Inadvertent $1500 in app purchase Tap Zoo - warning!

Did a little research! Now this thread makes a lot more sense. Do any of you receive any compensation for what you contribute here by anyone?

Csound1 - Really? So your admitting this site is rigged? Stop the bleeding and don't make anymore comments for your own good! Stick to editing.

I'll just refer back to the quote from Warren Buffett:

"It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that you'll do things differently."

I hope Apple figures this out, because I really love their devices and what their share price has done prior to the recent decline.

" I didn't claim it wasn't there, I claimed I could download, install, and play the game without a notification. I never disputed it would be somewhere in their text."

And did you try to purchase something, and take note of the confirm dialog, "Do you want to buy xyz for $0.99," OK or Cancel?

tumbleweed555 wrote:

Did a little research! Now this thread makes a lot more sense. Do any of you receive any compensation for what you contribute here by anyone?

Csound1 - Really? So your admitting this site is rigged?

Nope, just pointing out your fantasy that the rules don't apply to you, is that all your agreement is worth, Ugh.

Csound1 - You don't make any sense. I haven't violated any rules. I was not the one censored. As soon as I realized there would be censorship I chose not to participate. I believe rules apply to everyone, including Apple, and I have never suggested they don't apply to me.

Again Csound1 - Do yourself a favor and stop posting comments! Please, for your own good, stick to editing and throwing rocks.

tumbleweed555 wrote:

Let's just continue to allow app developers to target children so they can rob their parents. You must be on the developers pay roll! To say these app developers who target childrens apps are acting in good faith is rediculous.

let's just continue to allow parents to let their kids run wild with their credit cards and cellphones. where is the personal accountability? everyone complaining about this seems to be the type of person that messes up and wants to point the finger everywhere except right in their own face. their are about 10 people out of millions and millions that have purchased iphones/ipods/ipads on here complaining about this on this thread. why is that? if this is such a big problem why aren't thousands upon thousands complaining? as i said, my daughter has an iphone and an ipod and an itunes account with credit on it...why has this never happened to me? oh yeah, because i set guidelines and she follows them. tonefox has it right...this thread is so amusing. complainers: take responsibilty for your own shortcomings as parents and take responsibility for your kids that don't follow rules. guess what, i might even agree with you about the developers, but that's why i take care of business on my end, hence this never happens to me.

We just discovered why they don't bring their complaints to this site! Search it out on the internet. They have all chosen to take their complaints where they won't be censored. Thanks for pointing this out once again. I would point you in that direction, but this post would erased. Do your own research!

tumbleweed555 wrote:

We just discovered why they don't bring their complaints to this site! Search it out on the internet. They have all chosen to take their complaints where they won't be censored. Thanks for pointing this out once again. I would point you in that direction, but this post would erased. Do your own research!

if apple was censoring, why is this years long thread still here?

tumbleweed555 wrote:

Sounds like your a person who reads everything all the time and was a great parent.

I like to think so, and have three adult offspring and a safe bank balance to indicate such.

I didn't claim it wasn't there, I claimed I could download, install, and play the game without a notification. I never disputed it would be somewhere in their text.

As my children at a tender age could walk into a major road and get run down without notification. I didn't allow that to happen, having educated myself of the risk.

I read through this briefly, and people saying that apple is not to blame probably does not have any kids.

Are we responsible for our kids? Yes.

Do we have to watch over them every minute of the day, even when they're sleeping or watching TV or at school? Absolutely not.

Is it unreasonable to let them play a game for 20 minutes a day? Absoultely not again. How are we expected to watch over them while they play a GAME?!

Recall, all of you, the days of Nintendo DS... did kids play it? Yes. Did their parents have to sit by their side while they played Pokemon? No! Why can't we trust Apple to do the same? We're putting a certain amount of trust on their products and they are betraying it by putting 100 dollar buttons in front of the kid's face... and we have no way to know about it either. The people who are defending apple, if you've had this happen to you your perspective would be different. And can any of you, HONESTLY, tell me you've read the whole manual, front to back, that you've know about disabling the in-app purchase long ago before seeing thsi?

This is nothing less than cheating; they are exploiting a child's ignorance and innocence for financial gain. That's like ripping a child off by offering a lolipop for his parent's car or something, and the kid wouldn't know any better because he is four. Obviously the adults can say "no" in this case, but Apple provides NO WAY for the adults to intervene and puts the stake in the 4-year-old's hands! (my son is four and he costed me 500)

It's not an issue of "is my child more important than money" because OF COURSE HE IS. But I am not willing to pay unnecessary costs because an app designed for children takes advantage of its target audience. I'd rather spend that money on real toys or food or whatever.

