After the New Year holiday, the winter vacation is not far away. The children can finally breathe a sigh of relief. For such a long time, playing games may also become one of the holiday options for many children. But as soon as this game starts playing, many parents worry: if their child secretly recharges the game and spends thousands or even tens of thousands of yuan, can they still get the money back? Recently, the China Consumers Association and the China Society for Market Regulation have issued consumer tips, reminding everyone to be alert to the risks of minors recharging online games. Parents and gaming platforms must take responsibility for this. So, should the money recharged by minors playing games be refunded? How should parents and students protect their rights in accordance with the law when encountering such disputes? What obligations should game platforms fulfill? The China Consumers Association has recently received complaints from consumers about a game operated by a company in Shanghai that involves minors making large deposits without their parents' consent. Most of the parents who complained said their underage children obtained their parents' payment passwords through peeping, secretly filming, and other means, and continued to recharge their parents' phones or idle phones at home while they were busy with work and had no time to pay attention to their phones. Jin Baiyang, Consumer Guidance Department of China Consumers Association: According to statistics from August 1 to December 10, 2025, the average amount of complaints received reached 2551.57 yuan. After discovering it, parents all requested a refund from the customer service of the company involved in the lawsuit, but it was not handled properly, and the customer service phone number was also difficult to reach. According to the Civil Code of our country, minors over the age of eight are persons with limited capacity for civil conduct, and the implementation of civil legal acts shall be represented by their legal representatives or approved or ratified by their legal representatives; However, it is possible to independently carry out purely beneficial civil legal acts or civil legal acts that are suitable for one's age and intelligence. The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Protection of Minors clearly stipulates that network service providers such as online games, online live streaming, online audio and video, and online social networking should set up corresponding functions such as time management, permission management, and consumption management for minors using their services. At the same time, the Regulations on the Protection of Minors on the Internet also have provisions. Wang Yuanzhe, Assistant Judge of the Fourth Intermediate People's Court of Beijing: According to the "Regulations on the Protection of Minors' Networks", network service providers should take technical measures to reasonably limit the single and daily cumulative consumption amount of minors of different age groups in using online games, live streaming, social networking and other services, and prohibit the provision of paid services that do not match their civil capacity. Should the money used by minors to recharge games be refunded? In a case heard by the People's Court of Songjiang District, Shanghai, an 11 year old boy from Henan Province used his mother's WeChat account to recharge more than 20000 yuan to a game account registered in his mother's name for game consumption within six months. The boy's mother sued the game platform for refund. Wang Lin, Director of the Editorial Department of the China Society for Market Regulation: In this case, the minor recharged more than 20000 yuan in just six months. It is obvious that this behavior is not suitable for his age and intelligence. In the absence of evidence to prove the prior consent or subsequent recognition of the legal representative, the act shall be deemed invalid, and the property obtained by the defendant through such invalid act shall be returned in accordance with the law. The court made a ruling that both parties should share the responsibility and ordered the gaming platform to refund half of the recharge amount, citing the child's mother's inadequate supervision. Wang Lin: The plaintiff's mother, as the guardian, allows the child to register a game account in the mother's name, and the phone can be easily obtained by the child. The child knows the payment password, which reflects the problem of inadequate supervision by the parents. Therefore, responsibility should also be shared. The Beijing Fourth Intermediate People's Court has concluded the case of a 17-year-old girl receiving a sky high reward of 450000 yuan. After considering evidence such as transaction records, real name account information, and usage, the court confirmed that the platform, 17-year-old Xiao Liu, and her guardian are all responsible and ordered the platform to refund 240000 yuan. Second instance presiding judge Han Jixian: We believe that the platform's review measures have serious omissions and failed to fulfill its reasonable review obligations. Although the platform has taken measures to restrict consumption, the review method for lifting restrictions is too simple, relying only on phone confirmation and not using stricter identity verification methods, which allows minors to avoid restrictions and continue to consume high amounts. Meanwhile, both Xiaoliu himself and his guardian bear corresponding responsibilities. Xiaoliu has been addicted to tipping for a long time and has evaded platform restrictions through deceptive means. His guardian lacks effective supervision over his behavior, so the refund responsibility should be reasonably shared by all parties. The China Consumers Association reminds that in order to promote the healthy and orderly development of the online gaming market and reduce consumer disputes, online gaming platforms should actively fulfill their social responsibilities and handle complaints properly. Jin Boyang: We should attach great importance to parents' demands for refunds and recharge of minors, improve the complaint handling mechanism, optimize the refund service process, enhance customer service's ability to handle complaints, and respond to consumer demands in a timely manner. For large amounts of recharge made by minors without the consent of their guardians and beyond their cognitive and payment capabilities, there should be sufficient evidence to prove it, and refunds should be actively processed in accordance with the law and regulations, without any excuses or delays. Wang Lin believes that the platform should further strengthen its technical protection measures. Wang Lin: On the basis of strictly implementing game real name authentication and national anti addiction policies, it is necessary to further strengthen technical protection measures, accurately identify the identity of minors, and prevent minors from using, renting, or borrowing adult accounts for gaming and recharging. In addition, online gaming platforms should strengthen the management of recharge and consumption. For accounts suspected of being operated by minors, clearer and more effective reminder and verification mechanisms should be set up in the recharge and payment process, reasonable limits should be placed on recharge amounts, and convenient function options such as "small non secret payment" should be provided prudently. Parents are the guardians of minors and the first responsible persons for protecting their rights and interests. Every aspect of minors' lives requires parents' attention and concern. Jin Boyang: We suggest that parents arrange the study, entertainment, and rest time of minors reasonably, and provide necessary constraints and guidance on the time and content of minors' use of online games. Accompany children more, cultivate their healthy interests, hobbies, and consumption concepts, and help them establish correct internet usage habits and rational consumption awareness. The China Consumers Association reminds that parents should properly keep their mobile phones, bank cards, and various payment passwords in daily life, and should not easily disclose them to minors. Turn off or prudently use the "small amount non confidential payment" function in mobile payment tools to reduce unexpected payment risks from the source. Regularly check account transaction records and promptly detect any abnormal situations. If a minor makes a large recharge without consent, attention should be paid to collecting and preserving relevant evidence, including recharge records, payment vouchers, game account information, chat records or videos that can prove that the recharge behavior is operated by a minor, in order to protect their rights in accordance with the law. Jin Boyang: After discovering problems, it is necessary to promptly contact the official customer service of the game operation company, express clear demands, and communicate rationally. If the negotiation fails, complaints can be made to the Consumer Association through the National Consumer Association Smart 315 Complaint Platform, or directly reported to the relevant administrative authorities. Wang Lin: Protecting the healthy growth of minors is a shared responsibility of the whole society. We call on all online gaming companies to abide by business ethics, strictly adhere to legal bottom lines, and actively rectify existing problems. At the same time, it also reminds parents to fulfill their guardianship responsibilities and jointly create a safe, healthy, and clear online environment for minors. (New Society)