Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Dec 07, 2023

Roblox: Ten-year-old spent £2,500 of mum's money without her knowing

Roblox: Ten-year-old spent £2,500 of mum's money without her knowing

A 10-year-old girl spent more than £2,500 on the gaming site Roblox after changing the password on her family's iPad tablet without her mum realising.

Georgina Munday, from Denbighshire is now warning parents to "be vigilant".

Tesco Bank initially refused a refund but reconsidered and apologised after BBC Radio Four consumer affairs show, You and Yours took up the case.

Roblox says it has "a robust policy" from unauthorised payments and Apple says pre-purchase alerts can be set up.

Roblox allows users to create their own games but also offers in app purchases to upgrade the user's avatar with things like clothes or accessories and offers some pay to play games.

Georgina Munday, 44, who lives in Dyserth, said her daughter, Primrose, who has autism, had been playing on her tablet for longer recently, because she is currently off school after struggling in mainstream education.

She initially thought someone had hacked Primrose's account but it soon became clear that the 10-year-old had managed to change the password to allow payments.

"We'd just seen hundreds of transactions, these payment confirmations, so then the panic set in - oh my gosh, whose card is this on?"

Primrose had managed to spend more than £2,500 on the site but most were small transactions of around £20.

For about a week, Georgina, who is a nurse, was in back and forth contact with Apple and her bank, Tesco Bank, trying to secure a refund but both refused - she said it was "a horrendous time".

"It was a really stressful time. I am not working at the minute, I am looking after my daughter. The last few months have been quite stressful, so maybe we have had our eye off the ball. I just thought I would have to pay it off in instalments over the next few years.

"I rang up Tesco Bank and they said, because it was my daughter, they couldn't do anything about it. So I tried Apple again - they just read me their terms and conditions. So that's when I contacted the BBC, You and Yours, consumer programme."

Within a day, Georgina said that Tesco Bank contacted her to say they would refund the full amount.

"I cried - it was just a relief, a weight off my shoulders."

Apple points out there are ways that accounts can be set up to alert a parent before a child wants to make a purchase.

It added that parents and guardians should not disclose passwords or enable FaceID and TouchID for their children and Ask to Buy should be set up so purchases need approval before going through.

Screen time being turned on will also enable parents to stop in-app purchases, it added.

Roblox players build the games, using the developer tools which the platform provides


Tesco Bank said: "We've carried out a further review of this case and have now agreed with Ms Munday that we'll refund her the full amount.

"We apologise to Ms Munday that this wasn't arranged for her when she first contacted us, and we've therefore also organised an additional payment to her as a gesture of goodwill."

Georgina said she does not feel happy to let her daughter play the game anymore.

"She knew what she was doing, she changed the password but I don't think she understood the enormity of it."

Georgina said parents need to "be vigilant" and know what their children are playing.

"Children are one step ahead of parents these days. We thought this Roblox game was quite innocent, it looks very basic. It's a whole world out there on this Roblox that we knew nothing about."

Roblox said: "Roblox has a robust policy for processing refund requests where there may have been unauthorised payments from a person's account.

"This process is detailed in our help centre here.

"Parents also have access to a suite of Parental Controls that can be used to determine how much their children can spend, and set spend notifications to increase visibility over their children's spending on Roblox."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
Close
0:00
0:00
Henry Kissinger, the influential American diplomat, Nobel Peace Prize laureate, and former Secretary of State, passed away at 100 at his Connecticut home.
Here is a video showing the moment of the release of the captives by the terrorist organization Hamas and their transfer to the Red Cross on their way back to the State of Israel.
Here is a video showing the moment of the release of the captives by the terrorist organization Hamas and their transfer to the Red Cross on their way back to the State of Israel.
Bill Gates Envisions a Possible 3-Day Work Week with AI
Abu Dhabi-Backed Fund Poised to Assume Control of UK's Telegraph Media Group
Biden Advocates for Palestinian Authority to Govern Gaza and West Bank
Apple and Disney Halt Ads on X Following Elon Musk's Antisemitic Post, US Reacts
The UK’s Supreme Court, in a move that surprised no one who respects international law and human rights, has just delivered a landmark ruling against Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s immigration strategy.
Top German journalist received €600,000 from Putin ally, leak reveals
A Dramatic Video from Gaza, Provided by IDF Spokesperson Daniel Hagari, Offers Undeniable Evidence of Hamas Establishing Terror Operation Bases Near Schools, Above Hospitals, and Inside Civilian Areas.
Moody's Downgrades U.S. Credit Outlook to Negative Amid Fiscal Concerns
Paper straws found to contain long-lasting and potentially toxic chemicals - study
FTX's Bankman-Fried headed for jail after judge revokes bail
Blackrock gets half a trillion dollar deal to rebuild Ukraine
Steve Jobs' Son Launches Venture Capital Firm With $200 Million For Cancer Treatments
Israel: Unprecedented Civil Disobedience Looms as IDF Reservists Protest Judiciary Reform
Google reshuffles Assistant unit, lays off some staffers, to 'supercharge' products with A.I.
End of Viagra? FDA approved a gel against erectile dysfunction
UK sanctions Russians judges over dual British national Kara-Murza's trial
US restricts visa-free travel for Hungarian passport holders because of security concerns
America's First New Nuclear Reactor in Nearly Seven Years Begins Operations
Southeast Asia moves closer to economic unity with new regional payments system
Political leader from South Africa, Julius Malema, led violent racist chants at a massive rally on Saturday
Today Hunter Biden’s best friend and business associate, Devon Archer, testified that Joe Biden met in Georgetown with Russian Moscow Mayor's Wife Yelena Baturina who later paid Hunter Biden $3.5 million in so called “consulting fees”
'I am not your servant': IndiGo crew member, passenger get into row over airline meal
Singapore Carries Out First Execution of a Woman in Two Decades Amid Capital Punishment Debate
Spanish Citizenship Granted to Iranian chess player who removed hijab
US Senate Republican Mitch McConnell freezes up, leaves press conference
Speaker McCarthy says the United States House of Representatives is getting ready to impeach Joe Biden.
San Francisco car crash
This camera man is a genius
3D ad in front of Burj Khalifa
Next level gaming
BMW driver…
Google testing journalism AI. We are doing it already 2 years, and without Google biased propoganda and manipulated censorship
Unlike illegal imigrants coming by boats - US Citizens Will Need Visa To Travel To Europe in 2024
Musk announces Twitter name and logo change to X.com
The politician and the journalist lost control and started fighting on live broadcast.
The future of sports
Unveiling the Black Hole: The Mysterious Fate of EU's Aid to Ukraine
Farewell to a Music Titan: Tony Bennett, Renowned Jazz and Pop Vocalist, Passes Away at 96
Alarming Behavior Among Florida's Sharks Raises Concerns Over Possible Cocaine Exposure
Transgender Exclusion in Miss Italy Stirs Controversy Amidst Changing Global Beauty Pageant Landscape
Swedish Embassy in Baghdad Engulfed in Flames Amidst a Firestorm of Protests
TikTok Takes On Spotify And Apple, Launches Own Music Service
Global Trend: Using Anti-Fake News Laws as Censorship Tools - A Deep Dive into Tunisia's Scenario
Arresting Putin During South African Visit Would Equate to War Declaration, Asserts President Ramaphosa
Today, we're unveiling the splendor of one of Saudi Arabia's most exclusive and stunning retreats – the Jeddah Yacht Club
Hacktivist Collective Anonymous Launches 'Project Disclosure' to Unearth Information on UFOs and ETIs
Typo sends millions of US military emails to Russian ally Mali
×