Boy Buys $2,500 Worth of In- Game Purchases in 10 Minutes on an iPad

There is no doubt that in- game purchases are big business for mobile game makers these days. One London boy demonstrated just how big the business can be in a short period of time when he made $2,500 worth of in- game purchases in 10 minutes using an iPad.

Danny Kitchen was able to run up the debt after his parents gave them their iTunes password in order to play a game. Similar to many games that have in- game purchases, the game was actually free to download. After Danny downloaded the game, he began buying dozens of add-ons and ended up with the huge bill.

This is hardly the first time something like this has happened. Apple has faced lawsuit after lawsuit and complaint after complaint about how dangerous the in -game purchases can be for children who don’t understand the amount of money they are racking up. The Kitchens got several e-mails from iTunes detailing the purchases, but the British family dismissed those as some kind of mistake or scam.

It wasn’t until their credit card company called that they realized they really did spend more than $2,000 on an iPad game. Because the boy apparently purchased several add-ons that all cost the same amount of money, or the same add-on over and over again the family thought they were just getting the same e-mail repeatedly.

Luckily for the Kitchens’, Apple’s familiarity with these types of situations meant that this story had a happy ending. The Kitchens say that Apple was happy to work with them to get a refund for the huge bill. Mr. Kitchens says that while Danny claims he has learned his lesson, he won’t be getting the chance to accidently do it again. Downloading new games on the iPad has been strictly prohibited for now.