Single mother-of-two, 40, faces massive credit card bill after her eight-year-old son splurged £3,000 in three weeks on XBox game add-ons
- Leon Berridale-Johnson made 19 purchases totalling £978.81 in just one day
- He spent £3,120 over the course of three weeks playing with three friends
- Mother Martine, 40, of Brighton, says she is struggling to feed rest of the family
A single mother was left horrified after she found her eight-year-old son had spent £3,100 on computer games using her credit card.
Leon Berriedale-Johnson used his mother Martine’s card to buy add-ons for XBox games such as Minecraft and Roblox.
Over a three-week period he spent a total of £3,120 on extras as he played with three friends.
His mother, 40, of Brighton, only found out when she got her credit card statement through the post and now fears she will be unable to feed Leon and his brother Eddie.
The mother-of-two 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.’
Leon Berriedale-Johnson used his mother Martine’s card to buy add-ons for XBox games such as Minecraft and Roblox
On one day in August, Leon made 19 purchases coming to a staggering total of £978.81.
Two days later, he made seven more purchases, including one for £199.99.
His mother said: ‘When I saw my credit card bill, I went crazy. I told him I was selling his Xbox.’
She said she usually only spends around £30 a month on her credit card, paying for takeaways and things on Amazon.
But now, with her son spending 100 times the usual amount, she doesn’t know how she will cope.
Martine said: ‘I’m a single mum and I already struggle to put food on the table.
His mother Martine (pictured), 40, of Brighton, only found out when she got her credit card statement through the post and now fears she will be unable to feed Leon and his brother Eddie
‘But I’m always really careful with my finances. I just don’t know how I’m going to pay this bill.’
She has had to tell her two boys that ‘Christmas is cancelled’ because Leon’s spending has taken all the money.
She said: ‘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.’
Martine said that Leon was very upset when he realised what he had done.
Single mother Martine also has Leon’s brother Eddie to feed (pictured with Leon left)
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.’
Martine says that Leon wasn’t asked to enter the card’s security number every time he made a purchase online.
She says this is why he was able to rack up such a huge debt without his mum noticing.
Martine contacted Microsoft, who told her that they have a 14-day window for refunds.
Because Leon made most of the purchases between three and four weeks ago, Martine isn’t able to get most of her money back.
Microsoft has been approached for comment.
Happier times: The family-of-three, of Brighton, are pictured enjoying a swim together