An elderly couple received the bill of £3,000 after they allowed their granddaughter to play the online game during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Elderly couple left with zero savings
An elderly couple from Scotland was in complete shock after they found they were left with nothing from their savings after allowing their granddaughter to play and online game. They were shocked to have received the bill of £3,000 after they allowed their granddaughter to play the online game during the lockdown.
Liz and Jim Harrison from Alloa, Clackmannanshire, Scotland initially thought their account might have been hacked after they found out a huge difference of amount lessened in their savings. They had allowed their eight-year-old granddaughter to sign up with the online game platform – Roblox as Abby, their granddaughter informed of their friends playing the game as well.
The couple has slammed the online operator, Roblox for not authorizing the couple as bill payers and now that they have been left with nothing. The couple learnt of the deductions from their bank account only after they set up their online banking recently and initially thought of being victims of scanners.
Roblox is a free downloadable online game platform however it encourages users to buy virtual currency called ‘Robux’ in the game for purchases.
When the couple did enquire their eight-year-old granddaughter, she had just stated that she went on buying things with the least knowledge of any virtual transaction which accounts to actual billable purchases.
There have been reports of the online game operator Roblox being slammed earlier as well for racking up bills without the knowledge of the guardians. The game platform, which has 100 million users and has been popular among children.
The users can buy unlimited amounts of Robux if payment configuration has not been set up correctly.
Liz explains how her granddaughter ended up spending seamlessly up to £500 on a single day playing different games.
Initially, they thought of being trapped by scanners but only after they set up their online banking did they learn of all payments being billed to Roblox which their eight-year-old granddaughter ended up spending unknowingly on their family iPod.
The couple expressed their displeasure for the online gaming platform not alerting for all the payments being made and that they could have checked for authorization before any user would proceed to the game. The couple did try to contact their bank Halifax, the online game platform Roblox and PayPal for help according to their statement to media sources.
However, a Roblox spokesperson stated that they would try preventing any unauthorized purchases by taking appropriate measures and they would refund the amount in case of any such unauthorized payments without the knowledge of their guardians and assured of refunding the money in such cases. He also stated of the online platform of getting in touch with Harrisons for necessary information for initiating the refund.
