Boy Spends £1150 on Microsoft Points

A story recently hit the web about a father complaining to Microsoft after his 12-year-old son spent a whooping £1150 on Microsoft Points over a six month period.

Sam Ghera’s son Nik, claims he didn't know the Microsoft Points were being charged to his father's credit card and had even spent £100 in a single day on the games he loved like FIFA and Call of Duty.

Ghera says ,"He didn't realise it was costing real money, with sites like eBay and iTunes it always asks you for a password before you make a purchase, but with Xbox Live you just press a button and then your money's gone."

Microsoft have apparently been looking into this matter and responded by saying the price of downloadable content is stated throughout the purchasing process.

I might be the only one here but I completely agree with Microsoft – I personally find their content approach fair and clear. Looking into purchasing today I had 4 prompts to tell me how many Microsoft points I required and the price in cash that I would need to pay to purchase them.

The Xbox Live offerings that require cash correctly have no password for any standard ‘adult’ accounts but do have the facilities to accommodate those who allow their children to play online. This includes credit card protection as well as guidelines over what they can play, who with and when.

The services offered are more than adequate to allow anyone to protect themselves from a sometime hostile online community but which can be also used to protect those of a young or innocent nature.

In fact the real problem Sam Ghera is having also has an option on all Xbox Live accounts to protect his own financial interests. There are specific settings within the console and account details to allow ‘over the shoulder approval’ which requires the card holder to give permission before a purchase can be completed either through a password or an email link.

 Despite his son spending money on Microsoft Points for over six month, Ghera didn’t realise the money was missing until he went overdrawn. Ghera explained that he had registered his card so that his son could play Fifa and Call of Duty with his friends.

Let this be a warning to all parents out there – check you children's online authorities before putting your cards to anything. You don’t need a password to pay for things on Amazon so why would an Xbox Live account be any different.

Oh and check your statements every month!