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Amazon offers refunds to parents whose children made purchases without their permission
BEACON TRANSCRIPT – Has your child unknowingly made any purchases while playing games? Now you have a chance to get your money back. Amazon will be offering refunds to all people whose children have made in-app purchases without their parents’ permission.
After the Federal Trade Commission litigation, Amazon will refund more than $70 million. Those concerned are people with children under 18 who might have made purchases without knowing that they would be charged for them.
If your child made Amazon purchases without permission, you get your money back
Therefore, if your child was younger than 18 and made such a purchase between November 2011 and May 2016, Amazon agrees to give your money back. They are making everything easier, as they are already sending emails to people who could be in this situation. Sign in on your Amazon account and check the Important Messages tab.
If you haven’t received such a message, you can apply for a refund yourself. You could still be eligible, as Amazon hasn’t managed to find all people whose children have made purchases without consent. Then, the company will verify your request and inform you if it suits their requirements.
Clients must be notified before any transaction is made
In April 2016, this frequent issue was brought to court, and it discovered that many children end up buying in-app items without having the permission of their parents. Amazon did not impose any parental consent policy on these items, as it didn’t realize actual credit card charges would be made.
Then, Amazon and the Federal Trade Commission decided to end this litigation, so any unauthorized purchase would be refunded. Thomas Pahl, the FTC Bureau of Consumer Protection director, blames this practice.
“This case demonstrates what should be a bedrock principle for all companies — you must get customers’ consent before you charge them.”
This is not the first time when the TFC dealt with such unauthorized charges. They faced a similar case in 2014, when Apple and Google customers also received refunds for purchases made by kids without parental consent.
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