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!

Every single Apple purchase is listed on your bill. If you buy several things together, they group them, yes. But unless you never look at your credit card bill, you must have noticed. But you say, you noticed the higher amounts, so you must have looked....

I'm a Y6 teacher, I've known rather a lot of 11 year olds of all sorts and talents.
Let us know what Apple decide, OP. It will be useful for the next time.

Please explain how you didn't see the entries on the credit card statement.

I don't see how you missed them, you've said you're in a difficult financial position yet you continue to blame apple.

OP, do you have different passwords for everything, and different PIN numbers? You need to.

On holiday two years ago, one member of our family ran up a bill of £3000 with some kind of dongle thingy that he was using because the villa had no wifi. He thought he was spending £15.

It wasn't either of the kids. It was the man I flipping well married.

I'm trying to say that people, even fully grown adults, just don't really register with all that stuff. Nothing actually tangible arrives so you don't realise what you are spending.

Get onto them, they'll refund it. And supervise him properly going forward.

Oh, and you need to change them on a regular basis.

I don't think it's Apple's fault per se. I think apps, especially games with in app purchasing, have taken off incredibly quickly and need more regulation, especially if they are games like the Simpsons or Clash of Clans which are likely to be played by children.

Ofcom strictly regulates more traditional forms of advertising. You are told to seek the bill payers permission before phoning in a 15p vote for Strictly but can spend £24.99 during a game without an 'are you sure?'!

I think this area needs looking at.

For the Optimusic gang- don't worry, metaphysically, I'm wearing a hair shirt and you can stone me to internet death if you like!!

I'm actually here because this is quite a tough thing to deal with, like when I was breastfeeding DD. I'm grateful to all those who have unconditionally offered insight and/or support.

Wuldric - they are trying to change EU law to prevent these ridiculous data roaming charges. It is not well enough publicised.

You do sort of get an 'are you sure'. You click buy, they put in the password, then they ask if you want to continue or cancel the purchase. They don't just take the money straight away.

Oh fgs. Of course an 11 year old (assuming NT) knows how much money £1700 is!

OP, whose fault do you think this is?

Apps exist.
Inapp purchases exist (whether or not you think they represent value for money)

You let your child have a device, with which he can buy these. Without restricting it. And having entered all your details and set up an iTunes account.

There is no need to have your card details stored, or even linked in the first place.

The default setting is not completely open, either. Never has been on any Apple product I've had.

iPods are not toys. They have some startling and shocking capabilities. Parents need to grow up and wise up before handing them over to children.

Is this a genuine post? Or someone sparking a debate?

No ones after anyone's blood, stop being such a drama llama. Some people haven't agreed with you. Some people have lost empathy because you're directing your anger toward the wrong source. And lots and lots have been sympathetic and offered advice.

Talk to Apple in the morning, I suggest in a "throw yourself at their mercy kind of way" given the gaping holes in your domestic checks. I hope you get a refund.

Cautionary tale fr the rest of us though.

You have not yet answered the question about your credit card bills and how you failed to notice.

Floggingmolly that is very insulting to suggest the OP's son is backward.

I would suggest it's pretty easy to guess lots of people's PIN given that we all seem to put in our birthdays or the most frequently used one Christmas Day!

OP, don't worry about the people judging you. It was very daft but we have all done daft things haven't we? It's weird that other posters that have started threads like this have had more sympathetic replies. I think other posters have been more accepting of the fact that they have been a bit daft though. IYSWIM

Anyhow.. I think you have a real chance of getting your money back regardless of the fact you didn't notice the expenditure for a long time.

NewBlueCoat how on earth would an 11 year old necessarily know what £1700 was in real terms? As I said up-thread especially spread over a number of months.

God the most I ever give mine to spend is a tenner!

People are being supportive and offering g good advice OP but I'm sure they'd be even more supportive if you would admit to some responsibility.

I have an 11 year old ds so I know what they are capable of. But - really, you know you should have had more insight into what he was playing / if he was spending / whether he'd ever bought anything / and you know damn well you should have checked all your statements better.

That said - try and contact Apple, throw yourself on their mercy (and don't blame them) and see if they will refund some of it.

I think the fact OP has let it go on so long will severely hinder her attempts to claim it was an "accident" to be honest.

Your Apple ID must be a valid email address (such as [email protected]). Your password must be at least eight characters including a number, an uppercase letter, and a lowercase letter. You cannot use spaces, the same character three times in a row, your Apple ID, or a password you've used in the last year.

You don't have a PIN for iTunes.

I wish it were a fake post!!! I am angry though, for a lot of reasons. With my son, with myself, with games etc.

I'm just not sure how it helps anyone to go online and metaphorically 'throw stones at others'. I'm not religious but..

I would suggest it's pretty easy to guess lots of people's PIN given that we all seem to put in our birthdays or the most frequently used one Christmas Day!

Well then there's the problem. These things are serious and if you put such little effort into securing them then you take your chances. The op seems to be willing to blame anyone except herself and her son who are the only two people to blame.

Beat your chest and wail if you like op. You're the one who has paid £1700 to do it, not me.

Ecuador, are you seriously suggesting that your average 11 year old doesn't know that £1700 is a fuck of a lot of money?

Or that spending £10 every day for about 25 weeks is a lot of money?

Come on. 11 year olds are not stupid. They know (mostly through having to learn to stretch that £10 that is the most cash they usually have) that to spend eg £10 every day for weeks on end is not realistic.

Dave there was a poster with a similar problem recently, the DC had been spending across the summer holiday via an Xbox if I recall correctly.

The App retailer made the refund, and therefore got quite a lot of good publicity on a thread on Mumsnet.

They had also confiscated the DC's games console to offset the presumed costs and as punishment for the DC.

That poster did get a lot of the same WTF comments from posters, but with their help got the refund organised.