OMFG just found out DS has spent £1700 on ipod game!!!

[splodge2001]

It's all in the title really. Still shaking, It's been going on since June> I hadn't noticed because the spending was masked by some unusual purchases over the last few months. Am livid! I've deleted 'Clash of Clans' banned the Ipod, grounded him, asked him to think of ways he can pay us back (he won't be able to). What the hell do I do? Can I get my money back. Do I report it as fraud? After all, I didn't allow it to happen. Help!

[Prawntoast]

If the child had their own apple account and the parent tied it to their credit card it can't possibly be fraud can it? You've effectively given the child the credit card to do with what they will. I surprised Apple refunded anything to be honest. The only way that could be fraud would be if the child stole the credit card and entered the details themselves.

[FiscalCliffRocksThisTown]

Glad you got some of it back!

As to banks, I have always found Barclays to be quite good about being proactive if they spot a change in your spending pattern ( they call you) and in our case, with DS spending 650 in a month, they put the money in my account within a few days. Then I had to give it back as Apple refunded me. Nice to know they would have paid if Apple would not have.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

The only way that could be fraud would be if the child stole the credit card and entered the details themselves

Not true, if you do not have actual consent to use someone else's card its still a crime to do so even if they make it really really easy for you.

[splodge2001]

weird - I actually haven't blamed anyone else but I guess things do get misinterpreted on mumsnet.

[Alibabaandthe40nappies]

Er, yes you have!

If you think you haven't then maybe you should re-read your posts.

You have blamed Apple and American Express and you have obviously hoped and expected that they would bear the financial loss rather than you and your husband.

[Floggingmolly]

On what grounds did Apple refund "some" of the charge, op? What proportion did they decide wasn't your responsibility, and why?

[Stropzilla]

OP to answer your question about why the purchases didn't trigger at Amex. Amex have an alert for out of pattern spend. If you go from spending £300 to 3? for example that's massively out of pattern. A couple of hundred a month extra is nothing. Repeat spend at a restaurant the card holder owns could flag up for money laundering. ITunes is very common on repeat spend so it wouldn't be flagged.

Not interested in placing blame here. I do think Apple were good to refund any at all given it was over a period of time and usually these things are mentioned straight away. Hope your son is learning to respect other people's money now.

[Flitwickmummy]

Oh jeez!

That is awful, I hope you are able to get the money refunded.

[Chrisbenedict]

It’s Apples responsibility to not let this happen on their OS. Kids don’t understand the value of money and not every adult is tech savvy. Most people probably have never heard of micro transactions or even know you could spend inside an app.

[GwendolineMaryLacey]

No it isn't Apple's responsibility. Here's a thought. Be tech savvy, take responsibility and if you're not sure about this stuff, don't hand it over to your kids. and hey, teach your kids the value of money. It's not hard. Stop hiding behind other people.

[SirChenjin]

So glad you got some of your money back OP

[nipersvest]

chrisbenedict - what a daft thing to post

[IAlwaysThought]

You DONT have to be tech savvy, there are loads of step by step 'how to' guides for people to follow. You just have to put a bit of effort into it.

For example, if you don't know how to set up an iPod so that it is safe for a child to use then just type how do I set up an iPod for a child. into google... It's not rocket science

[wannaBe]

it's apple's responsibility to ensure that there are tools in place to prevent excessive spending, such as parental controls, passwords and such. It is not their responsibility if clueless idiots let their children loose with their credit cards on iDevices which they know the passwords for.

Would you give your child a credit card and give them unlimited access to a toy shop? no? well this is no different.

And I wouldn't consider spending on apple as being a strange spending patern - lots of people own apple devices and buy games, apps, songs, albums, songs, plus it didn't happen in quick succession - yes if no activity suddenly sparked into £1700 overnight this would trigger an alert, but this was a sustained patern of spending and no reason why it would or should be seen as suspicious.

The only person responsible for the fact the op is £1700 out of pocket is the op for A, not supervising her ds more closely, and B, being so blasé with her finance that it's seemingly easy to spend that much of her money without her noticing.