Avoiding High Bills - A Guide for Parents of Gamers

Over the last few years a common story has appeared in the news again, and again, and again. Is there anyone reading this who hasn't seen "My child racked up charges of *insert MAHOOSIVE amount of money* on their X-Box/Playstation and I didn't realise"?

The thing is, it's quite easy to avoid if you know what you're doing... and so, as an attempt at a public service, I want to put this out there to all the Parents, Grandparents or Guardians who've bought a child a console this recent Christmas (or any time) and now worry about them spending money on it.

It might also stop long deprivation as I know some of these end with the parent saying "they'll never have a console/play a certain game again!" which is a bit silly, if understandable. Doing the below steps, even AFTER a financial booboo, will make it impossible to happen (again).

First up I want to say, this is not judgemental and it's not in any way meant to be belittling or sarcastic. I don't know how to bake a cake, ride a motorcycle, paint or weld. I've not needed those skills so I don't know anything about them and the same goes for video games, just because something is common, NEVER feel dumb or uninformed if you don't know something about them.

If you've not had experiences with video games systems in the past or haven't used them since they got 'connected' they're a complicated beast, certainly far removed from my first days of plugging Super Mario World into my SNES and switching on.

I'm also not suggesting anything about your child, the way I see it, this isn't about stopping your child from doing something because many of the stories have been accidental buys, it's about stopping something potentially inadvertent from happening, important distinction.

So, here's the two simple steps that may save some financial heartache in the future.

1) Don't put your credit card details on a video game system, if they are on there, take them off.

I'm a fully functioning adult with a good head for money and a lot of tech experience. My Playstation and it's predecessors do not and will not know my credit card details, ever.

Part of this came because of the PSN Hack a few years back, but there's also the fact I like to keep track of what money I'm spending on my account, and while purchases are usually VERY obvious, it doesn't always help if it's a little one.

If you have put one on and want to remove it, here are the details:

Remove a Credit Card from X-Box Live

Remove a Credit Card from the Playstation Network

This will instantly remove any worries about bills, but I know many folks will be thinking "how do I get stuff then?", in no small part because Microsoft, Sony etc want you to think credit cards are THE way to pay.

They're not, and that brings us to step two.

2) Use Top-Up Cards.

While credit cards are lovely and easy, Top Up Cards are almost as simple and gives a lot more control over spending.

You can buy them for subscriptions like X-Box Live or Playstation Network, individual things like FIFA points, games and downloadable missions or you can just buy credit for your account. This gives you complete control over the money able to be spent on the system.

If I want to buy something from PSN I simply hop over to one of the reputable shopping sites like Amazon or (for me here in the UK, Game) and buy the amount of money I need. They send a near instant code that I put into my system and the money appears to be spent, just like putting pre-paid credit on a mobile phone.

It adds a minute or two onto the purchase, but it also adds security, my card is only known by a shopping site I already use and no matter what happens, I know that whatever I put on the system is all I can spend.

That's great for me, but it can also add a lot of peace of mind for people looking after kids. It also works well as presents, rewards, pocket money etc, there are even physical cards you can buy from stores that will let you give an actual gift or payment for chores.

Arguably it will even help your child with money as it teaches them that we all, sadly, have limits on what we can spend, and instead of feeling like they're going through you as a parent, they're spending their own money.

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With just those two steps, you instantly lock down all spending on a video game to a level YOU set, giving yourself total control over any future bills.

Video games can be great things for kids. They often help socially if used in moderation, they help motor skills and hand eye coordination. Taking them away or potentially blackening them with a massive bill and the subsequent fallout from it is not the perfect ending, but adding teaching your kid about dealing with their own finances might be.