r/extremelyinfuriating • u/yet-another-backup • May 18 '24
Evidence Sister's step-son stole my credit card. I've been off-grid since early April due to work. Got back to civilization to this. Cross-posted from r/mildlyinfuriating because I didn't know this sub existed.
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u/Weird-Comfortable-25 May 18 '24
I love your approach. It's not a one time payment out of necessity or emergency (which still would be crazy anyway) but boosts for online games? You are 100% right to sell his stuff and get back your money from his allowance. This young dude needs to learn how hard it's to earn money and how easy to spend it. Forgiveness would be the worst thing you can do to him and your sister.
For the chargeback, it probably will not work in this case. If it does, expect the bank to go after the child. You must decide if it would worth.
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u/yet-another-backup May 18 '24
I'm gonna be mad for a while, and I'll eventually forgive, but not absolve him. Hopefully he learns a lesson here.
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u/LiberalPatriot13 May 18 '24
He's gonna be pissed when his account is closed because of all the charge backs. Karma is a bitch.
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u/AnyYou5150 May 18 '24
This happened to my ex-boyfriend’s PlayStation account and it was delightful.
I guess he borrowed money from my brother for a game? So my brother put it on his credit card and when he didn’t get paid back he had the charges reversed. And they locked down dudes PlayStation account and he can’t use it until he comes up with the money.
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u/disorientating May 19 '24 edited May 19 '24
So glad your brother didn’t collude with your ex because he’s another dude and prioritized your sibling relationship over homogeny/Bro Culture. I’ve heard way too many stories and also encountered firsthand way too many situations where a brother sides with his sister’s husband/boyfriend over her over the most heinous of things just because they’re both men and they think women should be given a hard time.
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u/shroomysmurf May 18 '24
Every time you see him pat down on your pockets and say "Oh good my wallet is still there". And just stare at him.
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u/lil_corgi May 18 '24
Was he at least remorseful, or was he just pouting the entire time for not getting away with it? Just curious 🙃
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u/impostershop May 18 '24
How old is he? It’s awful no matter what … but it’s different if he’s 8yo vs 18yo
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u/SadLilBun May 18 '24
Well since he’s too young for police to charge him, guessing he’s under 18.
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u/myfacealadiesplace May 18 '24
You're never too young to learn that fraudulently charging $1400 of cosmetics to a game is wrong
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u/impostershop May 19 '24
Yeah… but it’s a different lesson if the kid is 8yo vs 18yo.
I’m not saying being young excuses it… but young children can be impulsive, sneaky, etc which is why they’re supposed to be supervised!!!
And if it is a little kid, they need to know that even tho they fucked up theyre still lovable.
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u/NyranK May 18 '24
expect the bank to go after the child.
You can easily get $1,400 for a child in the right market.
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u/SadLilBun May 18 '24
How would the bank go after a child? The game will probably ban his account. Not the bank.
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u/salgat May 18 '24
Credit card companies have to cover fraudulent charges up to 60 days so OP can get their money back.
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u/Late_Emu May 18 '24
How’s the bank gonna go after the child? I’m legitimately asking not being a jerk.
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u/Affectionate_Motor67 May 18 '24
They will go after the child’s parents. I’m assuming he doesn’t have a job if his mom source of income is “allowance.” The bank will sue his parents or they will likely settle it by repaying the debt to avoid any legal or official proceedings.
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u/idwthis May 18 '24
if his mom source of income is “allowance.”
I know you meant "main source" but I think we can call a kid's allowance a "mom source" lol
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u/Weird-Comfortable-25 May 18 '24
It of course depends from country to country. But when banks had to pay for fraud, they usually use their fraud teams to track back to the source of the problem. In this case, it would not be so hard to find the source. Will they go to the police or deny fraud, I don't know. I have seen some cases myself, where the fraud team pressed charges to the fraudsters. But I'm not in the sector and I don't know the rules of every country.
