5 Year Old Racks Up Massive iPad App Bill in Ten Minutes
When it comes to the iPad, it's all fun and games until little Billy starts downloading in-game content willy-nilly, resulting in a huge credit card bill. In this case, it's little Danny Kitchen who, quite innocently, managed to download dozens of in-game add-ons worth £1,710.43 (around $2,570 in U.S. currency). Do'h!
How does something like that happen? According to The Telegraph, Danny asked his parents for the iPad's passcode so he could download Zombie v. Ninja, a free game in the Apple Store. Greg and Sharon (mom and dad) left him alone and, well, it ended up costing them.
"Danny was pestering us to let him have a go on the iPad. He kept saying it was a free game so my husband put in the passcode and handed it to him," Sharon explains. "It worried me when he asked for the password but I had a look at the game and it said it was free so I didn't there would be a problem."
On the contrary, Danny bought a boatload of in-game weapons, including ecstasy bombs, darts, and other goodies that quickly added up.
"It was a good game, but I will never do anything like this again," Danny said. "I'm banned from the iPad now, but I am still going to play games when I can, but I will be careful now."
To Apple's credit, they refunded the family the massive bill. That's not something Apple is obligated to do, especially when there are built-in parental controls, including the ability to turn off in-app purchases. Incidentally, Apple recently settled a lawsuit over in-app purchases that were made before there were safeguards in place.
How does something like that happen? According to The Telegraph, Danny asked his parents for the iPad's passcode so he could download Zombie v. Ninja, a free game in the Apple Store. Greg and Sharon (mom and dad) left him alone and, well, it ended up costing them.
"Danny was pestering us to let him have a go on the iPad. He kept saying it was a free game so my husband put in the passcode and handed it to him," Sharon explains. "It worried me when he asked for the password but I had a look at the game and it said it was free so I didn't there would be a problem."
On the contrary, Danny bought a boatload of in-game weapons, including ecstasy bombs, darts, and other goodies that quickly added up.
"It was a good game, but I will never do anything like this again," Danny said. "I'm banned from the iPad now, but I am still going to play games when I can, but I will be careful now."
To Apple's credit, they refunded the family the massive bill. That's not something Apple is obligated to do, especially when there are built-in parental controls, including the ability to turn off in-app purchases. Incidentally, Apple recently settled a lawsuit over in-app purchases that were made before there were safeguards in place.
