A monster gaffe ... boy, six, bought £19,000 ebay truck
A FATHER has revealed how he is being chased by debt collectors after his six-year-old son accidentally paid £19,000 for a monster truck he found on ebay.
Mohammad Faraji, from Wallsend, North Tyneside, was unaware his son Ario had browsed ebay on his laptop after he left it switched on.
He only became aware of his son’s actions when he received the £19,000 bill for a truck it appeared Ario had successfully bid for.
Mr Faraji said: “It’s unbelievable that Paypal would pay it without sending any notification or contacting me to find out if I wanted to pay that amount of money. They didn’t keep it in payment pending or need any confirmation from me.”
The 45-year-old attempted to explain that the purchase, which happened in March, had been accidental – but the seller didn’t want to cancel the sale, and told the dad he could come and collect the truck.
Paypal insist Mr Faraji should work with ebay or the seller to resolve the problem, but he argues it’s an issue with the payment system, which should not be able to make large and unusual payments without a more robust checking procedure. Paypal says customers receive an email whenever they make a purchase on ebay.
Unable and unwilling to pay the staggering amount, Mr Faraji tried to have the transaction cancelled.
But Paypal insist he still owes them the money, and instructed a debt recovery firm to pursue him for the full amount.
Mr Faraji said: “Nobody can force me to buy a £19,000 monster truck. Paypal should act more like my debit card, they should check with my bank account to see if I have the money, or if there is suspicious activity.
“I’ve used Paypal for over 10 years but I’ve just been buying £4, £10, £20 items, never anything like this.”
The takeaway worker says he knows he shouldn’t have left his laptop on with his account details stored on the system – but insists it’s not fair to make him pay £19,000 for the mistake.
Ario has now been banned from his father’s laptop. “It’s been going on since March and I’m just getting more stressed. It’s awful,” Mr Faraji said.
A Paypal spokesman said: “If the purchase was made in error, Paypal recommends contacting the seller directly to try to secure a resolution in the first instance. If this is unsuccessful, the buyer should contact ebay’s customer services team and work with them on solving the specific issue.”