Inadvertent $1500 in app purchase Tap Zoo - warning!

Thomas Eastcoast , I could not "Agree" with you More!!! , This is BS ! period end of story, this is where 60 minutes needs to expose the Sham !!! Apple is associated with allowing and sanctioning, this is the kind of Stuff movements are created over, where huge companies does lose the good faith of the public, Apples arrogance will catch up to there swelled heads and come back to haunt them!!!, Once you start using Kids!!! to line your coperate pockets your asking for the full wrath of the public coming down on your non sense!!!

You are way, way late to this party. It has already received coverage. Apple updated their OS several versions ago to require the password immediately or 15 minutes and already had an in-app purchase restriction in place. They also require the description of all apps with in-app purchases (many of which are aimed at, and played by, adults) including a listing of how much the coins, berries, gnomes or whatever it is that is to be purchased actually cost and advise parents to govern such purchases.

Lots of parents let their kids play these games responsibly and control their childs use of the game while restricting purchases. I monitor the play of the kids who use my iPad or iPhone, it is an expensive electronic device and I do not hand it out to a child with my credit card wide open on it. I also read the manuals on each device and I read the full descriptions of apps.

According to you we should also ban all sweetened cereals, commercials for them, and toys.

I love being subscribed to this thread. I get to read emails about how awful some parents can be when it comes to knowing what they're handing their children. If they can't even manage their finances, I wonder what they do when it comes time to actually raise a child!

That being said, READ THE IPHONE USER MANUAL BEFORE GIVING A $800 PHONE TO YOUR INFANT CHILD.

Do you give your car keys to your child and then blame Ford the kid turned the car on?

Use your brain. Educate yourself on an $800 phone before you give it to your child to play with.

Everyone in here complaining should be made infertle.

To add to your post, that also goes for letting your children use a computer, watch television, or listen to the radio. And they might also want to check what is on their kids MP3 players.

@deggie I'm going to start logging into my Amazon account every time I let a child on my computer. Then I'll try and sue Amazon because they are running a SCAM letting these children click the one-click buy option. Doesn't Amazon know that KIDS can use computers to?!? I'm so outraged! Why would Amazon sell KIDS TOYS on their website and let them click buy on MY ACCOUNT?!?!

</sarcasm>

Did you fail to read the terms and conditions, which discuss the 13 age limit for an Apple ID? If you choose to let a younger child use your ID, you are not following their guidelines. In spite of your rants, there is no one responsible aside from you.

while i understand the two main POV's, being one side feels it is imoral to aim games at kids and hide behind the "adults play as well" and this makes it hard to make a 'legal' decission as to whom an app is really aimed at. I personally would not dream of downloading extra tokens, but i will pay for more maps as example, the other being you should take better care of a device attached to your credit cards and that is also fair comment - if harsh.

i might say download a video editing app, my device is then open to me lending my kids or grandchildren my device, so a very easy but potentially expensive mistake to forget it is still 'open'.

Currently a single password allows access to anything in the app store, and you can pull down a heck of a lot of tokens in 15 minutes, so while a step in the right direction, surely it would take very little effort to have a password for down loading apps and one for in-app purchases.

Give a kid £5 pocket money they know what they can buy before it runs out, I would like to see such in game tokens actually described in real currency, it then aids kids to realise it is real money they are spending on this,

I think you can have different accounts for different users on the same device, if so then perhaps open an apple account in the kids names, Attach a credit card to get it open then have the card replaced so that card number becomes invalide and prevents future purchases even - with a password.

Not perfect maybe, but hey - neither are any of us 😉.

happy new year to all

Hi there,

I read this thread with interest. I do agree parents need to make themselves more aware of the expensive technology they are handing over to their young children (myself included), but I think this is the type of mistake a lot of parents would make once and learn from.

A lot of posters here have responded disrespectfully, accusing people they have never met before, of being irresponsible, neglectful and indifferent to their children's actions or welfare and this is simply not necessary.

Not everyone is savvy with technology. People tend to assume passwords will be requested for purchases. My own 81 year old gramps is just getting to grips with his iPad and while he's read the literature provided most thoroughly, he still needs my help to just turn on his device. Each person has their own set of circumstances and their loss of hundreds of dollars to an app company may not be down to a simple case of bad parenting.

Plus in my opinion £65 for a "trunk of snowflakes" was it? Really? How many adults are there out there who want to progress that badly in the zoo Christmas game lol

These apps are quite clearly making their money in a less than moral way.

