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Christmas is cancelled: 8-year-old spends $6k on Minecraft

Pictured: Child playing Xbox and upset mother. Images: Getty
Images: Getty

One little boy is in big trouble after spending nearly $6,000 on Xbox extras, leaving his single mother wondering how she will put food on the table.

UK boy Leon Berriedale-Johnson spent £3,000 (AU$5,762.50) on Xbox game add-ons over a three-week Minecraft spending spree, Mirror reports, with his mum unaware until she received her credit card statement.

“I’d put in my card details once for him to buy an add-on for a game for £4.99,” mum Martine said.

“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.”

She said that when she saw the bill she “went crazy” and told Leon she would sell his Xbox.

The 40-year-old mum said she was also concerned she wouldn’t be able to pay for Christmas.

Microsoft initially told the family that they only have a 14-day window to receive a refund, but following media pressure, caved and said they would give a full refund.

“Family settings and tools enable parents to block their children from making online purchases,” the tech company said in a statement.

"We review all reports, and in cases where we our investigation confirms that purchases were made by a minor without parental permission, we may decide that a one-time refund is appropriate.

"On this occasion, the customer has been fully refunded.”

This family’s situation is far from unique, however.

In July this year, San Diego woman Isabella McNeil was shocked to discover her two-year-old daughter had accidentally bought a US$430 (AU$616) couch on Amazon.

"I was just so shocked," she told NBC San Diego.

"I thought, 'Did I buy a couch in my sleep?’"

The child had been looking at Amazon before giving her phone to her daughter to play with. However, the Amazon app was still open.

"Lesson learned," McNeil said. "Now I know it’s really dangerous and [I need] to make sure the Amazon app is closed before my daughter takes the phone. It’s just so easy."

It could be worse though - she could have accidentally bought a house.

A young couple in March this year accidentally bought a 120-year-old, derelict mansion.

But the plucky pair were unfazed.

“We love the house and its stunning location in a village on the edge of a Scottish loch. It’s all been a beautiful mistake,” Cal Hunter, a 26-year-old carpenter by trade, said after the real estate bumble.

“If we can tackle this, we can tackle anything – it’s going to take us much longer than a year but just think of the life skills we are going to learn along the way.”

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