NSW mum left pleading for a refund, after her seven-year-old son purchased a rare ‘Golden Banana’ online for $10,000.
Donna Jacob’s son, who has autism, was desperate to add one to his collection.
When he found a ‘Billy’ for sale online, he had to have it, so with mums credit card details automatically saved on the computer, the banana was bought instantly, shares 7 news.
Donna didn’t even realise he had made the purchase until she received a confirmation email from eBay.
“I think it’s just ludicrous this could happen,” she said.
“It’s certainly nothing we’ve budgeted for and nothing we can afford.”
Requests to cancel the purchase were ignored
When she contacted the seller to explain the situation, he ignored her pleas for reimbursement.
Donna said PayPal’s response was much the same, describing the purchase as ‘friendly fraud’ and her chances of getting her money back as slim.
‘Between PayPal and the bank, there should be at least one stopper that says ‘hang on, this isn’t right’… and no-one did.’
After days of being bounced between the bank, eBay and PayPal, Donna questions how such a huge transaction was approved in the first place.
“Between PayPal and the bank, there should be at least one stopper that says ‘hang on, this isn’t right’… and no-one did,” she said.
After Adelaide’s Today Tonight contacted eBay, the retail giant agreed to refund the unlucky mum.
In a statement, eBay said: “eBay understands there are unique circumstances in this case. As a result, the buyer will receive a refund for the purchase.”
While Donna is relieved, she still asserts better checks and balances are needed to protect vulnerable buyers.
“I just don’t go out and spend $10,000 in one transaction, so they definitely need protocols in place to stop this happening.”
The message to mums
I think an important thing to consider here is NOT to save your credit card details to any device, especially if you have young children using them. It is very risky and a huge temptation for them!
So glad this mum ended up getting a refund. I think these companies do seriously need to look at their policy’s and add a clause for these situations.
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