In Game Purchase Nightmare

[Essemess]

My 16 year old has just p***d away £1014 on FIFA Ultimate Team and Runescape crap.

 

Briefly, he was left an inheritance of £3000. We took him into the bank where his current account was and helped him open an ISA and put it in there. Unknown to us, he set up online banking and over the space of a month started transferring it into his current account to waste on in game player packs etc. In one single day he blasted over £400

 

He knows in no uncertain terms that he has been utterly stupid and has vowed to earn it back over the summer with a part time job(s). I know that I'm at fault for not drilling into him the value of money and how important this windfall was for his future and college. He said that he knew it was wrong but he just got carried away.

 

Considering his age and the mass of transactions that occurred in such a short space of time with seemingly no suspicions raised at either the bank or the two companies involved, is there anything I can do to recover any of the money?

 

Can the player packs be sold on? Can the Runescape purchases be returned? Does anyone want to adopt a "stoopid" teenager?

 

Regards,

 

Essemess.

[MaxxPower]

Unfortunately the short answer is, no.

Since it was his own account and there's no element of using someone elses account without their permission, and by your own admission he was aware of what he was doing, there's no comeback to try and reclaim any of the money either via the game publisher, Microsoft/Sony or the bank. These in-game purchases typically can't be re-sold as they get tied to the account that purchased them, even before they're redeemed in-game.

[Essemess]

Thanks for the reply, MaxxPower.

 

Not unexpected and confirms what the customer service agent at EA Games said. You can sell the players but only for more in game coins.

 

Looks like one young man is going to be busy this summer.

 

- Essemess.

[unclebulgaria67]

These in app/game purchases are a total con. They make the software much more expensive than what you can buy in the DVD game format. Yes they have more features, but are these worth the amount paid. I think the idiots who are paying for the in app purchases are subsidising all the other players using the free or basic versions of the games. To make the purchases you have to enter passwords authorising and the Bank may also have an online authorisation system to go through.

 

I would question whether someone spending this amount needs some help. There is some evidence of online gaming activity being a symptom of an underlying health issue I.e they are sucked into an online unreal world and even spending money is not real to them, until they see their bank statement.

[MaxxPower]

Thing is, this isn't a free game. It's a full priced retail game that then has micro-transactions included as well so you can unlock content without going through the gameplay steps to do so. If you ask me, that's far worse than the F2P model.

[Essemess]

Thanks for the reply, unclebulgaria67.

 

Fortunately we've seen what's been going on while he is still young and are taking action

[Essemess]

Completely agree, MaxxPower.

 

£45 notes to buy the bloody thing then they still want to squeeze more out of people, especially naive kids. Having not played FIFA since 2003 on a GB, I was completely unaware that this "Ultimate Team" in game purchase even existed.

 

It reminds me of the Panini football stickers but in electronic format. Kids spending a fortune to try and get the best player out of the next pack. At least with the sticker albums you could trade / sell the physical card. This electronic version must cost almost nothing to administer but is raking in a fortune and there's no way of converting back to real money. Grrrrr.

 

Not making excuses, but think that the whole model is very wrong.

 

Any one want a PS4 going cheap? lol.

[piottras]

Hi there,

 

I was wondering if someone could enlighten me on consumer rights regarding in-game purchases.

 

I'm not entirely sure where in-game purchases stand (like spending money on in-game currency and then buying something faulty/mislabelled with the in-game cash that is the root of the problem).

 

Thanks a lot for help!

[Essemess]

A copy and paste from a Which? article

 

If there's a problem with a download and it doesn’t work properly, you should be able to argue that the seller is in breach of contract.

 

For example, if the download fails to work or isn't as the seller described it. In such cases, you should be able to ask the retailer to replace the download.

 

(source - http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/problem/can-i-get-a-refund-on-a-digital-download)

[MaxxPower]

Hi there,

 

I was wondering if someone could enlighten me on consumer rights regarding in-game purchases.

 

I'm not entirely sure where in-game purchases stand (like spending money on in-game currency and then buying something faulty/mislabelled with the in-game cash that is the root of the problem).

 

Thanks a lot for help!

 

You might need to give more details. It would be hard for an in-game item bought with in-game cash to be 'faulty' in the usual sense of the word. As for mis-labelled, it's possible but again these in-game purchases are usually fairly simple and it's typically quite obvious what you're buying.

Can you provide more specific information on your issue?