Dad Blames Microsoft for Son's Xbox Live Spending Spree

[Comando96]

Dipshit parent is Dipshit.

I mean, firstly you don't allow young kids onto games severely under age for their understanding. I first played COD4(16) when I was 14. I was a quite mature kid comparatively as well. However I was not given a headset and allowed an unlimited ability to talk to others across the Internet with no rules in place what so ever... 12 is too young for a start. Then an xbla for a child... with a registered copy of call of duty... what... the... fuck... you sir have just lost the argument.

Clearly you didn't miss all that money until now so how about your bill gets rounded down to £1,000 and you can call yourself lucky...

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

It's your kid you dumb fuck. You bought him the console, you payed for Live and you weren't a good enough parent. Now suffer financial consequences.

 

[hutchy27]

Kid didn't know it was real money he was spending...... so what did he think he was spending?

It's the father's fault, as he should of been keeping an eye on his kid, yeah the kid shouldn't of spend all that money in the first place, but father should of taught him better.
I knew my parents credit card when I was younger but I never spent any money without permission as I knew it would only effect me in the long run.

 

[Gitty101]

It's a common trend these days for parents at fault to try and blame others for their ignorance and/or stupidity. This case is no different. Had the parent followed the guidelines in creating an account for his kid, not to mention allowing a 12 y/o to play COD in the first place, he wouldn't have suffered the consequences.

Maybe he'll learn and grow from this experience. Or maybe he'll just take the route his kind are used to and sue Microsoft.

 

[Bluntman1138]

FUCK. 6 months and you do NOT look at a credit card statement? This is not JUST a case of bad parenting, it is a MAJOR case of retardism.

 

[Vivi22]

WHY THE FUCK is nobody bothered that the kid plays cod?

I'm bothered because I'd rather see him playing a better series. If you're referring to a 12 year old playing an M-rated series though, I was playing games that would be rated M now, and watching R-rated action and horror movies by the time I was 9 or 10. While some parents let their young children play games that may not be appropriate for them without ever giving enough of a shit to think about what their kids are playing first, some kids are mature enough to play those games as my parents felt I was. So my default assumption isn't to immediately assume the parent is simply a bad parent because they let their kid play these games. Despite plenty of evidence that this guy didn't think everything through 100% when setting up the account.

 

[The Funslinger]

As usual, completely the parents fault.

Also the kid is retarded for thinking it didn't actually cost money despite the system telling him it did. I know I was fairly dumb at 12, but certainly not to that extent.

Somehow, I doubt he genuinely thought that.

He probably feigned ignorance to avoid the inevitable (and deserved) punishment. If I'd spent £1000 of my parent's money as a kid, I'm fairly certain I'd have been grounded, with dog kennel cleaning duty for an entire year.

 

[Vrach]

Parent blames company for his 12 year old son not knowing what an online shop is or what a pound symbol looks like/is.

Oh look, Daily Mail. Well, I never...

 

[rob_simple]

Why aren't IQ tests mandatory for parents yet?

Because one's I.Q. has no bearing on their ability to parent--or anything else, for that matter. It's a number arrogant twats like to parade around to make themselves feel big.

True, that's why we should implement a Parent Aptitude Test (I call him Pat, for short) that would use a series of hypothetical situations and financial/employment analysis to determine whether or not someone is fit to be a parent.

For example:
You are at the supermarket with your six year old kid. He is screaming the roof down, knocking shit off the shelf and generally being an insufferable little dicksplash. Do you...
A)Start screaming back at him to 'fucking behave yourself, you little prick.'
B)Calmly pull him to one side and tell him this kind of behaviour is unacceptable.
C)Completely ignore him and continue deciding what brand of cheap liquor you want to get shit-faced on this evening.

 

[Clearing the Eye]

Why aren't IQ tests mandatory for parents yet?

Because one's I.Q. has no bearing on their ability to parent--or anything else, for that matter. It's a number arrogant twats like to parade around to make themselves feel big.

True, that's why we should implement a Parent Aptitude Test (I call him Pat, for short) that would use a series of hypothetical situations and financial/employment analysis to determine whether or not someone is fit to be a parent.

For example:
You are at the supermarket with your six year old kid. He is screaming the roof down, knocking shit off the shelf and generally being an insufferable little dicksplash. Do you...
A)Start screaming back at him to 'fucking behave yourself, you little prick.'
B)Calmly pull him to one side and tell him this kind of behaviour is unacceptable.
C)Completely ignore him and continue deciding what brand of cheap liquor you want to get shit-faced on this evening.

The answer is C, right?

 

[rob_simple]

Why aren't IQ tests mandatory for parents yet?

Because one's I.Q. has no bearing on their ability to parent--or anything else, for that matter. It's a number arrogant twats like to parade around to make themselves feel big.

True, that's why we should implement a Parent Aptitude Test (I call him Pat, for short) that would use a series of hypothetical situations and financial/employment analysis to determine whether or not someone is fit to be a parent.

