A contract, in the simplest terms is a quid-pro-quo. "I do/give this and you do/give that." It does not need to be signed or in writing. A price tag is a proposal of sale and is a part of the contract terms which include a merchants legitimate policies.
On those grounds I bet an argument can be made the sale to a minor was an invalid contract since it did not include food, shelter or clothing which are the normal things a minor has a right to contract for.
Unless you can prove fraud the AG will not nromally get involved in a contract dispute as it is civil law to be settled between the parties involved and if one party desires, tried in court.
If a parent or guardian were present during the sale it might be argued they authorised the purchase and therefore the adult is liable not the store.
If I were merchant threatenned witht a suit over a $34 sale I'd tell the complainant "Go ahead." I don't know what filing fees cost but they are more than $34. Plus a wait of 6-18 months for a court date. The case would have to be filed in the district the sale took place. Most employers will not pay you for time off for a civil suit that you are a party to. If either party misses the court date a default decision will normlly be enterred against them.
Even if I agreed with member sea_n_ski, I would suggest this is not worth the fight. I think one of our lawyer members will stop laughing eventually and give their opinion.
BBB is not a government organisation. They are a customer service advocacy organisation. They forward complaints to the concerned merchant and if the complainant does not write again to say the problem is not resolved, they mark the file "resolved" after a certain amount of time. Only after a number of repeated complaints do they note in their reports 'merchant has a number of unresolved complaints regardng ...' (or similiar). They don't actually investigate and they can't rate a merchant's behavior or they would be liable for anything they can't prove as true at the time the statement was made. I have spoken with the BBB once and this is what I was told by them.
(BTW - Merry Christmas everyone. I hope sea_n_ski's children all got presents they enjoyed and will cherish.)
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