My 13 Year old child received a debt letter

sarahs999

A ten year old who DIDN'T know what he was doing would be the result of poor parenting. What age do you think a person becomes morally aware then?

Jesthar

Um, guys - there seems to be a far few harsh words flying around here, are they really necessary?

From what the OP has said, her son seems to have thought that what he was doing was just a game and didn't involve real money. Perhaps that seems rather ridiculous to us, but to a 13 year old? Easy enough a mistake to make, if you ask me. There are a LOT of games which involve 'virtual' money these days, from The Sims to Second Life to WoW etc., so it IS possible the difference might not be noticed or appreciated.

As the OP says DS nearly nearly wet himself when shown the debt letter, I'd say he didn't do it maliciously AND is fully aware that he's in some big trouble now he understands the situation. Which is kudos to him and the OP for handling it so well.

As to PayPal, I do have an account (which has lain unused for so long it's practically rusty ), but I'm rather concerned they would sey up an account without asking for any kind of proof of identity - sounds extremely open to fraud and criminal use!

~Jes

scotsjamie

paypal dont let you trade unless you have a bank account and you verify it, therefore he must have either used his mums account or his own in which case he would have checked the amounts in etc so obviously he knew it was real money.

ElizabethJH

You can still use pay pal without verifying bank account.. I think it just restricts to amounts of £50 or something like that. Can't remember without looking into. I just know that I haven't verified my account and have been using it for the past year with no problems.

There is the question that he would have to have a bank account though - I really believe that I was naive enough at 13 to have done something like this and not realise that it was "real" money. Or would have been able to disassociate the fact at least, if I can't see it does it exist?

Maybe also the game he was playing should not allow people under a certain age to trade with real money!?

scubaangel

If I remember right you dont actually have to verify your paypal account until you want to move money from paypal in to your bank account, personally I have two paypal accounts linked to separate emails, one is verified, the other is not. I have made small purchases from both accounts and the unverified one gets money in to it on a regular basis, which then gets transferred to the verified one when I want to move it in to the bank.

So its entirely possible that a 13 year old can see a paypal account as 'virtual' money not real money and wont have had to verify it at all. Though it doesnt change that they should have better controls in place to ensure that they are only providing accounts to people over 18.

Cerisa

Sarah, I completely disagree. There is a difference between knowing the difference between right and wrong and understanding the complexities of your actions. If 10 year olds were fully morally aware they would be allowed to vote, own property and sign contracts. And given that you think a child acting badly is a sign of poor parenting, we are actually kind of agreeing here? So why should the child be punished for a parent's fault? That said, this particular situation just seems like a child being a bit silly; not a matter of right or wrong, just a matter of making the wrong choice. Which children also often do, because they lack maturity and experience; which is why we do not hold them repsonsible for their own actions.

Max_Headroom_3

Lokolo wrote: »

Resonbly back to topic. I signed up for Paypal when I was a youngun, as soon as I turned 18 I changed my datebofbirth. I am like one of their premium members too. :T

However, make him pay the debt!!!! MAKE HIM A MSE!!

I'm curious, in what way are you like one of their premium members? Similar height and build? Same name?

sandra_nz

I wonder if it might be time for mum to put some parental controls on the computer - limit the websites the child is able to access.

bandraoi

Cerisa wrote: »

Sarah, I completely disagree. There is a difference between knowing the difference between right and wrong

Criminal Law

Cerisa wrote: »

and understanding the complexities of your actions.

Civil/Contract Law

Funnily enough the law agrees with you. Above 10, a child is expected to know the difference between right and wrong and can be held responsible for their actions in a criminal case. That's the fundamentals, the shoplifting, breaking and entering, vandalism.

Until you're 18, you can't partake of civil law. You can't enter into complex contracts except in very limited circumstances which is why you can't buy a house, own property or indeed vote.

mrcow

CmdrX3 wrote: »

He didn't receive any goods, apparently he was trading virtual furniture from the website habbo hotel with other kids online. My guess is someone has paid him for something through paypal, he has then spent the money buying furniture from someone else, then someone has put in a claim which paypal have deducted from his account.

When I was discussing the matter with my son, he did not seem to fully grasp the fact that there was real money involved. He seemed to be under the impression it was all just virtual money, until I showed him the debt letter, when he nearly wet himself. Anyway, one thing is certain, he WILL learn the error of his ways.

:mad::mad::mad:

He's certainly not the first to have been tripped up by these people and I doubt he'll be the last. We've had quite a few posters complaining about this, notably this one:

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=222646

a couple of years back whose children had knocked up a £230 phone bill :eek:

Glad that you got it sorted. These websites know exactly what they are doing - targeting children who may not understand exactly the repercussions of their actions or the fact that real money is even involved.