Fortnite Player's Mom Sues Sony After Racking Up $1K in Game Purchases in 24 Hours

Sony Playstation 4 1 TB HD with Fortnite video game pre-installed. (Photo: Shutterstock.com)

A mom of a Mississippi Fortnite player who is on the hook for $1,000 in fees in the multiplayer video game is representing a proposed class of parents who claim Sony Interactive Entertainment has failed to create effective safeguards to prevent children from making unauthorized purchases on its platform.

Brandi Crawford is suing the San Mateo, California-based company after her 10-year-old used her debit card to purchase more than $1,000 in Fortnite V-bucks within about 24 hours through a PlayStation Network account he created without her approval, according to the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California Wednesday.

Despite operating a business model with transactions that "necessarily involve entering into contracts with minors regarding property that is fundamentally not in the minors' possession or control," the complaint alleges that Sony "makes it nearly impossible for minors to obtain refunds for their transactions."

PlayStation Network's terms of service requires users to be the "legal age of majority" or have parental consent to create an account. The user agreement also states that "Funds added to the wallet are non-refundable and non-transferable except where the law requires that we take those actions. We have no obligation to reverse or refund unauthorized charges made using any payment method to fund the wallet."

Sony did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.

Crawford is seeking monetary restitution and declaratory judgment that a parent or guardian may disaffirm a contract with Sony on behalf of a minor. She also claims the company violated California's Unfair Competition Law and the state's Consumers Legal Remedies Act by promoting the games as free "with the intent to induce from minors the purchase of Game Currency."

The lawsuit follows a complaint filed in February 2018 against Fortnite maker Epic Games Inc. claiming the company targets children to profit off their lack of impulse control. The suit, which was originally filed in the Central District of California and transferred to the Eastern District, was dismissed after Epic Games offered to refund money paid by the plaintiff.

Keith Altman, of Excolo Law in Southfield, Michigan, said that the case is a minor disaffirmance problem. "In California, minors have the absolute right to disaffirm even if they've received the benefit of the transaction," Altman said.

But he said he also sees a broader issue at play. "There's this endemic problem of these bait apps," he said. "There are companies out there that function or thrive through advertising to children and getting people to spend money. There's nothing inherently wrong with getting people to spend money, but when you do it so that it's so easy that children without knowing what they're doing can run up these bills, that's a problem."

Altman said that even his own grandchildren have become addicted to these "bait games." Sony's response to parents seeking to refund these purchases has made them feel stupid, according to Altman, who said the company's representatives have allegedly asked customers, "How could you let this happen?"

Altman said he hopes the litigation will push Sony to develop better parental controls and money-back guarantees for children.

"Who would legitimately spend over $1,000 in 24 hours on these games?" he said. "Doesn't that raise a red flag that something is not quite right?"

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