Have you been unlucky enough to have been a victim of in-app purchasing by your offspring?  It is very easy to give a screaming a child an iphone to try and distract them for five to ten minutes but that ten minutes of peace and quiet can cost a lot more than you bargained for!  We have all read the horror stories of toddlers who have managed to spend thousands of pounds by accidentally pressing things on their parents touch sensitive iPads, iPods or iPhones.

It is also surprisingly easy for older children using technology to play games to purchase things such as gems, game cash, food and tools to help progress the game quicker.  Some games even allow children to purchase items for more than $100 with a single click without having to enter a password.  It used to be the case where a password was entered there was a 15 minute window where items could be purchased without further passwords being entered.   This is not so good for mum and dad!  Thankfully the 15 minute window no longer exists. 

Apple has proposed paying compensation to US parents whose children made the purchases without their permission.  Apple stated that it would require to advise more than 23 million iTunes account holders that they might qualify for the compensation.  It is not known whether or not the same compensation will be offered in the UK.