next.co.uk open credit account for daughter - are they right?

lamaar75

My daughter had a next gift card. She went on their website and bought some items. As she clicked through the order process it told her that if she was not 18 then she could not order, so, like some children would, she changed her DOB so she was 18.

As far as she was concerned, she wasn't really doing anything wrong as she had money on the card and just wanted to spend it. Anyway, she orders the items and the next day they come.

A few days later she get a statement which says she has a credit limit. I phoned Next and asked them what was going on and it seemed that as she had put she was 18, and ticked the box to say she would like a free directory, they had opened a credit account for her.

OK, I know she shouldn't have put she was 18 ( she is 12 ), but surely Next should have more checks in place? When I questioned them on it they said they perform their own internal checks which they were not willing to divulge and wanted to know how and when I was going to pay for the items.

I told them to just pick them up and take my 12yr old to court for the delivery charge as I feel they have not carried out enough checks to make sure she was 18.

Am I in the right here? I know what my daughter did was wrong but surely they should have at least checked she was on the elecrol roll?

McKneff

Youre absolutely right, your daughter did the wrong thing but i too would have been hopping mad at Next not having more stringent checks in place.

LeeSouthEast

What you do need to do is make sure Next remove any mention of your daughter from the credit reference agencies when they close the account. Also make sure they do NOT register a CIFAS marker on her report for fraud.

Otherwise your daughter may struggle to get credit for the rest of her days. (Bit melodramatic but the advice is sound lol).

Lil_Me_2

Can't really help on the legal side of things but wanted to let you know that a similar thing happened to me last year. I registered on next.co.uk but never bought anything, got my credit report a couple of months ago to find that they had performed a search on my credit and had given me an account with a credit limit of £600! I had no idea that the T&Cs I'd agreed to allowed them to do that and they certainly never sent me any letters telling me. Taught me to stop ticking the boxes without reading!

scullster

The risk is with Next, I don't think they are legally obliged to perform all the necessary credit checks if any - if they choose not to, and the customer fails to pay up, they lose. I'm not sure they've done anything wrong.

Your daughter could however be subject to obtaining credit by fraudulent means - I would expect that the small print would refer to a credit account being created and that she accepted these.

My advice (one of common sense, but not legal advice), pay the delivery charge (out of your daughters pocket money) otherwise I think Next will have grounds to pursue you or your daughter. Failure to pay may result in bad credit history

montyrebel

Stick to primark, childrens clothes, made for children by children

pendulum

Inviting Next to sue your 12-year-old daughter because "they did not carry out enough checks"... how very brave of you.

What checks did you carry out on your daughter while she was using the internet unsupervised?

What checks did you have in place to make sure she wasn't misusing the internet?

By your logic I think the government should take you to court and have your daughter off you, because you didn't carry out enough checks. Seem fair?

Next will want paying for the items bought, I suggest you pay otherwise they might come after you (not your daughter) as yes you can be held responsible for the actions of your kids if you have been negligent, and letting them use the Next website and the Internet unsupervised is negligent.

YOU should carry out more checks.

Have you punished your daughter for lying and learnt any lessons from this yourself as a parent, or do you really believe this is all Next's fault, because if so there's no hope, be more responsible.

Ivory_Tinkler

OP you think that Next should have checked against the electoral roll? Not everyone is on it or may have moved house since the last one was drawn up. I go with the other posters and say pay the bill and have very strong words with your daughter about the act of committing fraud.

Amistoso_2

have to agree with most of the above comments. Make her pay whatever is due (out of pocket money or the like) and have a serious talk with her about the possible consequenses of her actions.
Perhaps if she can't be trusted on the internet she should be supervised while using it...

shellsuit

lamaar75 wrote: »

My daughter had a next gift card. She went on their website and bought some items. As she clicked through the order process it told her that if she was not 18 then she could not order, so, like some children would, she changed her DOB so she was 18.

As far as she was concerned, she wasn't really doing anything wrong as she had money on the card and just wanted to spend it. Anyway, she orders the items and the next day they come.

A few days later she get a statement which says she has a credit limit. I phoned Next and asked them what was going on and it seemed that as she had put she was 18, and ticked the box to say she would like a free directory, they had opened a credit account for her.

OK, I know she shouldn't have put she was 18 ( she is 12 ), but surely Next should have more checks in place? When I questioned them on it they said they perform their own internal checks which they were not willing to divulge and wanted to know how and when I was going to pay for the items.

I told them to just pick them up and take my 12yr old to court for the delivery charge as I feel they have not carried out enough checks to make sure she was 18.

Am I in the right here? I know what my daughter did was wrong but surely they should have at least checked she was on the elecrol roll?

Didn't your daughter pay? I thought that was the whole point of her registering and ordering, so she could pay?

Pollycat

lamaar75 wrote: »

My daughter had a next gift card. She went on their website and bought some items. As she clicked through the order process it told her that if she was not 18 then she could not order, so, like some children would, she changed her DOB so she was 18.

As far as she was concerned, she wasn't really doing anything wrong as she had money on the card and just wanted to spend it. Anyway, she orders the items and the next day they come.

I'm in agreement with the posters who say that your daughter was in the wrong.

You say that as far as she was concerned she wasn't doing anything wrong - is she now VERY VERY clear that what she did was wrong?

Didn't she realise that the Next website put a minimum age of 18 for a reason?

And, if she were my daughter, I'd be very worried about who else on the internet she may be telling that she's 18. :rolleyes: