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Help! 10 year old has spent loads of money on games and apps….

Manter

Manter

Lunch Mob
My autistic ten year old has spent a lot of money (about 1.5 grand) on Minecraft, Roblox and some phone apps. We were traveling and gave him one of our iPads, and then noticed a load of notifications for €199 in Roblox etc. This is where the autism comes in- he seems to have been bright enough to have gone through 2 layers of security but I don’t think he understands the value of the money he’s spent or that it‘s ‚real‘.

We have followed the menus in apple and requested refunds on the basis it’s an unauthorized minor spending money, they have refunded €350 and refused everything else. We will appeal; but the question is how best to? Is there any chance to get the money back?

The linked payment method is PayPal (in a family group- not controlled by me, unfortunately) and PayPal just refers us back to Apple. No one is going to starve as a result of this, but it’s a huge amount of money.

Also- we need him to have access to all those coins etc in the games removed. He shouldn’t have them and I don‘t want him ‚getting away with it‘ and being 100 levels above his friends. But I also don‘t want to take the games or tech off him completely as it’s one of the best ways he is able to interact socially and manage his overwhelm/stress levels.

Any ideas/advice?
 
moochedit said:
screentimelabs.com

My Child Made Expensive In-App Purchases. What Should I Do? - Screen Time

My Child Made Expensive In-App Purchases. What Should I Do? - Parental Control app for Android and iOS.
screentimelabs.com screentimelabs.com
Click to expand...
Yeah, there are loads of things telling you how not to have it happen again, but stable door/horse :(

Credit card company are just getting PayPal charges so can‘t differentiate, PayPal won’t do anything and just refer to apple.

I‘m also not sure how much education will help J, honestly. He‘s ASD with a PDA profile…..
 
Manter said:
Yeah, there are loads of things telling you how not to have it happen again, but stable door/horse :(

Credit card company are just getting PayPal charges so can‘t differentiate, PayPal won’t do anything and just refer to apple.

I‘m also not sure how much education will help J, honestly. He‘s ASD with a PDA profile…..
Click to expand...
Have you tried the google/apple refund form it mentions?
 
Try talking to someone via chat or phone. Often these things are largely automated. I recently had to request a refund and the automated system just refused. Once I talked to a person, I got the money back.

The video had been watched so was "ineligible" for refund, but was done once I got past the robot.
 
Last edited:
You/he may be able to sell the robucks:

chicksgold.com

Chicksgold.com: Most Trusted Video Game Asset Marketplace

The best experience, bar none. Buy, sell, boost, and swap your video game assets in minutes. Trade with us directly, and avoid middleman fees. Best prices guaranteed!
chicksgold.com chicksgold.com

However much you lost on the exchange, it would still deny the miscreant the in-game benefits.
 
Last edited:
magneze said:
Try talking to someone via chat or phone. Often these things are largely automated. I recently had to request a refund and the automated system just refused. Once I talked to a person, I got the money back.

The video had been watched so was "ineligible" for refund, but was done once I got past the robot.
Click to expand...
I‘m not sure how I get past the bot….. apple is pretty locked down!
 
Manter said:
Nope.
Click to expand...
LOL. "This decision is final". Bellends.

Then you need to speak to somebody. I think if all the txns are through Apple then to them first.

I would want to know why 350 is OK and the rest isn't. It might be something to do with the agreement they have with the companies. Does 350 correspond to say the spend on Minecraft and the rest covers the others? If that's the case then you can speak to the other companies. Ineligible might just mean "we don't cover this bit".

They will want to minimise the refunds as much as possible. It's not their money but it means that when they speak to their superior they can show they negotiated rather than just "here's all your money". You need to think of why it makes sense for them to give it back, either because it's in their rules, or because it makes sense from a business point of view or because they are about to be all over social media for refusing to give back 1000 euros to the parent of an autistic ten year old that they've sold stuff to. If you can find something in the terms and conditions then you can just show them that.

If they refuse to entertain anything then check if there's a regulator.