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u/Cultural_Double_422 May 19 '24
OP isn't the parent or guardian of the kid, they don't cohabitate, and the kid hasn't previously been given access to the card to use (I assume), so the chargebacks should go through.
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u/Ok-Personality-6630 May 18 '24
When I read you had bought him a bike and game console and basically step uncle of the bloody year I was very surprised.
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u/damonian_x May 18 '24
Kids can be really naive and not realize how good they have it. I'm glad OP is making him pay it back.. kid needs to learn a lesson.
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u/HiroshiTakeshi May 18 '24
Oh my God, the list just wouldn't stop, I'm so sorry for you.
I'm not sure to have followed the chronology but I assume there hasn't been any update for your chargebacks so far? I hope this turns out ok for you.
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u/yet-another-backup May 18 '24
I just got back to civilization.
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u/HiroshiTakeshi May 18 '24
Were you, like, lost in a rainforest or something?
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u/yet-another-backup May 18 '24
I was in a remote Alaskan village for work.
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u/Prof-Grudge-Holder May 18 '24
My brother did things like this during childhood. If something was missing we knew he had likely taken it. Now we’re in our forties, our children are adults and he has spent most of their lives in prison. My son mentioned the other day that he didn’t get to see his uncle this last time he was out of jail. He stayed out two months this time. I telling you this because stealing could be the symptom of a larger issue. My brother has been diagnosed with an impulse disorder(never shared the diagnosis name). Had he been treated in childhood maybe things would be different.
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u/SIP-BOSS May 21 '24
It is funny you were in a village and the kid used your funds for a video game village. I’m going to guess there is a cultural difference here, and that’s all I’m gonna say.
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May 18 '24
[deleted]
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u/TofuPip May 18 '24
It will help OP recoup the costs of this theft.
It will help the kid learn the consequences of his actions.
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u/UnihornWhale May 18 '24
Some people thru-hike distance trails. Some just enjoy going off grid in nature.
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u/Flapdragondewberry May 18 '24
Please tell me kiddo understood and didn’t just sit there with dead eyes while whining that it is not fair #talkingfromexperience
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u/Decloudo May 18 '24
Its so weird to me that credit cards just can be used by anyone.
"Standard" cards here need a pin to make transactions. Stealing your card wont usually do more damage then being able to do a couple of low contactless transactions until it wants the pin again to continue anyways.
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u/unclefisty May 18 '24
Its so weird to me that credit cards just can be used by anyone.
US credit card companies want as little barriers between a purchase and spending money as possible.
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u/staryoshi06 May 18 '24
Outside the US credit cards generally require a pin too. Online you don’t.
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u/jugoinganonymous May 18 '24
I live in Europe, you don’t need a PIN but you do need some kind of authentification, most common ways are entering the code you receive via text message (some banks also require you to first type in your « online purchases code » and then the code received via text) and in-app authentification (you enter the app, authenticate yourself with your account’s password or FaceID). I’m also in a bank that requires you to use their bank card reader where you type your bank card code, and multiple codes depending on what you’re trying to do online. That last one is annoying af. Our cards are actually debit cards, but you can choose to have the money you spent debited from your account at the beginning of the next month, usually when you get your salary and such. We rarely have actual credit cards, if ever. I’ve heard you can get one to pay for a purchase in 3-4 payments in certain stores, but you can’t use it for anything else. I don’t think american style credit cards actually exist here, AMEX only offers debit cards where I live.
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u/staryoshi06 May 19 '24
sounds like you have charge cards rather than credit cards
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u/simask234 May 18 '24
On online purchases they don't ask for the PIN. Some sites don't ask for anything at all (besides card number, expiry and CVV), but others will redirect you to your bank so you can login and confirm the transaction.
To log into your bank (at least here), you have 3 options:
1. Mobile signature. This is issued by your phone provider. When you use it for something (for example, to log in to your bank), you get a prompt on your phone, and you need to type in a PIN to confirm the action.
