Unauthorised Charges by Boku on My Daughter’s Phone Bill – Advice Needed

[Nkosi]

Hi everyone,I’m posting here to raise awareness and seek advice about an issue I’ve encountered with unauthorised charges on my daughter’s mobile phone bill.

I recently noticed extra charges on her phone account, which is under my name and managed by me. Her monthly bill is capped, so it shouldn’t exceed the contracted amount. After contacting the provider (Three), I discovered that these charges were for Boku.com, a third-party payment service that works with my provider.

The charges were for PlayStation Network services, but neither I nor my 12-year-old daughter own a PlayStation or have a PlayStation Network account. Importantly, my daughter is a minor and cannot legally enter into such agreements. Even if she attempted to subscribe to anything, it would require my authorisation, which never happened.

What’s worse is that we had never heard of Boku before this, never signed up for their services, and were never notified of any agreements or charges.

This situation raises several concerns for me:

1. How was Boku able to authorise charges without explicit consent from me as the account holder?

2. Why wasn’t I notified about these transactions before they were billed?

From my research, it seems this could violate UK consumer protection laws, including:

• The Consumer Rights Act 2015, which ensures protection from unauthorised charges.

• The Payment Services Regulations 2017, which require clear consent for payments.

• The UK GDPR, which protects personal data from being used without explicit permission.

I’ve already contacted Boku to demand an immediate refund and assurance that my daughter’s phone number will not be used for their services again. However, I wanted to share my experience here in case others have faced similar issues and to ask:

1. Has anyone else experienced unauthorised charges from Boku or similar third-party services?

2. What steps did you take to resolve the issue?

3. Do you think I should escalate this to the Financial Ombudsman or the ICO if I don’t get a satisfactory response?

I’ll keep this post updated with any progress, but for now, I want to warn others to check their phone bills carefully—especially for numbers used by children.Thanks in advance for any advice or similar stories you can share!

[Dustin]

The same thing happened to me too. If my bill gets charged again next month I’ll be moving to a different network provider. This isn’t acceptable.

[Mannchahalchaha]

Yes x,on my 3 mobile phone bill,it's more than £200.i can't find Boku contact details as I am not so good for Internet things. 

[Hey1]

yes I have had exactly the same experience. I am currently in the process of seeking a refund. Three have been absolutely fantastic in advising me where to go and who to contact. So it’s just a waiting game! 

[Mrfear]

I have literally just had this done , on my daughters account and three told me to contact boku 

[PeteG]

Hello there. 

It sounds like the team gave the right advice, contacting Boku would be the right steps to take to request for the service to be stopped, and also to ask any questions you may have in relation to the charges. 

Pete. 

[sandrotrigo]

Hi Nkosi I have just had the same thing happen to my son and have been billed £80, how did you end up sorting this out if you mind me asking?

[Sher00]

I've just had this done to my daughters phone as well. Like you, we don't own a Play station. Exactly the same circumstances as you've mentioned. I'm contacting Boku tomorrow. What was your outcome please? 

[Oga2021]

I'm in the same both as you all and three refuse to take responsibility  for  their  mess about this so-call Boku, that i have never had of, and it not only boku, apple  is also on it for my daughter  bill with  is now £149.75, neither  my daughter  or me have anything  apply let alone a subscription  to any of them. I child been cap since I got her the sim, and I would usually  receive  email and txt for any thing  she try but never this one, boycott  3 if anyone  can. Three want me to call apple  and boku to get refund  for something  that got nothing  to do with me. The boku website  three give non- exited , called apple  the said refund  been sent back to three  cause they can't  see my subscription  with them and three still in denial

[PeteG]

Hello.

Welcome to Three Community. 

It's disappointing to hear you're having an issue with 3rd party charges. Three wouldn't be able to give you much or any additional information about your charges beyond what's on the bill. I like to think of it in the same way a credit card works. You charges show up in your statement, and you can see what company is charging you, but the credit card company can't tell you about the items you bought.

If you'd like to query the charges, your best bet would be to contact Boku. I've had to contact them my self in the past, and have seen other users mention having success after getting in touch with them. 

Pete.