Inadvertent $1500 in app purchase Tap Zoo - warning!

Seriously, what is the point of name-calling and passing judgment? I am new to this, but I seriously doubt that is the purpose of an Apple sanctioned forum. I am just looking for support, answers and resolution. If that's not your goal, then get off this forum and go troll elsewhere.

To those seeking to give or get support and help: This happened to us too, and I'd like to know how you got resolution. It is almost impossible to get a live person on the telephone. Any advice on numbers to call or best course of action?

My 7 y/o son has an iTouch (not an iPhone). He knows the rules about downloading games, even when they are free. He asked my permission and showed me the game and explained to me how it worked. I didn't know to explain the purchasing issue to him because (1) he always asks my permission to download, even free items. He thought it was part of the game and didn't realize it was real money so he didn't ask. And, (2) quite honestly I had never heard of in-app purchases before so it was not on my radar to be aware of this possibillity. Just because we are all not as technically savvy or aware as the holier-than-thou "saints" who have deemed us bad parents and idiots, it doesn't mean we deserve to be taken advantage of either. I have not heard back from iTunes yet but hope for a refund as well.

This is a user-to-user forum. All anyone can do here is suggest that you contact Apple to see if they will help and to give you instructions on how to enable restrictions for in-app purchases. It is not unreasonable for anyone here to also suggest that you carefully review the iPhone manual. I am not trying to be unkind but, apparently, you are unware of some very crucial features. It would be in your best interest to read the manual.

All of the contact information for Apple is available at the Contact Us link at the bottom right of every page of the forums. The Terms of Sale of the iTunes Store is that all purchases are final. People have reported that exceptions have been made. However, as Apple has provided a method to prevent such inadvertent purchases and you agreed to the TOS, they are within their rights not to give you a refund. You should be prepared for that possibility.

Best of luck.

Thanks, Meg. I was actually more surprised and offended by the accusations of poor parenting and stupidity. Seemed a bit extreme and personal. Just looking for advice and constructive help.

I know you are not being unkind and that it seems obvious to say it was in the manual, but I actually did read the manual when we bought the touch a couple of years ago (when I got my iphone, my son got my hand-me-down). Since it wasn't something that I ever used or something that had ever come up before (even with my pre-teen daughter), it was one of those things that I proceeded to forget about completely. I still have to get out the instructions for my camera when I want to use a feature I haven't used in a while. And, I have to look in my car's user manual when a random light comes on that I haven't seen in a while. I think that's probably fairly normal for most people. It is pretty unreasonable to expect people to remember every detail of every function. And, in terms of iTunes responsibility, the description says you can use real money within the game. . . it doesn't say anywhere that it will come out of iTunes. I had no expectation that in-app purchases would be connected to my iTunes account. I thought this was a separate function through the game/Pocket Gem. Not trying to be argumentative, but since this obviously keeps happening then it's safe to say that iTunes and/or Pocket Gems is aware of the problem. This is definitely a kids' game, so they know who their audience is and they are preying on kids. They might be within their right according to the terms of sales, but it doesn't make it ethical.

an old lady in the US of A, bought a new Winebago camper w/ a cruise drive... went for a trip ...put the camper in in Auto Cruise... then stood up and went to the back of the camper to fix herself a sandwich.. camper went off the road, damaging the camper beyond repair & causing serious physical injuries to the old lady herself.. BECAUSE SHE READ ON THE MANUAL THE CAMPER CAN BE PUT ON AUTO CRUISE ...

A comedian . . .

For those who might find themselves in this same situation - and I foresee it happening again . . . I did get a resolution. I did not receive responses to my "report a problem" emails, but once I finally got a human being on the phone (give yourself plenty of time - it's no easy task), I explained the situation, and they were able to make an exception for these "unusual" charges. No judgments or recriminations from the customer service rep either, although he did make sure I knew how to disable this function 😉. Kudos for exceptional customer service - and not because I got a refund, but because the rep was polite, professional and attentive (he had me on hold for a long time and checked back regularly to make sure he hadn't lost me - and he apologized to me for the long wait)!

Glad you got it resolved. I keep a copy of my iPhone manual, AND my camera manual in iBooks on my iPhone. I do admit to having more trouble with the camera than the iPhone, possibly because I use it less.

The in app purchases are a legitimate issue. And I see people on this topic accusing others of leaving a child "unsupervised" while they play on thier ipod. True some settings should be restricted. But when games have a target marketing group (in this case children) then they should make it somewhat childproof. At very least, there should be an Apple password reentry to proceed with a purchase. This would fix the problem as children should not know this information.

This is a real problem. And I'm certain Apple has already prepared thier legal department for anything that comes thier way. It would take a class action lawsuit to get them to do anything. And they are certainly due for one. People have given this company too much power with too little demand for customer service and satisfaction. They have made themselves nearly untouchable by charging you to talk to them. Most people wont do it. Therefor, they get few official complaints.