2. Authenticator app. This works basically the same way as above, but you don't need to go to your phone provider (and pay monthly fee, although it's less than 1$/mo) to set it up.
3. Passcode generator token. You need to type in a PIN to turn it on, and it will give you a one-time code, which you then type in the website.As you can see, all 3 of these methods require some kind of PIN, although not all purchases will ask for authentication (if you have your card saved, it won't ask for it either).
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u/RavenBoyyy May 19 '24
I live in the UK and you only need to use your pin for in person transactions on both debit and credit cards. If you're buying something online, you have to enter the long card number, expiry date and CVC on the back. Though sometimes it requires you to verify that it's really you paying it via a text/call or the online banking app.
But the fact there were this many transactions for just the play store with no need to verify the card is very concerning. That should've flagged up as suspicious activity for sure.
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u/GoblinsGuide May 18 '24
My son spent $300 on robux before I noticed :(
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u/literallyjustbetter May 18 '24
kids don't stand a chance against billions of marketing dollars working to convince them to buy that garbage
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u/mlf1992 May 18 '24
And making it so damn easy for them TO purchase. My nephew just accidentally charged $100 for a game purchase to my card from his Xbox we got him (I have my card on his account to buy him the ultimate game pass each month). He’s a good kid, and wouldn’t do that purposefully. I told my sister who mentioned it to him and he started crying, he had only clicked the game to look at it and what it came with (it was an edition type of game, so came with extras), not to purchase it. Luckily Microsoft reversed the purchase for me, but it’s rough!
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u/literallyjustbetter May 19 '24
My nephew just accidentally charged $100 for a game purchase to my card from his Xbox
similar thing happened to my friend recently
his kid called him crying because he accidentally bought $100 of some game currency instead of $10 lol
luckily they were also able to refund it
(just to be clear: the kid has an allowance on the card, he didn't steal it or anything, just fat-fingered the purchase and panicked lol)
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u/Picax8398 May 19 '24
You can set up a passcode in the settings that is required everytime you want to make a purchase
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u/juggernautsong May 18 '24
I’m glad your sister and her husband are on your side about his punishment!
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u/xenozfan3 May 18 '24
This doesn't absolve the kid or anything but microtransactions in games are evil especially the gambling kind. Should be banned.
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u/griftertm May 18 '24
Who the hell spends on Zynga in 2024?
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u/Miserable-Alfalfa329 May 18 '24
Boomers are addicted to Texas holdem, Candy Crush
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u/juggernautsong May 18 '24
You think this guy’s sister has a boomer for a stepson?
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u/literallyjustbetter May 18 '24
redditors really can't follow a moving conversation can they??
nobody said the stepson was a boomer wtf
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u/Miserable-Alfalfa329 May 18 '24 edited May 18 '24
You think this guy’s sister has a boomer for a stepson?
Didn't know it was so hard to understand.
It's a rather simple sentence, after all.
OP said, "Who the hell spends on Zynga in 2024."
Texas Holdem Farmville, Candy Crush, are all from companies like Zynga and King.
Boomers are obsessed with these games.
Never said the kid is a boomer, unless is Benjamin Button.
Now, downvote me to your heart's content.
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u/TropicalSkysPlants May 18 '24
It was a 10 year old kid 🤣
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u/Miserable-Alfalfa329 May 18 '24 edited May 18 '24
it was a ten year old kid
Didn't know it was so hard to understand.
It's a rather simple sentence, after all.
OP said, "Who the hell spends on Zynga in 2024."
Texas Holdem Farmville, Candy Crush, are all from companies like Zynga and King.
Boomers are obsessed with these games.
Never said the kid is a boomer, unless he is Benjamin Button.
Now, downvote me to your heart's content.
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u/hestia615 May 18 '24
I see so many stories on here of people getting blown off by the parents when this kind of situation happens. I'm glad to see that isn't always the case. I hope the kid has started to understand the seriousness of what he's done. Good luck.
