Parents tell of their shock phone bills
TECH-SAVVY children’s mobile phone habits have led to some shock bills for their parents, according to evidence seen by bodies helping consumers.
Citizens Advice said it helped one parent hit with a mobile phone bill of over £300 after their 12-year-old son signed up to a games app.
The charity also helped another parent who found himself paying for an £80 year-long subscription to an app that his daughter had downloaded, thinking it was free.
An investigation by consumer help website MoneySavingExpert.com in 2015 also found in-game extras could cost as much as £80.
Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “Children’s mobile downloads can rack up huge bills for parents.
“We’ve helped people who have been hit with shock bills costing hundreds of pounds after their children downloaded expensive content on their mobiles.
“Parents can protect themselves from unexpected bills by using parental settings on phones to control their children’s access to apps.”
She said Citizens Advice was also on hand to help those struggling.
Halifax’s survey found that children potentially spend nearly £500 (£487.24) of pocket money a year on digital downloads.
When Halifax asked children in its survey where they think money comes from, one child said: “Money doesn’t actually really exist as it’s just numbers on screen really.”
One mother-of-two told Halifax: “We’ve been stung a couple of times with our two teenage daughters going over their data limits, which prompted discussions about who should pay for it.
“Eventually we agreed that we’d foot the bill the first time and treat it as a learning experience.
Any future charges will have to come out of their own pocket money.”
In April this year, the Digital Economy Bill received Royal Assent.
The Bill aims to help protect consumers from a “bill shock” by requiring mobile network operators to offer a bill capping facility.
Regulator Ofcom suggests parents buying a mobile for their child should consider what type of device they need.