Teen who spent $8K on FIFA microtransactions refunded

I’m genuinely surprised

Steven recently covered a wild story about a man, Lance Perkins, who was shocked to learn that his 17-year-old son had racked up $7,625 in FIFA microtransactions. A few updates on that front.

As it turns out, the damage was even worse than previously thought — prior charges brought the total amount spent on in-game purchases closer to $8,206. At the time of our initial report, Perkins had been unsuccessful in getting the bill dropped by the credit card company (not without having his son charged with fraud, anyway) and Microsoft was also unwilling to budge.

Miraculously, Microsoft has since changed course and refunded the FIFA charges.

Speaking to CBC, the father said he was “very pleased” with the outcome. “Let’s thank them for making that choice.” As for suitable punishment, I have to imagine he’s turning to the mother from Malcolm in the Middle for inspiration. Talk about a horror story for the digital age.

Xbox bill refunded after teen racked up $8K in charges to dad’s dismay [CBC]