Teen's $54K Bar Tab: 16-Year-Old in Japan Steals Father's Credit Card, American Express Foots The Bill
And you thought you were having trouble with your credit card spending. Reports are now surfacing of a 16-year-old in Japan who, after stealing his father's credit card, went out on the town and spent a whopping $54,000.
Allegedly, the boy and his friend took his father's American Express and started hitting up all of the swankiest hotspots around Kyoto. They would drink whisky and wine, and reportedly spent upwards of $3,700 per bottle during their adventure.
Though they went through quite a bit of money this way, it is believed that the most money was spent when they went to a 'kyabakura', which is a Japanese cabaret club. At those establishments, pretty women hang around as escorts to the men who go there. Time spent is billed at the end of the session, and spending just several hours there could get very expensive.
The incident actually took in place in 2010 but is just now coming to light after a lengthy time in court. The parents of the teen had been fighting with the credit card company so that they would not have to cover the charges.
"Presiding Judge Hashidume said that American Express bore partial responsibility for the charges since they didn't do anything about so many large and clearly suspicious charges. He also pointed out that American Express clearly hadn't properly verified the identity of the card holder. Additionally, since the kid was only 16 years old, he obviously couldn't enter into a legally-binding contract, let alone enter and drink at such adult establishments," reports the Japan Daily.
After all was said and done, the boy's family made out alright. The judge ruled that the teen was unfit to make such decisions and that the brunt of the responsibility lied with the bar owners and American Express. In total, the teen's family would have to pay only roughly $8,000 of the original $54,000 billed.
The boy, who has remained unnamed because of his age during the incident, will not face any other punishment from the courts. It has not yet been reported how long he was grounded after his parents first found out about his high-class adventure.
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