A 17-year-old in Canada has spent nearly $8,000 (over £5,000) on his dad’s credit card while playing FIFA on his Xbox.
On December 23, Lance Perkins, from Pembroke, Ontario received a credit card bill for $7,625.88 and soon discovered that his son had used his card to make in-game purchases in one of the FIFA series of football games.
"It floored me. Literally floored me, when I'd seen what I was being charged," Perkins told CBC News.
Perkins said his son had access to the card for use in emergencies or to make purchases for the family’s store in the city.
His son confessed that he had used the card for the game, but was shocked at how much he had spent, thinking he had paid a one-time fee for the game.
“He's just as sick as I am,” Perkins said.
"He never believed he was being charged for every transaction, or every time he went onto the game".
Perkins explained what had happened to his credit card company, who told him there unless he wanted to charge his son with fraud, there was nothing they could do.
He also contacted Xbox’s parent company Microsoft, who replied by email within minutes saying that the bill would stand.
"Purchases made using a parent's payment account are legitimate transactions under the Microsoft Services Agreement, and we encourage parents to use the many platform and service features we make available to prevent unapproved charges," Microsoft said.
Mr Perkins said that his limited contact with the company is “very discouraging” and has taken steps to avoid another shocking bill in the future.
"There will never be another Xbox system — or any gaming system — in my home," he said.
