Walmart says it did nothing wrong after 11-year-old boy raids family's emergency fund for $2,000 in Roblox gaming gift cards

Hong Jin and Jason Kim had an envelope of emergency cash in their house holding between $2,000 and $3,000. Their son, who went to visit his grandmother, had taken the envelope with him and had the cash in his pocket when he and his grandmother went to Walmart to look at toys.

At some point during the visit, the 11-year old slipped away and went to the cashier, where he made two $1,000 purchases of Roblox gaming gift cards, which can be used to buy premium items in the game.

His parents didn’t notice the money was missing until it was too late.

No returns

When his parents learned what had happened, they marched their son, the cards and the receipt back to Walmart to return them, but gift cards are non-refundable, they were told.

“I was shocked,” Kim told CTV News. “I’m still shocked. I can’t believe a small kid could spend $2,000 at Walmart.”

The retailer said it has been in contact with the family to discuss the purchase, but is sticking by its no return policy. While the buyer indeed was young, an internal review of the transaction showed the Walmart employees followed store policy and “appropriately applied our $1,000 transaction limit for gift cards.”

There are no age restrictions at the store for buying gift cards.

The gift card problem

While this matter revolves around physical good sales and brick and mortar stores, Roblox has been a growing area of concern for many parents.