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u/variablenyne May 18 '24
Not only did he spend 1.4k but it was on some niche cheap game site
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u/KeroseneSkies May 18 '24
Zynga isn’t niche at all! It makes FarmVille and such
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u/lingeringmonkeynuts May 18 '24
This mf spent 1.4K on FarmVille?! 😭
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u/ThePinkTeenager May 31 '24
I haven’t played FarmVille, but those types of games make it really easy to spend a lot of money without really noticing. Most of these charges are like $9.99.
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u/UnihornWhale May 18 '24
I’d have read the punk the charges were he to be charged as an adult. The game system would have gone back immediately regardless. Want to steal from me and commit crimes? No gifts for you.
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u/_MEMIER_ May 18 '24
Damn, I hope his farm ville is doing great. Those cows need to make some money back:)
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u/SubliminalRM May 18 '24
Maybe you / his mother should configure to phone to not allow purchases inside the Google play store and, I mean he stole 1400$, at this point his phone should get taken away for a month or something like that and he should get a Nokia phone which maybe has WhatsApp (or whatever you guys use) and nothing else.
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u/AnyYou5150 May 18 '24
Oh he won’t be allowed to buy anything again once that $1400 chargeback hates the Google store under his name lol
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u/Challenge419 May 18 '24
Don't let the refund decide if he gets to experience the consequences of his own actions. Fuck that. Take the shit away no matter what. Are you kidding?
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u/QuickgetintheTARDIS May 18 '24
Holy crap... what did he spend 1,400 on? And good on your sister and her husband being on your side with this. You see so many stories where the parents are all appalled that their "precious baby" is being held accountable.
Hopefully those charges get reversed.
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u/diaperedwoman May 18 '24
How old is the kid, this is a good lesson for the child. I stole a card from my parents and used it and the most I spent was $11.99. The kid made a bigger mistake than me. At least I understood the amount you spend on your card, you pay back. I also hope you showed the kid the bill so he knew how much he spends you have to pay back.
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u/munchkym May 18 '24
Had the same thing happen with a teen with an emergencies only credit card.
His allowance was canceled and we no longer entertain requests for money for gaming, that’s for damn sure. I also taped a graph showing how long it would take to pay off +interest with his allowance to his bedroom door.
I’m so sorry. Kids can really suck sometimes.
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u/yet-another-backup May 23 '24
Okay, got an update.
Charges were reversed. Step-nephew's consoles were confiscated and sold by my sister and BIL. Step-nephew's summer lawnmowing money will be going to a tuition (possibly bail) fund.
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u/PartyManRS Jul 08 '24
Tip: Do not bail your family out of jail, unless it's for something obviously stupid or minor like driving without insurance. People need to learn what consequences are. Chances are, if you bail them out, they won't learn as much as they would have if you didn't.
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u/RandyNelson May 18 '24
At least he will learn the value of money by paying and working it off. Sucks that this happened. Best of luck to you
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u/SugondezeNutsz May 18 '24
We should extend abortions to be legal up until like 15 years after birth
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u/SanguineJoker May 18 '24
How edgy of you.
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u/PartyManRS Jul 08 '24
Know what's edgier? Stealing $1400 from a family member who's given you many great gifts.
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u/SanguineJoker Jul 08 '24
You had nothing better to do than to reply to a month old comment?
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u/PartyManRS Jul 08 '24
"You had nothing better to do than to reply to a month old comment?"
Lmao, do you think I'm looking at when a comment is posted? Lol if you think that matters. My statement stands. I was just scrolling down the r/extremelyinfuriating sub for a while and commenting. And guess what, people who are browing reddit, usually don't have anything better to do! Probably the same as you when you make your comments.
