can spend up to €99 at once to get 12,000 coins. A standard gold pack can already be purchased from 100 coins. Apparently, his son did not realize that he was repeatedly charging the credit card, said the father:
The 17-year-old thought there was a one-time fee for the game. Both family members reacted in shock to the bill.
Father is stuck with the costs, son has Xbox One ban
It is of course doubtful that a 17-year-old has so little knowledge of microtransactions and credit cards that something like this can happen completely unconsciously and surprisingly. However, the Perkins vehemently uphold this statement. For concerned parents, by the way, there is an option on the console to prevent such purchases by their children in the settings.
However, this option is currently not available for the Perkins, as the teenager will have to refrain from gaming for the next while:
“There will never be another Xbox system — or any gaming system — in my home,” says Lance Perkins.
In the father’s house, there will never be another gaming console.
Lance Perkins is, by the way, stuck with the costs: even though he has informed his bank as soon as possible, there is nothing that can be done about it. Microsoft also told the father that the transactions could not be reversed.
Currently, players from the TOTY are available in FUT. As every year, numerous microtransactions are made here. Whether another father will experience a shocking surprise soon remains to be seen – EA Sports will definitely rain money on this event.
