- Holly LaFavers from Kentucky was charged over $4000 after her son Liam ordered 70,000 Dum Dums lollipops on her Amazon account
- After multiple attempts for help, LaFavers was eventually issued a full refund from Amazon
- The mother revealed that Liam, whom she adopted when he was 2 and 1/2, has fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD)
A mother from Kentucky found herself in a sticky spot when her 8-year-old son got hold of her cell phone.
According to NBC News and ABC News, Holly LaFavers was left in shock after discovering that her son Liam had ordered around 70,000 Dum Dums lollipops via her Amazon account.
LaFavers reportedly realized this on Sunday, May 4, after she noticed a $4,200 charge from Amazon on her account.
“I had just gotten paid, and so when I looked at my bank account and it was in the red, I just immediately panicked,” she told Good Morning America. “I looked to see what was causing that, and I saw the $4,200 charge to Amazon. And so immediately looked over at Amazon [to] see what had happened.”
The single mother revealed that Liam, who has the fetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) and was adopted by LaFavers when he was 2 and 1/2, wanted to have a carnival for his friends and use the lollipops as prizes.
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“He was being friendly and kind to his friends,” she said, per NBC News
While he usually plays with his mother’s phone as a reward, LaFavers told GMA that Liam knew he wasn’t allowed to place any orders.
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“Never has this happened before. He just likes to shop on there, window shop, I guess,” she said.
After calling Amazon, LaFavers was guided by staff to reject the delivery so she could be refunded, however, 22 boxes still arrived at her doorstep.
“Liam went outside to ride his scooter and started screaming, ‘My suckers are here,'” she told the show. “There were just 22 boxes of suckers on our front porch.”
While another eight arrived two hours later, LaFavers waited outside to reject those parcels.
“It was probably around dinner time, Sunday evening, I just kind of, for lack of better words, gave up and decided I was gonna have to ask for help,” she said after expressing her frustration to Amazon.
LaFavers then took to Facebook to ask friends in her community for help.
According to GMA, the mother’s friends and family quickly stepped in to buy boxes, with doctor’s offices and local banks also purchasing them.
LaFavers then revealed in a Facebook update on Sunday that she had finally been issued a full refund by Amazon.
“After a long day of working with the bank and talking to a few news stations, Amazon called and they are refunding my money!!!,” she wrote. “THANK YOU to everyone that offered to buy a box to help us. I will be happy to get you what you “ordered” or donate them to a charity of your choice. Please dm me your preference.”
She told GMA that they also donated a box to their local church and will be taking another pack of Dum Dums to Liam’s school.
In a statement shared with PEOPLE, Amazon confirmed that they had issued a full refund to LaFavers: “We’re glad we were able to work directly with this customer to turn a sticky situation into something sweet,” they said.
According to the Mayo Clinic, “fetal alcohol spectrum disorders describe the range of conditions in children caused when the mothers drank alcohol during pregnancy,” with symptoms including learning, thinking, physical, and behavioral issues.
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