Spending online is commonplace in China but a new consumer shocked netizens this month with his buying power: a six year-old child from Anyang in Henan ran up an unauthorised bill of Rmb43,000 on JD.com. His father, surnamed Guo, was in Beijing on business and only discovered the shopping spree the next morning when he received a text from his credit card company flagging the spend.
According to Beijing Youth Daily, the boy unlocked his mother’s smartphone when she was having a bath and bought a series of goods that she already had in her JD basket – including a 65-inch TV and a range of cosmetics – plus a few things he fancied, such as a coin-operated train ride (the type usually seen in amusement arcades).
Guo said that he and his wife were shocked that their son had memorised their payment password and was also able to navigate the e-commerce site so expertly. So far he has managed to get the money back for Rmb29,000 ($4,218.59) worth of his son’s purchases and sent back a further Rmb10,000 of goods and awaits refunds on those.
He told Beijing Youth Daily that his son’s behaviour alternately made him want to “laugh and cry”, but that he and his wife will be more careful about letting him see their passwords in future.
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