Inadvertent $1500 in app purchase Tap Zoo - warning!

Looked at the profile, Tom. We are sufficiently opposite to be of interest, perhaps. I thought Apple was supposed to be pushing the community thing? Stick aol.com on the end if you want swap words.

Responses like this floor me. These are not unintelligent people, those who failed to get this information when it was needed. If it is possible for a child to run up $1500 in additional charges on a game, there should not be a way to download it without this fact being blindingly, spectacularly obvious to all but the most aggressively inept users. The fact that these quite reasonable people didn't know, however much you personally choose to blame them for that, indicates that Apple simply did not do their job. If these people didn't know, then it wasn't obvious enough. Period. That's egregiously poor human interface design. And a company whose focus is so strongly on user experience should have known that. The failure was entirely Apple's.

If otherwise intelligent, aware, reasonable people are screwing up, then the fault is in the design.

I'm on the verge of a lawsuit with these people. My daughter has special needs and is on the autism spectrum and she has repeatedly charged In-App purchases to the tune of over $3000. The first time - after several days on the phone with these inept I-Tunes customer service people - we managed to get a refund. Now they just say NO. We have changed our code several times and we have also turned off In-App purchases on all Ipads, etc. Yet - our Visa is still charged!!

APPLE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF AUTISTIC AND SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN!

While the Apple, the IPad & App. Store pride itself on creating software and applications for special needs and autistic children, Apple is, in fact, taking advantage of these children's disabilities.

This isn't even a **** issue anymore. Settings > General > Restrictions > Require Password > Immediatley.

There, problem solved. Stop blaming Apple because you're too incompetent to know how to use a iPod/iPad/iPhone. Why would you attach your credit card number to a device that you clearly don't understand how to use?

WOW - Anger Issues? I have two Masters Degrees from Top Universities. I own a business that uses Apple Technology and Equipment. You missed the point - but I'm sure that happens often with you. To all of the reasonable people out there- good luck getting a palatable response from I-Tunes.

You apparently do not have children.

5 of them ages 7 - 16....if you actually read my original comment - I was referring to my 9 year old daughter with autism and other special needs. You are in WAY over your head here.

I have three, all of whom are probably a good decade older than yourself.

Tonefox:

"You cannot argue the clarity of that. You are told straight away of the potential problem, and are told how to prevent it. Beyond sending someone around to read it aloud to you, what more can Apple do?"

As others have said, they should prevent it by asking for a password any time you make an in app puchase (which I assume iOS5 does now?)

alanfromwickford

"Trouble is there are those who legitimately allow free billing and can afford it, they would claim it is 'nannying' so how do the companies appease them?"

Easy - the parent tells the child the password, so they can enter it when making purchases.

I'm surprised some of you don't think you should let a child use an iPad, because you wouldn't let them use your credit card on their own. My son, who's 3, needs help with his fine motor skills, and he finds the iPad really engaging and practices dragging his finger along the page in apps (including Tap Zpp, and ABC alphabet [which teaches children to write]).

Ryan

"Why would you attach your credit card number to a device that you clearly don't understand how to use?"

Is it possible to use an iPad without connecting it to itunes, which has to be connected to your card? It's not like you've got your iPad and just decided to put your credit card details in so that anyone can buy stiff without having to go through security. The default should be for it to ask for a password, we shouldn't have to find out how to set that. Particular with many applications being specifically designed for children.

Special Needs Mom wrote:

I'm on the verge of a lawsuit with these people. My daughter has special needs and is on the autism spectrum and she has repeatedly charged In-App purchases to the tune of over $3000. The first time - after several days on the phone with these inept I-Tunes customer service people - we managed to get a refund. Now they just say NO. We have changed our code several times and we have also turned off In-App purchases on all Ipads, etc. Yet - our Visa is still charged!!

APPLE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF AUTISTIC AND SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN!

While the Apple, the IPad & App. Store pride itself on creating software and applications for special needs and autistic children, Apple is, in fact, taking advantage of these children's disabilities.

In App purchases at $99.00 each are structured so that most children, not only special needs children can just press on their Ipad, Ipod touch, etc. and incur hundreds of dollars in charges for their parents who cannot afford them. When representatives at Itunes/Apple are notified - they are not helpful at all and will not provide supervisors numbers, names, etc. In fact, the only way one can lodge a complaint is to search through pages of information to find a customer service rep who has no authority or knowledge. At that point, the grieving parent can only email that person. The Customer Service Rep say "NO" and the poor parent is expected to take that as a definitive answer.

this happened to you once, after much struggle you got a refund. after that did you think to yourself "hey, let me delete these games that allow in-app purchases and find some games that are similar, yet without in-app purchases"?

"APPLE TAKES ADVANTAGE OF AUTISTIC AND SPECIAL NEEDS CHILDREN!"

Dramatic much?

@UkMikey

Yes, it is possible to setup the iPad and use the App Store WITHOUT having a credit card tied to your account.

They usually do take 3-4 days, which I think is ironic since they call it the "Express Lane." But anyway, make sure you emailed the correct department. Other than that, just wait.

I just had a whole bunch of fun reporting right and left, quite a lot of you don't have anything productive to say. I don't see how anyone could not read Line 3 of the app description and then say "Here you go, son! I'm going to leave you all by yourself now. Have fun using my iPhone!"