All eyes on the iPad, parents. A 5-year-old British boy found out the hard way that not all 'free' apps are actually free. A fan of a Zombie iPad game, the little guy's parents were staggered when they received a bill for £1,700 ($2,625CD).
Unbeknownst to young Danny Kitchen, he had racked up the charges through the game's many add-ons.
After receiving an initial bill of £69.99 for apps to help play the game, mom Sharon has tried to contact Apple to obtain a refund, and heard nothing.
“We had lots of visitors in the house and were both a little preoccupied," she explained. When her son asked for the password for the 'free' app, her parents complied. But alarm bells that should have sounded went undetected.
Later on they received a call from their credit card company inquiring about 19 transactions of £69.99 ($108CD). Ouch.
According to the article in the UK Sun, a few days later the tally was £1,700.
“Danny was in tears when we told him how much money he had spent," said his mother. “Loads of parents in the playground said similar things had happened to them but for a lot less money.”
“All iOS devices (iPad, iPhone and iPod touch) have built in parental controls that give parents and guardians the ability to restrict access to content," explained an Apple spokesperson. “Parental controls also give parents and guardians the option to turn off functionality such as purchasing from iTunes and the ability to turn off in-app purchases ... The first thing we recommend is not to share your password."
An honest mistake or parental ignorance? Should Apple refund Danny's parents? Have you been stung with surprise app extras?
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