7 year old daughter accidentally run up £250 bill for itunes app? *Now updated*

poppyolivia

nickj wrote: »

come and live in the real world , i would have thought that there are just as many kids with ipad,phone/pods as adults , most of my daughters friends seem to be armed with at least a pod , they are marketed at kids just as much as adults

i would have thought that the easiest way to get around this is to have one password to log in to your itunes account and then a separate password required for any transactions ,

I know someone who was 'santa' and he was telling me 4 year olds were coming in asking for all the consoles and ipads etc you could think of..then you get the kids that come in asking for marbles..its pretty disgusting..the mothers and fathers were just nodding n agreement!..4 year old????

It has to be said I personally don't agree with it my kids are 5 and 10 and my 10 year old is getting her first console tomorrow..there is no need to have them before this...just my opinion. It turns kids in to zombies..I've seen it..its like talking to a brick wall!

Well done OP, thats really scarey! What a relief!!!

postie_bear

I play the smurfs game and have been reading on line that this has come under attack for exactly the same reason, what is worse you do not have to submit another password, so 1 click and you have run up a huge bill.

It seems that a lot of game designers are giving away free games aimed at kids, but have too easy inapp purchases to make their money.

postie_bear

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Such a term would be completely void and unenforceable in UK consumer law. In fact, it's almost certainly illegal in itself as it restricts your statutory rights.

I think still worth copying this all to Watchdog.

I think you will find itunes have updated their terms and conditions which you have to accept before continued use of itunes.

It also states you are responsiblefor all purchases made on your account,

This will hold up in a court of law as you are entering a legal agreement.

Taz174

@poppyolivia

Do you not think 10 is still too young to be getting a console?

fwor

postie_bear wrote: »

This will hold up in a court of law as you are entering a legal agreement.

Not so. If their Terms and Conditions conflict with your rights as a consumer within the UK, then your statutory rights would prevail in a UK court of law.

Owain_Moneysaver

fwor wrote: »

Not so. If their Terms and Conditions conflict with your rights as a consumer within the UK, then your statutory rights would prevail in a UK court of law.

Consumer Transactions (Restrictions on Statements) Order 1976
Makes it a criminal offence to restrict consumer's statutory rights by means of a notice, statement or documents e.g. a notice which states 'No Refunds'. (Sunderland Trading Standards)

Bikertov

Been reading this thread with interest, and there are good points on both sides of the argument.

Firstly, well done to the OP for getting the refund - and I hope you are now taking suitable precautions ...

Secondly, it is all to easy with these games to not realise you can buy in-app purchases - and that is the problem. To say a child (8/9 years plus) can't play with an iTouch is unrealistic. They can be good devices for entertainment, if used with caution, moderation and common sense.

Lasly, one of the recent posters was talking about legal rights. Got me thinking - surely these purchases are covered under Distance Selling Regulations, so can be 'returned' under our legal consumer rights ? If not, is that not a breach of our Statutory Rights ?

poppy10_2

Bikertov wrote: »

surely these purchases are covered under Distance Selling Regulations, so can be 'returned' under our legal consumer rights ? If not, is that not a breach of our Statutory Rights ?

"audio or video recordings or computer software which have been unsealed by the consumer" are exempt from the Distance Selling Regulations.

AlwaysSomething

I would just like to say well done to iTunes for refunding your money with a minimum of stress. I don't think we're giving them enough credit here.

TwistedPsycho

That sounds like an excellent result and proof that not all providers out there are monsters!

I have been following this thread since the first page as I never have had an iPhone, iPad, etc, etc. I was interested to see how it would pan out; I even had a flashback to the Simpsons episode when Lisa Simpson got her first iBill and went to see the Mighty Steve Jobs, underwater.

Good its turned out in your favour though!