Not Appy! Boy of seven runs up £1,300 bill using 'free' iPad app

Mother: 'It all happened over four days. Poor Jack was crying his eyes out because he didn't realise he was doing anything wrong'

Youngster had been buying 'in-app' purchases



Oops! The youngster had been collecting 'virtual' animals with golden coins whose charges range from £1 to £79.99

A boy of seven unwittingly ran up a £1,300 bill on a 'free' iPad app after he downloaded expensive extras in error.

Heidi Drager bought her son Jack the Tap Zoo app which she downloaded from Apple's App Store but days later her bank statement showed he had run up £1,300 of 'in-app' purchases.

Jack had apparently been collecting 'virtual' animals with golden coins whose charges range from £1 to £79.99.

Ms Drager, 32, of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, said: 'It was a free download. We read the terms and conditions and made sure it looked suitable. There was nothing to say there was any cost involved.'

She added: 'It all happened over four days. Poor Jack was crying his eyes out because he didn't realise he was doing anything wrong.

'It is not his fault. I think people really need to be aware that this is happening. A lot of these free apps are directed at children.'

The App Store carries a warning at the top of the page for Tap Zoo saying it allows 'in-app' purchases and that users may want to disable the feature.

Ms Drager says she did not see the warning when she downloaded the app for her son.

Apple has now agreed to refund the bill.

An Apple spokesman said: 'We are proud to have industry-leading parental controls.

'Parents can easily use our parental control settings to restrict app downloading and turn-off in-app purchasing.