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Original poster

Tiktok

144 replies

Zombiemum1946 · 18/02/2020 22:24

We've discovered our daughter has been gifting money on tiktok. £2300 has left her dad's account. Has anyone had any success in getting the money back ?

OP posts:
PremierNaps · 18/02/2020 22:27

How old is DD?

Original poster
Zombiemum1946 · 18/02/2020 22:36

She's 9.

OP posts:
PremierNaps · 18/02/2020 22:43

Hm, a little bit unhelpful but the app requires you to be at least 13 to use. They don't take responsibility for money leaving your account directly or indirectly. However I did find an email which might help you [email protected] put your case forward and see what they say. Or try [email protected]

Sorry OP I hope this helps.

Original poster
Zombiemum1946 · 18/02/2020 22:45

Thank you . We were monitoring her but had no idea they could gift actual money. Feel like such fools.

OP posts:
PremierNaps · 18/02/2020 22:47

To be honest I thought they had put parental controls in place to stop this because obviously under 13s are using the service. It's worth fighting it. Good luck OP

Mammyloveswine · 18/02/2020 22:47

Gifting money to who??

I have no idea what tiktok is, I assumed it was just for making videos?

Christ 2,300 quid! How on earth have you only just realised? That's an enormous sum of money!!

Original poster
Zombiemum1946 · 18/02/2020 23:01

Apparently they can "gift" influencers. It was coming off my husbands personal account which he rarely checks. She gifted the money on 4/5 separate occasions over a period of 6 weeks. £99.99 a shot. They go on to the app, enter their inbox, buy coins, then they go on a person's live stream and if there's a little box they can tap to give them gifts. We were monitoring content etc we had no idea this was an option. Our 17yr is on it and he didn't know either.

OP posts:
Original poster
Zombiemum1946 · 18/02/2020 23:05

It's his savings account essentially, which is rarely touched other than to pay dd phone contract. It was only because I asked him to transfer money over for our holiday that he found money had gone out.

OP posts:
jackstini · 18/02/2020 23:12

Eek! That must have been a massive shock
Did dd not realise it was real money?

Am not sure if you can do anything if it's been connected to the bank account by your DH unfortunately

Nirvana1979 · 18/02/2020 23:17

😱😱 i had no idea you could do that. My dd has an account but no card is linked. Didn't even know you could link a card. I hope you get it back.

Original poster
Zombiemum1946 · 18/02/2020 23:21

First she said she didn't think it was real money, then she said she thought it was just a pound !!!!! She's spent the holiday spending money and the unexpectedly needed repair money for the car .

OP posts:
kittykatkitty · 18/02/2020 23:22

Op was a card linked to the account or has she just used the card?

MarthasGinYard · 18/02/2020 23:24

So was a card already linked to this?

What on Earth is a 9 y o doing on this app?

My dc is same age wouldn't have a clue

User0450291 · 18/02/2020 23:31

2.3K is a huge amount, dear god! Unfortunately the chances of getting it back are very slim. Donated coins get saved as "diamonds" on the Tiktoker's account and this can be cashed out. The only remote chance would be to contact the influencer directly, explain the situation and DD's age, and see if they're willing to return part or all of the amount. This might be hit or miss as huge influencers are deluged by emails and messages so many don't reply.

I think it would be best to write the money off and give your daughter a talk on her self-esteem. The most likely scenario is that she was desperate to get noticed by her favourite influencer or wanted her name spoken in a live shout-out.

Tiktok coins allow you to buy different "stickers" that appear on screen for different amounts of time. The most expensive ones are most noticeable of course so those are the best way to catch attention, both from the influencer and all other participants of the live stream.

Craving attention is a serious problem in millenials. Some strive to become influencers themselves whilst others try to get acknowledged or noticed by existing huge influencers. Even a casual reply or shoutout validates their self esteem. Punishing your daughter may not be productive as it will make her associate the whole episode with shame.

She may be too young to properly understand the value of money and simply hoped it was a way to buy attention from someone famous. You should tell her that those huge influencers make extremely good money from sponsorships and do not need donations from fans.

Original poster
Zombiemum1946 · 18/02/2020 23:35

My husband set it up with the card attached, I don't know why he did, we didn't do that with our eldest. We honestly saw no harm in her doing little song and dance videos with her friends. We monitored content and it all seemed legit. Really feel like fools to say the least.

OP posts:
Endor · 18/02/2020 23:38

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LovingLola · 18/02/2020 23:40

You weren’t monitoring closely enough.
Your 9 year old is very lucky that all that happened was that she spent 2.3k of her foolish father’s money.

User0450291 · 18/02/2020 23:41

For those asking about a card, it goes through the app store, and whichever payment method is saved there. So on iPhone you just activate the facial recognition and the transaction goes through.

The monetary value is clearly shown though. There are 5 tiers going from cheapest £1 to most expensive £99, with the price shown on the purchase button. She must have clicked on the highest one every time.

Original poster
Zombiemum1946 · 18/02/2020 23:41

We'll give contacting the influencer a try. She is devastated and I've broached the possibility of her wanting the attention from the influencer. The last few "gifts" were given yesterday so maybe there's a chance.

OP posts:
ittooshallpass · 18/02/2020 23:46

Contact the bank the account is with. For your DD to access the money the 3-digit security code from the back of the card would be needed. If Tiktok stored the security code enabling the money to be taken without DD putting a code in, you could have a case.

We had a similar thing happen with Fortnite (much less money, still £150!) But because the security code had been stored, which they are NOT allowed to do, the money was returned. My credit card company sorted it all out.

Talk to the company who the card is with. They'll hopefully be able to help.

DailyKegelReminder · 18/02/2020 23:51

Oh wow that's a pricey mistake.

You have been given good advice, I wouldn't hold much hope for lots of influencers returning it, but something is better than nothing.

partofthepeanutgallery · 18/02/2020 23:54

Yikes!

But it's primarily the fault of you and her dad, tbh. Where on earth is the supervision?

recordbox · 18/02/2020 23:56

I'm sorry but if you were monitoring content there is no way you would let your 9 year old anywhere near TikTok.

Not in a million years.

DarningKittens · 19/02/2020 00:01

I’m amazed anyone would sign a 9 year old upto TikTok. I don’t think you’ll see that money again

IronNeonClasp · 19/02/2020 00:07

It's easy to judge !!

With these apps there's something different each month it seems - I hardly understand half of the crap that my kids show me; mindless some of it.

But they badger away until you download them.

Like I say - very judgy some of the comments. It's very difficult to monitor everything sometimes. ^
^
And extremely difficult to keep up with the content when you are 36/38 years older than your kids^^ Hmm

Hope you manage to reclaim this money OP