Lance Perkins, the man who received a bill of over $8,000 to his credit card as a result of his son making microtransactions on Xbox, received a refund from Microsoft.
The teenage son of Lance Perkins used his father's card to engage in microtransactions in one FIFA game, leading to a total sum of $8,206.43. The teenager stated that he was taken aback by the huge figure, as he was convinced that he was making a one-time purchase.
Microtransactions allow players to get extra game content, be it extra features, levels, experience, weapons or enhancers. Most cases of hefty microtransaction come from the United States, where children get access to their parents' credit cards and start a deluge of in-game purchases.
It seems that teenagers are the same everywhere, even in Canada.
"It floored me. Literally floored me, when I'd seen what I was being charged," Perkins declared to CBC News.
In his quest to recuperate his money, Perkins first went to this credit card company. He was dismayed to hear what the credit company proposed: filing charges against his son for fraud. Predictably, Perkins refused the opportunity to meet his son in front of a judge.
In the end, the Canadian dad went on to ask Microsoft to compensate his son's mistake. The Redmond-based company took no action at first, but when it discovered that the son is a minor it started to analyze the incident. After internal deliberation, Microsoft chose to refund the full sum on Monday.
Perkins stated that this situation should serve as a cautionary tale to other families, and urged gaming companies to install safeguards that will prevent such an unfortunate event from happening.
He pointed out that he is full of gratitude towards Xbox's parent company.
"Let's thank them for making that choice," Perkins texted CBC News to highlight his appreciation for Microsoft's gesture.
After the credit card bill shocked him, the Canadian dad underlined that he will carry a small-sized vendetta against gaming systems in his home.
"There will never be another Xbox system – or any gaming system – in my home," Perkins noted.
We are curious whether or not his opinion changed after Microsoft agreed to pay back the far-from-micro sum.
