Minors and the law

[Sensa113]

Hi, I have a friend who signed up for a money transfer service which you need to use a debit or credit card for - he is only 15 - you need to be 18 to use this service.

A transaction went wrong and he now owes them just short of �200.

My qusetion is - can they LEGALLY charge him as he is a minor?
They have threatened court action and he wants to know if he takes his birth certificate along with him if he will get out of it.

Thanks

[Hgrove]

I am not sure I understand exactly what your friend has done but as a general rule, as far as I know, they cannot recover money from him - unless his parents or other adult acted as guarantor.  They should have checked he was over 18 before proceding.

[stevie21]

I agree - in the UK at least, anyone under the age of 18 is not legally liable for debt. Even their own.
If it's a money transfer service then you may have to check if there's any way that he can be pursued using anything other than UK law (e.g. paypal is US based isn't it?) but that's way beyond my knowledge.
Pesky kids ;-)

[Oneeyedvic]

Just would add a word of caution - if he said he was 18, he may have commited fraud.......lying on an application form, albeit an electronic form, can be construed as fraud, just as lying on your income on an application form.

 

Paypal is also now UK based and regulated by the FSA.

 

Also, whose credit/debit card did he use? I know that a lot of online places no longer take solo/delta as these are available to under 18s, but switch/visa/mastercard are (as far as I am aware) only available to over 18s. If he masqueraded as someone else (eg his father) then either his father would have to pay, or a criminal offense has taken place.

[Sensa113]

He used his own debit card (solo). Also Visa Electron is available to under 18s

He did not lie to PayPal as when you sign up it does not ask for your age - but - at the bottom it says 'Note: You must be over 18 to sign up'

Thanks for all your answers

[ian.miller]

If it clearly states you must be over 18 to sign up and he still did, then yes he did lie/commit fraud.

As to whether they could actually recover debt, probably not, but they will almost certainly make his life difficult, annoy banks (which is never a good thing whatever age) and get parents involved..

[erimus1]

No he can't be persued as he has no mental capacity in UK law to procure a contract.. Even, as with the case of PAYPA:L, as it is governed by US laws, it cannot be enforce under UK law.