If all else fails then nurse a grudge against them for the rest of your life and refuse to pay for anything Apple ever again.
 
tommers said:
LOL. "This decision is final". Bellends.

Then you need to speak to somebody. I think if all the txns are through Apple then to them first.

I would want to know why 350 is OK and the rest isn't. It might be something to do with the agreement they have with the companies. Does 350 correspond to say the spend on Minecraft and the rest covers the others? If that's the case then you can speak to the other companies. Ineligible might just mean "we don't cover this bit".

They will want to minimise the refunds as much as possible. It's not their money but it means that when they speak to their superior they can show they negotiated rather than just "here's all your money". You need to think of why it makes sense for them to give it back, either because it's in their rules, or because it makes sense from a business point of view or because they are about to be all over social media for refusing to give back 1000 euros to the parent of an autistic ten year old that they've sold stuff to. If you can find something in the terms and conditions then you can just show them that.

If they refuse to entertain anything then check if there's a regulator.

If all else fails then nurse a grudge against them for the rest of your life and refuse to pay for anything Apple ever again.
Click to expand...
Any idea how I find a person? There is no apple store in Copenhagen…. So I can‘t go and corner a ‚genius‘
 
Manter said:
My autistic ten year old has spent a lot of money (about 1.5 grand) on Minecraft, Roblox and some phone apps. We were traveling and gave him one of our iPads, and then noticed a load of notifications for €199 in Roblox etc. This is where the autism comes in- he seems to have been bright enough to have gone through 2 layers of security but I don’t think he understands the value of the money he’s spent or that it‘s ‚real‘.

We have followed the menus in apple and requested refunds on the basis it’s an unauthorized minor spending money, they have refunded €350 and refused everything else. We will appeal; but the question is how best to? Is there any chance to get the money back?

The linked payment method is PayPal (in a family group- not controlled by me, unfortunately) and PayPal just refers us back to Apple. No one is going to starve as a result of this, but it’s a huge amount of money.

Also- we need him to have access to all those coins etc in the games removed. He shouldn’t have them and I don‘t want him ‚getting away with it‘ and being 100 levels above his friends. But I also don‘t want to take the games or tech off him completely as it’s one of the best ways he is able to interact socially and manage his overwhelm/stress levels.

Any ideas/advice?
Click to expand...

sorry this has happened to you...and him. It's a bit of a nightmare . Happened a teacher I know who set up her class iPads using her own email. Not something that should have happened... and one kid managed to buy games through her account. Apple are not great at helping.

I would second the idea to go to social media ...

And once things have been settled.....or even now....set up paypal to require authentication via a text to your phone... so you will have to authenticate any Paypal purchase. Your lad will never be able to use it again for a purchase...anywhere.
 
Manter said:
Also- we need him to have access to all those coins etc in the games removed. He shouldn’t have them and I don‘t want him ‚getting away with it‘ and being 100 levels above his friends. But I also don‘t want to take the games or tech off him completely as it’s one of the best ways he is able to interact socially and manage his overwhelm/stress levels.

Any ideas/advice?
Click to expand...

Delete his Minecraft/Roblox accounts and set him up with new poverty spec ones with no in game purchases, etc. Let him start the grind anew while he reflects on his actions.

Getting money out of Apple is like getting blood out of a turnip. They didn't get to a $3trn+ market cap by having a laissez-faire refund policy. I wouldn't put myself through the aggravation personally.
 
On reddit people say that you can get refunds through roblox but then they ban/suspend the account. So that might be an avenue.

I'm 🫣 about him getting through security. Nightmare. I'm hoping iPad parent controls are puny in a way or I'm worried about my future financial security.
 
Manter said:
That means he loses about 2 years of stuff though, we might have to but it’s not something that’ll be easy for him to understand
Click to expand...
Might be tough for him but what other choice do you have?

A new account - utterly locked down with all the parental controls set from the very start - would be for your peace of mind as much as anything else, no?
 
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