Thankfully for me though, I was able to get excellent advice from Apple and anyone with issues should be directed to get in touch with Apple iTunes Store customer support because it really is first class and they will guide you step by step at the pace you require to help you set your device settings to exactly what is suitable for your individual circumstance. With customer services help and clear thoughtful direction, I can allow my son to play on his iPad, bought for educational purposes (they use them in schools now) without further fear of extortionate, unexpected fees. I would urge parents to do this prior to handing over the device to their excited and possibly more computer savvy offspring.

In my case, my child spent $250 the most expensive item was $109.99. In total $200 on one game and $50 on another. Both free games. Both times the password was entered to download a free game and both times the amounts were racked up without entering the password. The whole thing happened one day and the order confirmation emails arrived 2 days later. If Apple just sent the order confirmation email like any other online purchase at the same time of the purchase my total would have been $13.99 which was the first charge. I would not be complaining and asking for a refund if I had that imeadiate warning. It's not hard to send that email through straight away.

Wether you see it as the fault of the parent or Apple, these purchases are a complete ripoff. I've purchased games for other devices and the value you get from a $100 Playstation game vs the value you get from $109.99 purchase of coins is vastly different. Apple should be able to see that.

flxa wrote:

In my case, my child spent $250 the most expensive item was $109.99. In total $200 on one game and $50 on another. Both free games. Both times the password was entered to download a free game and both times the amounts were racked up without entering the password. The whole thing happened one day and the order confirmation emails arrived 2 days later. If Apple just sent the order confirmation email like any other online purchase at the same time of the purchase my total would have been $13.99 which was the first charge. I would not be complaining and asking for a refund if I had that imeadiate warning. It's not hard to send that email through straight away.

Wether you see it as the fault of the parent or Apple, these purchases are a complete ripoff. I've purchased games for other devices and the value you get from a $100 Playstation game vs the value you get from $109.99 purchase of coins is vastly different. Apple should be able to see that.

I agree, they are a complete ripoff, tell your children not to buy them.

I am so disappointed in Apple and itunes. They have just refused to revert the around £500 charges for in-app purchases that my 8-year old son - unknowingly - managed to run up in a few hours while stuck at Heathrow airport due to the recent snow in London. Same old drill....games that are targeted children that allow the child to make in-app purchases at ludicrous prices for virtul doughnuts, coins, virtual animals - whatever....without the child knowing.

iTunes refuse to revert the charges they say, because they have done so once before. That is true. Same exact situation with 4-year old son playing TinyCo where charges were reverted immediately and without hesitation, which really made me respect them. I of course enabled the restrictions at the time, but alas, recently my ipad froze and I had to reset it, which must have deleted the restrictions....so, now there is nothing to be done.

I was warned, so £500 on...nothing!! Going to developers making money off scamming children. It depresses me to think about it!! It's just money, but that amount going to people like that instead of going to someon or a cause that really needs it instead of this!!! And I just can't get my head around Apple endorsing tactics like that. Right - I should have doublechked the restrictions were still in place, but I mean Apple controls everything so tightly and you need a password for EVERYTHING - just not, it seems, for purchases inside kids apps!!! It's just not right.

Has this happened to anyone else?

So you didn't learn your lesson the first time. Why in the world would you expect them to give you a second pass for this.

Resetting your iPad will not 'delete the restriction'.

It's not possible for your children to make purchases without the password. Why would you give a child the password linked to your account and your credit card?

Maybe you should consider buying your kids old fashioned gameboy's instead. The kind without WiFi. Or maybe a book.

Good for Apple. Maybe you will finally figure it out.

Thanks a lot guys. I appreciate your input. It is possible to make purchases without a password and without any kind of parental involvement. That is the whole point. The child is able to tap away on virtual fruits, animals that cost up to £69 with no password being asked, if there was, there wouldn't be a problem.

Glad you're such an expert. Good for you. Resetting it to factory settings - did delete the restrictions for in-app purchases. But of course you probably know better.

You are correct, Restoring it as new or doing an Erase All Content and settings will clear the Restrictions. But it isn't that hard to set them again and turn off In-App purchases, which you were already informed about. And you also had to put these games back on when you set up the device after erasing it. Where were you when they spent all this money at the airport?

I agree with the others, I can see why Apple is denying a refund. And you are the first person I've known who had this happen twice.