For example:
You are at the supermarket with your six year old kid. He is screaming the roof down, knocking shit off the shelf and generally being an insufferable little dicksplash. Do you...
A)Start screaming back at him to 'fucking behave yourself, you little prick.'
B)Calmly pull him to one side and tell him this kind of behaviour is unacceptable.
C)Completely ignore him and continue deciding what brand of cheap liquor you want to get shit-faced on this evening.

The answer is C, right?

Correct! Here is a baby and a bottle of Bombay Sapphire to get you started.

 

[Fusioncode9]

This is why I despise children, and moronic parents who think their kids are angels. If I had done something like that when I was a kid, I'd probably be dead. Hell, I once got grounded for a month just for talking back to my teacher.

 

[MasochisticAvenger]

Put as many warnings and confirmations as you want, it won't make much difference. Parents will still leave children to make their own decisions, children will just take the extra few steps to make the purchases, and the parents will cause a stink because X company didn't do enough to stop their kid from making purchases.

 

[GeorgeMarx]

This seems entirely against the flow of the thread but it is true that Microsoft retain credit details. Not just that though, they also don't allow you to remove them without contacting them by phone. They technically have the option to remove credit details there, but it has been broken for a long time. More than likely they've left it that way intentionally.

I've bought points for my brother before, and he has had my credit details on his account ever since, if he really wanted he could probably spend more at my expense.

 

[MasochisticAvenger]

This seems entirely against the flow of the thread but it is true that Microsoft retain credit details. Not just that though, they also don't allow you to remove them without contacting them by phone. They technically have the option to remove credit details there, but it has been broken for a long time. More than likely they've left it that way intentionally.

I've bought points for my brother before, and he has had my credit details on his account ever since, if he really wanted he could probably spend more at my expense.

Well you can always buy Microsoft points from retailers (I know EB Games sells them, so I'd assume GameStop does as well).

 

[RinguPingu]

Another case of a parent not bothering to be informed and then blaming others for his own failure. This is the same thing that's causing the moral panic about video game violence. We've got a bunch of people complaining about stuff they don't know anything about, not bothering to educate themselves so that they can make actual informed remarks and decisions.

Luckily we're reaching the point where people who grew up as gamers are getting into positions where they can influence the general populace, so we might actually see an end to these dime-a-dozen travesties.

 

[ThunderCavalier]

Wait wait wait. Does it show how much the points to get something will cost or does it show how many points something will cost? That would make a pretty big difference in believing the Fathers story.

As someone who has purchased MS Points to buy stuff, I can tell you that, YES, they do tell you how much points cost, from small increments like 400 points for $4.99 to large barrels of points for $74.99. If this kid doesn't realize how much $75 is, even at 12, he's in for a whole world of pain the minute he tries to purchase stuff.

I'm legitimately surprised, however. This is probably the only story I've read that's brought up an anonymous nobody and one of the corporate powerhouses like Microsoft... and the nobody's in the wrong. I mean... so in the wrong. Honestly, you put your credit card information in; shouldn't you check to see if that can be abused in any way? Shouldn't you be checking your account more often for any suspicious charges? Shouldn't you be checking on your son when he's playing games that regularly involve shooting people? I mean, I'm not going to say anyone under 17 years isn't allowed to play anything involving a gun; one of my childhood favorites was the original Halo, dammit, but I'm not going to say that you can leave your underaged child in a game regularly involving shooting annoying dickheads without checking on him from time to time. Maybe even check to see if he's accessing features of the game that don't involve shooting people? Like... say... the Marketplace?

Oh, and the kid is stupid, too. If you're going to spend your parents' money, kids, buy something worthwhile. Like... the Skyrim or Mass Effect DLCs. Or... some good Indie games. Hell, get Minecraft if you're going to get the CoD map packs!

 

[shrekfan246]

Seriously?

Be a parent. I'm really sick of listening to so many parents' excuses these days. They throw their kid(s) in front of a TV, tell them to entertain themselves but the moment anything goes wrong or in a direction they don't like, rather than take responsibility for their laziness they blame anyone and everyone else. Sick, just sick.

LRN 2 PARENT

Man, that would be too much like work though. Parents can't be taking all of that time out of their days to teach their children proper morals and how money works and stuff, jeez. Television should be good enough!

Off-topic and I promise not creepy at all: What's that shirt say in your profile pic? Because I feel like my immediate guess is just wrong, for some reason, but I would be excited if it weren't.

 

[Fasckira]

Clearly the dad is just as good as the kid when it comes to fiscal matters, pretty sure I'd notice £100 per day coming out of my account before 6 months had elapsed. Hopefully Microsoft will discard this case instantly and tell the guy to stop trying to blame others for his inability to parent his kid.

 

[Treblaine]

Move to EU and sell $1000 worth of DLC.