Halifax Parents Hoping To Reverse Nine-Year-Old’s $20,000 Roblox Bill

Ever since video games entered the family home, so began the eternal schism between confused parents and the most popular software. Pokémon. Grand Theft Auto. Which one is Zelda anyway. It never ends. But only in recent history has this generational divide begun to carry an unsuspecting price tag. A Halifax couple were stunned to discover that their nine-year-old son racked up tens of thousands in fees while gaming. Though successful in reversing the charges from most parties, Roblox remains a holdout, where the kid managed to spend $20 grand.

“He enters buttons and ta-da,” says mother Dawn Sutherland (no relation to the other, Canadian Don Sutherland). “He has no clue that he has spent any money.”

According to CTV News, Nova Scotians Carey Chernoff and Dawn Sutherland were unaware of the massive tab their son had accrued over a summer of gaming. Each member of the household has their own iPad, but each is linked to a shared Apple Pay account. After receiving an alert that their Mastercard was maxed out, the parents discovered their son had spent $28,000 (roughly $19,000 USD) through in-game purchases. They say that upon asking to be refunded, most of the gaming companies complied, with the exception of one. With the lion’s share of the bill, the two are hoping Roblox will be more reasonable.

In a statement to CTV, Roblox said that “These purchases were made via a third party. We encourage the family to reach out to the merchant for review of the transactions.” The implied third party could be Apple, who did not respond to CTV’s request for comment.

“It so easily can happen to anyone,” says Sutherland. “It terrifies most parents.”

It’s an increasingly common story. In fact, it’s not even the only Roblox spending scandal on CTV in recent history. The sum does leave a bigger dent than most others, however. And while Roblox does offer parental controls, including those around spending limits, it’s clear that these features aren’t incredibly well communicated among the public.

Though older than most of its user base, Roblox is immensely popular among young children. The responsibility that comes with maintaining an adolescent demographic has rarely been met by the company, and their responses to criticism leaves much to be desired. While parents should better monitor their children’s media and gaming habits, there’s also plenty of room for better policy on in-game spending. Around the globe, consumer protection bureaus have begun to target long-running monetization practices, though these policy trends are typically slower-moving in North America.