A lot of games and apps these days have adopted the freemium model. This means that instead of making the game a paid game, developers and publishers make it free to download and free to play, but additional perks and advantages would be locked behind in-app purchases.
This meant that if gamers wanted to remove ads, or if they wanted to unlock cosmetics, additional powerups, and so on, they’d have to pay real money to do so, and these would not be a one-time thing as there are always new updates, new skins, and so on that would tempt gamers into paying for it, which is what happened with an 18-year old girl who racked up $5,000 in credit card debt on her dad’s credit card.
Speaking to Global News, Jerry Marion of Okotoks told the news outlet that his daughter was spending anywhere between $200-$250 a day, resulting in a final bill of close to $5,000 by the end of the month. According to Marion, he claimed that his daughter was confused about what exactly she was buying and that it was real money that was being used.
According to Marion, “She thought it was simply just credits that were being accumulated and as the dollars were racking up, it wasn’t hitting her credit card.” Marion has since tried to reach out to the developer to help resolve the issue, but he hasn’t heard back from the company. He also tried to ask Apple for a refund but his appeals were denied twice.
Filed in . Read more about Apps and iOS. Source: globalnews.ca
