Kids these days may be tech-savvy, but that doesn’t mean they understand money. Plenty of minors use Facebook accounts linked to their parents’ credit cards and make in-app purchases without even realising it.
Fortunately, if your child has gotten a little carried away playing Farmville and made a virtual purchase with your very real money, you can now get a refund,
The Guardian reports. In the past, parents whose kids accidentally spent their funds in Facebook games had little recourse.
But now, a California court has ruled in favour of the plaintiffs in a class action lawsuit brought against FB in 2012 by two children and their parents. While one of the children in the lawsuit intentionally used his parent’s debit card without permission, the other simply didn’t realise he was spending real money while playing a Facebook game.
The second child initially spent $20 in a game (with parental permission), but didn’t realise subsequently that the “fake” money he was spending in the game was linked to his parents’ real bank account. The court ruled that Facebook must now provide a way for parents to request refunds for purchases their kids make without permission. As long as the children are under 18, parents can get their money back—whether or not the child in question knowingly spent money or used the items they purchased.
So, if your kids accidentally paid for power-ups or sneakily stole your card so they could get to the next level in their favourite FB game, you can head over to the Facebook Payments Support page and get your money back.
— Source: www.mentalfloss.com