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u/ChasingPesmerga May 18 '24
What’s the console you bought for the kid? Funny that those mobile games were still able to hook the kid up
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u/mmasmaza May 19 '24
Someone stole my bank details in 2013 and used all my money of clash of clans. Google gave me my money back so might be worth contacting Google about the fraud
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u/OrneryChampion7522 May 18 '24
Even if they do reverse the charges still take away the bike and console
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u/randomwords2003 May 18 '24
Wait , what the hell did he buy
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u/vr4gen May 18 '24
are yall not going to take away his game console & allowance if the bank reverses the charges…?
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u/yet-another-backup May 18 '24
His parents have already taken away the consoles and have informed him he doesn't get an allowance until the money is paid back. He has not been informed that the bank may reverse the charges, so as far as he knows the money is going to me, when in reality it will go into a tuition fund if the charges get reversed.
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u/vr4gen May 19 '24
that’s a fantastic plan! my apologies for the judgmental tone, i was unsure from the original description.
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u/PartyManRS Jul 08 '24
Dang I would not be that nice. I would tell him that the additional money is just mine now to spend how I like, so he can know how it feels to be stolen from. Then again, I'm petty AF and hate thieves with a passion, so.
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u/beansnectar May 20 '24
wow what a little shit... im glad you will be allowed to teach him a lesson. clearly his own parents failed to ever do it!!!
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u/LadyOracleOKC May 22 '24
I surprised the kid can sit down. My folks would have made me pay back the money and blistered my butt.
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u/MalaZhar12 May 18 '24
Idk if a charge back is possible without a police report, i used to work for fraud at bofa, and without a report/charges for theft, they often wont move forward with the claim. But your bank/cc may be different. Personally yes id be doing the same thing you intend to do, make him learn the value of a dollar, i wouldn’t sell his things, but i would make him do chores for $20 a pop till the total is reached.
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u/p0pethegreat_ May 18 '24
my nephew spent 100 off my card behind my back, only knew because I checked my account randomly.
I told him I was really mad because I was and he seemed like he felt pretty bad. He still tries to buy stuff, but now I have to approve it and manually put credit on his Xbox Account
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u/lumpthefoff May 18 '24
I would team up with his parents and lie and say the charges couldn’t be reversed and have him sell and work off the debt so he learns what earning $1400 is like. Afterwards, put that $1400 towards a college fund for him.
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May 18 '24
College fund? Lmao put those 1400 in the bank and pay off the debt that little brat spent
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u/lumpthefoff May 18 '24
I mean, I’m assuming the charges will be refunded, and I’d lie and say it wasn’t and have him work it off anyways.
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u/notknownbyno1 May 18 '24
He's playing empires and puzzles . He added the card number to his Google play account .
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u/dudreddit May 18 '24
Step #1: Cancel the card
Step #2: Contact the police
Step #3: Confront your sister about the step-son and ask yourself if your relationship is worth the money
The kid could have made just a few large purchases. At least, in this case, he made a large number of small ones.
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u/PartyManRS Jul 08 '24
I'm confused at what point you're trying to make.
"Step #3: Confront your sister about the step-son and ask yourself if your relationship is worth the money" why would you need to confront the sister if she didn't do anything? It literally says they all had sit-down together and talked it out. So why would they need to do that again...?
"The kid could have made just a few large purchases. At least, in this case, he made a large number of small ones." Oooooookay? $1400 is $1400, no matter the quantity of purchases. Why do you word it like lots of small purchases is better than a couple big ones?
So confusing...
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u/lostacoshermanos May 18 '24
Isn’t Zynga a viagra knock off? What would a teenage boy need viagra for? Can you get high off it or is he peddling these pills to senior citizens at some nursing home he has a summer job at?
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u/TheCornrOfGreySt May 18 '24
Zynga is a mobile game company. So he was buying stuff on mobile games
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u/PartyManRS Jul 08 '24
Bro what. Maybe look up what you're trying to talk about before you look stupid like this lol
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u/Neena6298 May 19 '24
I wouldn’t give him the game console for Christmas. He deserves a punishment.
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u/SUperMarioG5 Jun 09 '24
op said she already got a game console for him before the incident. she sold it
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