Furious mum 'CANCELS CHRISTMAS' after eight-year-old son secretly spends £3,000 on Xbox add-ons
17 September 2019, 14:15 | Updated: 1 November 2019, 07:25
Schoolboy Leon racked up an eye-watering amount on his mum's credit card buying expensive gaming extras.
A single mother has told her son that "Christmas is cancelled" after he racked up an eye-watering bill of over £3,000 buying Xbox add-ons.
Martine Berriedale-Johnson, 40, was horrified to find eight-year-old Leon had been secretly purchasing gaming extras while playing Minecraft and Roblox, leaving her with a staggering credit card statement that's left her with serious money issues.
The schoolboy splashed out on over 20 online buys and in less than 24 hours managed to spend a whopping £978.81.
A couple of days later he charged his mum's account seven more times, with one add-on costing an astonishing £199.99.
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Martine first noticed something was wrong when she received her monthly statement and clocked the huge charges listed against her name.
She said: "I’d put in my card details once for him to buy an add-on for a game for £4.99.
“That was supposed to be a one-off special treat.
“I had no idea that my details had been saved on the system and Leon was still using my card to buy more online.”
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Following the shocking invoice, Martine confronted Leon and confessed she lost her mind because she only budgets for around £30 a month, which is usually spent on takeaway treats and Amazon orders.
“When I saw my credit card bill, I went crazy. I told him I was selling his Xbox,” she raged.
The Brighton-based mum admitted she already battles to feed her two children, but now fears her family will miss out on a traditional turkey dinner this coming Christmas due to her dwindling finances.
She said: “I’m a single mum and I already struggle to put food on the table.
“But I’m always really careful with my finances. I just don’t know how I’m going to pay this bill.”
Not only will there be no trimmings for the boys on their plates, but her son's online splurge means presents have gone out the window, too.
She added: “I’ve told the boys Christmas is cancelled and that they’re not getting any toys.
“I don’t even know if I’ll be able to afford Christmas dinner after this.”
After explaining to Leon what he'd done, Martine said he was sorry and wasn't aware of the dent he was making in her savings.
She said: “He had understood that he was buying something but didn’t understand the financial consequences.
“But now I’ve explained it to him and he realises what he did.”
Thankfully, Martine got in touch with Microsoft to query their security settings and will now be refunded the full amount.