Dont give up those of you who have lost money no this. Contact an attorney. Sometimes a letter from one is all it takes. But they can also find out if a class action is justified. Keep track of any and all expenses incurred in getting your refund. And good luck to you all.

This thread won't lie down.....

I'll just point out, again, that a parent only has to bother to read the first line or two in the app store description, and take the suggested preventative action, and no harm will be done.

Then why do they have games for kids???? That's stupid to assume layman people know how to use controls and settings. It's just to easy to purchase stuff and it needs to change. It is fraud!! A free game and then you have to buy cash or gems to play.

So you're going to use an iPhone and have absolutely no clue how it works? You're not going to read the manual and attempt to figure out how to restrict purchases? That's ridiculous. Part of having an iPhone is knowing how it works. If you're not savvy enough to figure it out, don't get an iPhone. That's what's wrong with our society today, people don't take responsibility for themselves. (And by using "you're" in this posting, I am not referring specifically to you, brady. I'm referring to anyone who doesn't take the time to figure out how to use the phone.)

I own an iPod touch, not an iPhone. It is an entertainment device my son can use also. If I see a kids game he might like I will just download it for him and let him play it while glancing over every once in awhile to see what he's doing. It's deceiving to allow in app purchases which are obviously targeted specifically at children who are unaware they are spending real money. It's like selecting a kids tv show to watch and having in the disclaimer that there is **** at random intervals within the show. The name and general nature of the games are deceiving to parents as something they don't have to worry about. If you can't see that then you need to take a step back and think about the number of people it's happened to unintentionally, the percentage of people who would actually purchase virtual items at the prices set for the game in question, and the opportunistic mentality behind developing a game in this manner.

No, not really. It's like letting your child on your computer after you've signed into PayPal and Ebay and left the web browser open, then blaming Microsoft because your kid bid on a bunch of stuff. Would you also blame Coach or Parada if your son got into your purse and took your credit cards and used them?

Regardless, iOS 5 allows you to require the password immediatley after using it to purchase something, so you can finally stop complaining you don't have time to teach your kids about money. Although as soon as that happens I'm sure you'll start complaining that it asks you for your password after every purchase.

You're missing the point about it being deceiving. I wouldn't KNOWINGLY let my 4 year old on my computer with knowledge that he could easily make purchases with a couple clicks not needing authorization. Also, I do monitor what he's doing and would notice him stray away from what he was allowed to do. Him being in the game I allowed him to play wouldn't raise any suspicion that he was making purchases as the menus look alike and the same music/sound effects are universal throughout. Any reasonable person would not think that loging in to get free game would allow full access to your bank account for 15 minutes without prompting for verification within a different app. Your purse anology doesn't fit the scenario either.. as it involves them directly taking your money. Maybe if the credit cards were disguised as a "cans of stars" with cute zoo animals being all over the purse that would have had to give him, and he was somehow able to manage to find someone would take a card from a 4 year old to buy something, or he was somehow able to complete the purchase process at a self check out.

Tap Zoo seems to be designed to fool people, Apple force restrictions on everything, why not tell the makers of tap zoo to change the way the in app purchase work, do Apple get a percentage of the purchaces.

You can argue all day with the fanboys, but you wont get anywhere because they are that far up the A**e of apple they dont see the light.

I have read through this entire thread and I find comments like these completely baseless. If you invested all of your money with a Financial firm that ended up being a Ponzi scheme how would you feel? The fact is that this issue is receiving the attention it does from the lawmakers because of its "prey on consumers" nature. The fact that your account remains "unlocked" for 15 mins after you put in a password is just absurd. Ok, so they may have disabled that unlock timeout on the newer versions of the iOS, but for all the devices out there that still keep the account unlocked, it still remains a problem.

I just ran into this issue myself not because of something that was purchased, but rather because I "unlocked" my I-Phone to do an update. AN UPDATE!! Then while I was waiting for my update to finish, I let my daughter play on the phone. During that 15 min window, she managed to purchase 70 dollars worth of stuff in an in-game application. The applications are built to reference pay options as soon as the app loads (for example the free games that show the "remove ads" slogan right away). This is by DESIGN!! And for people to come on here and blame the parents for not knowing what their kids are doing is just plain BOGUS. I knew my daughter was playing the game she was. But I in no way knew that purchases to my account could be made without properly authenticating. I don't go to the store and buy groceries, leave, and then expect my card to be accessible to everybody else who came behind me for 15 mins.

Apple knows about this. The app developers know about this. All of this was done by design, just like someone doing a Ponzi scheme. It is crooked any way you slice it. Its deceiving and downright wrong. There is no other explanation for allowing a 15 min "unlock" to your account. Its got nothing to do with making it easier for the end-user. You don't get prompted for the password anyways unless you are doing a purchase or downloading, or accessing your account information. If end-users are complaining about that, then that is just plain lazy.