Recall, all of you, the days of Nintendo DS... did kids play it? Yes. Did their parents have to sit by their side while they played Pokemon? No! Why can't we trust Apple to do the same?

Can you purchase anything with real money in Pokemon? No. Does the Nintendo DS contain your credit card information, thus giving your child the resources to purchase things? No.

Hi Charles2013

You will find you have many, many supporters, but the vocal (and often offensive) majority on this forum are blind in their support for this immoral scam. They have failed to defend iTunes/Apple/app developers over the accusation that there are several circumstances in which even the most wary will be caught out. The reason: it's indefensible. So they turn to insults and ridiculous analogies instead.

The game here is not about targeting innocent 4 yr olds or even caveat emptor. When iTunes can somehow (legally? I'm not convinced) debit a bank account several hours AFTER the app has been uninstalled, and AFTER the bank has blocked repeat payments (even the bank's anti-fraud algorithms recognise it as fraudulent), then it is quite clear that there are no longer any scruples left at Apple HQ. Up-grading your device's OS? BEWARE - they will get you again. There is no defense.

I can't shout louder than the supporters, have had no words of comfort from Apple, can't afford legal action, and so we're opting out. Technology for our kids? Yes, but certainly not through games.

I have a problem with in app purchases that is becoming a real concern. That is where the app is claiming to be a "for fun" game and is actually a gambling site, only you can't win your money back. If I purchase a game from a retailer, I can play that game as many times as I want without additional costs. I have no problem with the app designers and companies making money on in app purchases, I have a problem with them taking advantage of what is considered a disease and that is addiction. I have issues with gambling addiction brought on my the dopamine medication I take for Parkinson's disease. I have been struggling with this for the past 15 years. And I never visit casinos, I have no credit cards, and I have family members watching me constantly. I put in a lot of safeguards in my life to ensure I don't gamble online.

But along comes "for fun" gambling on my iPad, and this seems like a great alternative to real gambling, I can play Texas holdum for hours and lose millions of chips and get the same rush as I would get in real gambling and there are some apps where I have been able to do exactly that. But along comes zynga poker and bingo bash. These two apps are clearly rigged to force you to buy chips and I have bought many. I get sucked in and spend money I don't have because I am an addict. I take responsibility for my actions and I have no problem with spending that may have been induced by the same impulses such as the day I spent 75$ on candy crush, because this is a game where my knowledge and skill control the outcome, but when gambling, even for fun, you simply take a chance and risk what you are willing to, and in real gambling, c'mon everyone knows that these computerized versions of all of the slots and games are rigged in favor of the house. Winning is rare and the only way to win is to know when to stop. But when you are playing "for fun" you don't believe that you should have to apply the same rules. There is nothing to lose after all, right? Wrong! I have spent a lot of money in the past year and I have no chance of ever winning it back. I believe that I have been fooled by these companies and that they are taking advantage of people by making their games act like a real gambling site and rigging the games in their favor in order to encourage in app sales. I recently had my daughter go in and change the password in my iTunes account so that I cannot purchase in app chips any more, this safeguard is difficult because you cannot get updates or download apps without your iTunes password. I think apple needs to monitor these apps more closely and something needs to be done.

I am very interested to see what people think of what I have said here. Don't hold back! Let me have it if you don't agree, I have a tendency toward only seeing the pain of my situation, I want to take full responsibility for my actions.

Thank you!

If you know that you have a gambling problem, don't download gambling games. Have someone set a password on in-app purchsases on your phone for you. Do that taking responsibility for yourself thing you mentioned.

Best of luck.

This happened to me too and I hope they have good customer service! Can't argue the legality of it but I find it extremely obnoxious that ppl are questioning parenting skills...are these the same people who post crap on facebook about how "they were raised to say thank you, we left our doors open, and rode our bikes with our friends?" I think showing trust to your child is actually a GOOD thing. I had no idea that "in app" purchases were an option, let alone how to disable it...I get it, owners manuals are there to keep the company from lawsuit. Doesn't mean I know how to change my headlight in my car until I need to.

Showing trust in your child is one thing. Handing them a credit card and setting them loose in a candy store is something else entirely.

Owners manuals to instruct you on the capabilities of the device you just bought. Labels on irons warning you not to iron your clothes while you're wearing them are there to prevent lawsuits...