Microsoft ,xbox 360, My son at the age of 14 is not old enough to purchase xbox games. He was allowed to purchased a game for 29.99, and i am told no refunds . He is not old enough to purchase anythingh!! swansea, Illinois

I would agree, there was a rip off.

 It seems a minor made an unauthorized purchase using your card. Yep..read the report a few times and that is the only rip off I can find in it.

Looks like some minor not only used your credit card without permission, but also that YOU are now stuck with the bill for the merchandise the minor purchased since it is non refundable.

I don't think I would have done this when I was a kid..because I would have feared being punished..imagine that?

My child did the same thing with his X-Box live - he just kept upgrading and ordering on the card until the statement came - guess what?? No X-Box for him as punishment

Question - what is dosen?

    Just not by Microsoft.    Sorry Kellie, but the fraud in this case was commited by your son.  That's the way the police and the credit card company would see it, if you were to report it.   You seriously need to sit your son down and have a long talk about the serious implications of unauthorized use of someone else's credit card.   

   Oh wait, you can't teach your son that because in your mind it was Microsoft who did the bad deed.     Not a good example to set for your kid. 

 

I think I know what happened here.

Xbox Live is the online network for Xbox 360 players. Some of the services on the network include downloading game updates, streaming television shows and movies, playing online multiplayer games, checking out game demos and purchasing complete games for download.

One of two things happened here. The OP purchased something from Xbox Live previously and the credit card information was saved on the user profile for the console.

                                           ***or***

The minor somehow got a hold of the credit card information (including the 3 digit security code on the back) and entered it into the console himself.

Either way, the son is the one at fault here. You just don't buy something from your Xbox 360 console without knowing it. A new window pops up with the typical disclaimer and the transaction details such as the item, how much it costs, that credit card ending in **** will be charged, no refunds, etc. The user then has to press a button to accept the transaction.

How is Microsoft supposed to know that the OP didn't authorize the transaction? The son essentially pretended to be the OP in order to buy the game. While Microsoft is by no means an angel of a company, they are not at fault here.

The OP should make the son pay back the purchase amount by withholding allowance or by having him do extra chores. You should also consider either removing your credit card information from the console or setting up your son's profile so he can't make purchases online.

Would you explain to all of us uneducated consumers how this constitutes a ripoff by - of all companies -- Microsoft?  Microsoft is not responsible for the unauthorized use of your credit card. 

If this is a ripoff report of the store the game was purchased at, are you reporting on the store?  You didn't mention any names of Stores  Even still, THEY aren't responsible either, especially if you're now in possession of the game and it's been opened or used by the "minor" you mentioned.

If you know the user of the credit card was a by minor, can we assume that you also know the minor's identity?  Was it a family member?  That's too bad if it was, because if they used your credit card without your permission, that's fraud, even if was your son, daughter, younger brother, or one of their friends.  Fraud. 

Being a victim of fraud, and being ripped off, are not mutually exclusive, but they're certainly not the same thing.  It seems that you want to punish the manufacter of the game, not the ill-behaved child who fraudulently purchased it.

Did you report this to your credit card company?  Have you reported it to the police? 



I'm guessing not, especially if the game was purchased, opened, and used by a minor family member (a family member, or one of their buddies, as I suspect was the case in this situation).  You're trying to blame a store or company for the illegal activities of "a minor."  Would it have helped if the game came with a big sign that read, "Microsoft is not responsible for the upbringing, discipline, or supervision of your children?"

Another thing.  Obviously, if "the charges were purchased by a minor that doesn even have access to my credit card information" (sic), and the charges ended up on your credit card, than the minor - unless given divine, psychic powers, most certainly DID have your credit card information. 

Claiming otherwise is like saying, "a minor that doesn't even have access to my car keys used them to steal my car, so I'm not responsible for the damage he caused." 


This may be difficult for you to accept, but sometimes hearing these things from perfect strangers might help you see how your situation looks to from a completely impartial third party.  From outside in, we think;

1.  You're angry.
2.  You're not blaming the responsible parties (i.e. the minor, yourself, or bad parent(s).
3.  You're blaming parties not responsible (the store, Microsoft)
4.  The minor responsible for the purchase is in severe need of discipline, and/or has a real moron for a parent.

If I'm way off here, please do post again with more details, but do try to write a bit more concisely.  Your report is difficult to understand.