A mum and dad hit the roof when they were landed with a bill for £980 after their son bought dozens of doughnuts on an iPad Simpsons game.
Unsuspecting eight-year-old Theo Rowland-Fry thought nothing of buying the virtual doughnuts when he decided he needed extra help to progress on his Simpsons iPad game Tapped Out.
And it was only when his parents Nick and Lisa, from Bristol, received a statement that they realised what it had cost them.
"There were more than 100 purchases on iTunes for between £1.50 and £75, from the middle of January and the beginning of this month," Nick explained.
"We received no emails alerting us to what was happening."
He said it is too easy for children to buy additional items without being asked for any more details to confirm the purchase.
He said: "Theo is only just eight and has no real concept of the monetary value attached. As far as he was concerned he was just buying donuts.
"We know others caught out by the same thing. A friend's little girl spent £350 on a horse game.
"One add-on was £69.95 for a little diamond to go in the horse's mane. It's outrageous.
"iPads can be great for keeping them occupied but there has to be more control."
The Rowlands were quick to complain to Apple and have been refunded and now the iPad has been consigned to the bottom of the drawer.
Nick said: "I explained exactly what had happened and it was a nervous wait but they agreed to refund it in the circumstances.
"We got Theo and his sister Evie an iPad to help with their schoolwork but Theo's is away in a drawer at the moment. We just don't have time to monitor what they are playing."
A spokesman for Apple said such incidents should be reported as soon as possible and were then looked at on a case-by-case basis.
He said it was vital people kept their pass code, designed to stop unauthorised electronic purchases on its products, safe and said software was available to prevent children from using the iTunes store even if they have the password.