Mum hit with £1k bill for daughter's online gaming

A MUM has issued a warning after her nine-year-old daughter spent over £1,000 on Roblox - unaware she was spending real money.

- NEIL SHAW

Emma Bell didn't realise that her PayPal account was linked to her iPad and had no idea that her daughter could spend the money so easily.

In the space of three months her daughter Bronwen made 25 transactions on her Roblox account - billing up more than £1,000 in her mum's bank account.

The mum-of-three from Quakers Yard, near Merthyr Tydfil, has warned parents to be "vigilant" as she has been unable to retrieve her money.

Roblox allows users to create their own games but also offers in-app purchases to upgrade the user's avatar with items like clothes or accessories and offers some pay-to-play games.

Emma, 52, who works as a social worker said: “I was really distraught. I did tell her off but she has got no concept of how much money that is.

“These Robux [Roblox coins] kids don't see it as money. It is coins and a gaming app. They don’t connect that that is money you have got to pay for.

“On Roblox when you go in to buy those coins, the way the options are set up £199 is the first option that comes up. For her she had no concept and understanding that she was clicking the most expensive option.

“I was upset at myself. At that point I held out hope but as time went on I just felt sick to the stomach and angry that such a big corporation can’t understand the financial difficulty this put me in.”