DS bought a phone with Paypal

[LovelyBath77]

I'm not sure how, he doesn't even have a debit card. He's 12. Had a letter from a debt collection for Paypal today asking for £60. I told them his age and they said to send in proof. Obviously I'll speak to him, but what happens now, do I need to pay this? It looks like something he has bid for on Ebay, but not having a method of payment Paypal has somehow paid it? Not sure.

OK Yes I checked and on his account it all says it needs more info, not verified etc. It has the details of his simple cash card and that it is not a debit card etc. I have messaged Paypal and no reply.

Yes, i remember when I first set up Paypal all that about transferring a small amount etc. So it is a bit strange. Have paid off the money now though, DS has taken it from his savings account to pay for it.

As an aside to this - the age requirement to open a PayPal account is 18. Likewise eBay.

You have parental responsibility here. You need to look at how you monitor your child's online activity because it is clearly inadequate on this occasion.

Your 12 year old must have an email address. Fair enough, so does mine. I set it up for her. When I set it up though, I set the settings to forward a copy all of my 12 year olds emails to my email address.

Signing up for anything online needs an email. I therefore know every time she signs up for something. I would certainly know about any ebay/PayPal activity and put an immediate stop to it.