Inadvertent $1500 in app purchase Tap Zoo - warning!

I've been watching this discussion for years since my kid ... well actually my kids friend .. ran up a couple hundred dollars in charges. That situation was resolved successfully and the charges were credited (after a lot of work on my part) and I am careful now, every time we install an upgrade, that I check the default settings.

The issue I have with this practice is this. Apple has differenciated itself based on its interface. Its more intuitive than the status quo solutions. Its the most user friendly and as a result we have bought into it and made Apple a huge success. The behaviour of these Apps and the default settings for in-app purchases are inconsistent with the high quality of Apple's interface and the reputation it has gained as a result of that quality .. and as users we are caught off guard by that ... and if Apple hadn't impressed us as being different than the competition, we likely would have been more cautious .. and yes, spent more time reading the manual.

I think that if "intuative" and trustworthy are part of the brand then that is part of what Apple should expect of its partners ... Tap Zoo didn't invoice me, Apple did.

If Apple really wanted me to read their whole owner's manual, they would include it in the packaging of their product. Again, I'm not arguing the legality of it. Frankly, they are as brilliant with making money as Miley Cyrus is in her marketing plan. Being legal doesn't make something right, user friendly or to the advantage of the customer. We shall see how Apple responds to my friendly request to be refunded. No argument will ever make me think it's right. I didn't say legal.

mhankes0817 wrote:

If Apple really wanted me to read their whole owner's manual, they would include it in the packaging of their product.

They effectively did. There was a quick-start leaflet in the box called "Fingertips" which included the address of the manual on the web, and also pointed out that the address comes already bookmarked in Safari on the phone. You can catch up here: http://support.apple.com/manuals/#iphone

Beyond sending somebody around to read it to you, there is not much else they could do.

tonefox wrote:

Beyond sending somebody around to read it to you, there is not much else they could do.

I'm not sure there would be enough money in the world for me to take that job.

Pretty sure I just said they could include the owner's manual in the actual packaging. That's what "else they could do." Again, not arguing what I have access to. Not arguing if it was legal or not. I don't think having it default to that is a good business practice. It's not inconvenient for someone else to simply switch it to allow "in-app" purchases. Or have it default to requiring passcodes immediately vs. 15 minutes later. Pretty sure less customers would be irate and they'd have less staff working on upset campers. It's a matter of what the company values. No big deal, I didn't get ripped off for hundreds like other posters did, and I don't blame them if they don't refund me because it's in the print of the "online manual" that is super duper convenient. 😐

mhankes0817 wrote:

Pretty sure I just said they could include the owner's manual in the actual packaging.

It would add weight to packaging, use huge numbers of trees, thus contibuting to deforestation, loss of habitat, ecosystem destruction. And, it wouldn't fit.

Pretty sure even if a full manual was included you would not have read it. Did you read the guide that was already mentioned? It not only gave the link to the manual but also pointed out there are bookmarks in the browser for the manual. And why don't they, or any other company, inlcude the manuals anymore? To reduce packaging and printing which is good for our environment.

As to your idea of having it default to passcodes, etc., that is a local passcode and would require activating the iPhone and entering a pre-defined passcode. Wouldn't be hard for a child to figure that out but it wouldn't matter because when you connected the iPhone to activate it the code would be wiped out anyway. And some of us don't want restrictions turned on.

Plus in the description of the game itself it provides a desciption, a warning that it uses in-app purchases, how much those purchases are and the fact that you can turn these off. Did you read that?

Good luck, Apple's policy is to refund for one incident. And yes, there are people in this thread who have had it happen twice.

I can understand how people had multiple charges. The "purchase" for me was made on Oct 16th, but I didn't get my "thank you for your purchase" e-mail until Oct 18th. Which is interesting, since most companies have instantaneous e-mail confirmations. Guess Apple is not so tech savvy as we thought? Or they anticipated you'd catch your error before you had the chance to make more if it was immediatly in your e-mail box?

The sheer volume in the iTunes Store precludes instantaneous receipts. I'm sure you've previously purchased media, apps etc. before and knew this. It has nothing to do with technology and even if it was immediate how would that have stopped the in-app purchase?

Read this entire thread and you will see that all of this has been covered. In your view you have no responsibility at all. Call AppleCare, ask to be transferred to Customer Service and you will get your refund.

Read MY parts of the thread where I clearly indicate that I don't argue the legality of it. I will be grateful if they refund me because it is my fault. I also understand that it is their business practice to work this way, and as I've previously said, that makes them brilliant-but not pleasant for the customer. I am not arguing that I am right. My initial thread indicated how obnoxious people are about commenting on other people's parenting skills. I am waiting to hear back from customer service, so thank you for telling me that. I am enlightened now. I still don't know how I came across as not having any responsibilty. Other companies have extreme volume and they do just fine with instantaneous receipts.

You're not disputing the legality of it. You don't appear to have a technical questionn at all, therefore, you're questioning Apple's policy on this matter. Discussing Apple policies or policy decisions is prohibited by the TOS. Accept reality and move on.

I came on here to read about how other people have handled this situation and how reasonable Apple was regarding refunds for inadvertant charges. I won't be moving on until I experience first hand how well Apple handles customer complaints about their policies. I don't know why you care so much about my well being in this matter, and why you need to argue about it, but thank you for your concern. Long live Apple! (?)

Hello mhankes0817,

This is insidious. There is no other way to put it. The Itune apologists are just wrong.

Apple, how dare you take advantage of our little ones. Stop it and do it now.

Disclaimer: Thank goodness for this thread. I prevented this nonsense for a good friend and his 2 kids. The default for some things should be "He!! no."

Now load MacWorks on your Lisa and see how 'the apple talks'.

I'd just like to add, my good friend is a respectable businessman and he can get his kids what ever they want; and he does. He would never treat appl this way, but that's how he does business.

I wish appl were like him. <crosses fingers>

If you read this thread you would already know how Apple handles this. They will grant a refund on a one-time basis and will also provide you with information how to prevent this in the future by setting restrictions, turning off inapp purchases, etc.

They won't do refunds if it occurs a second time, and yes, people have posted here who had it happen a second time.