Policeman reports his 13-year-old son for fraud over ‘outrageous’ iPad bill (PICTURED)

A policeman has shopped his 13-year-old son for fraud after he ran up a £3,700 bill playing iPad games.

PC Doug Crossan, 48, was horrified when his credit card company informed him that son Cameron had blown a small fortune in the App Store.

He claims the teenager, who now faces the possibility of being arrested and questioned by his father’s colleagues, was unaware he was being charged for the in-game purchases and wants Apple to scrap the charge.

But the technology company has refused and his only way of recouping the money is to report the purchases as being fraudulent.

Charges: Mr Crossan claims his son was unaware he was being charged for the in-game purchases and wants Apple to scrap the charge

So Mr Crossan, of Clevedon, North Somerset, has reported Cameron to the Action Fraud helpline – meaning it is now up to the police to decide if a crime has been committed.

He said: ‘I am sure Cameron had no intention to do it, but I had to have a crime reference number if there was any chance of getting any credit card payments refunded.

‘I could make it difficult of course and refuse to bring him in and they would have to come and arrest him.

‘Really I just want to embarrass Apple as much as possible. Morally, I just don’t understand where Apple gets off charging for a child’s game.’

Games: Cameron Crossan racked up more than 300 purchases on games such as Plants vs Zombies, Hungry Shark, Gun Builder and Nova 3 on the iPad

Cameron has only owned the Apple tablet computer since December after he and other pupils at Clevedon School were bought them to aid them in class.

Mr Crossan logged the details of his MBNA Virgin credit card with Apple when he used the device to download a music album.

Cameron then racked up more than 300 purchases on games such as Plants vs Zombies, Hungry Shark, Gun Builder and Nova 3.

Many of them are free to download but users can buy in-game extras – in one game Cameron had purchased a virtual chest of gold coins costing £77.98.

Plants vs Zombies: One of the games Cameron purchased on the iPad

When his father confronted him Cameron quickly confessed, claiming he did not know he was incurring charges as the games were initially free.

Mr Crossan said: ‘None of us had any knowledge of what was happening as there was no indication in the game that he was being charged for any of the clicks made within it.

‘He innocently thought that, because it was advertised as a free game, the clicks would not cost anything.’

Apple has refused to cancel the charges, citing parental responsibility and pointing out that iPads contain password locks to prevent accidental or unwanted purchases.

But Mr Crossan, an officer with Avon and Somerset Police, believes the company has ‘duped’ his son into making purchases he was not aware of.

Aid: Cameron has only owned the Apple tablet computer since December after he and other pupils at his school were bought them to aid them in class

He said: ‘I am a father of a studious, polite and sensible 13-year-old who has been duped after uploading free children’s games on his iPod and iPad.

‘None of us had any knowledge of what was happening as there was no indication in the game that he was being charged for any of the clicks made within the game.

‘Cameron innocently thought that because it was an advertised as a free game, the clicks would not cost.

‘Our son is mortified to think that this has happened.

‘I wonder how many others there are in the UK that have suffered at the hands of these apps?’

Mr Crossan only found out about Cameron’s spending when he cancelled the direct debit for the credit card, believing it was clear, and MBNA Virgin contacted him to reveal more than £3,000 was still outstanding.

He has now reported the purchases to Action Fraud, the national fraud reporting centre run by the National Fraud Authority, a Government agency.

Victims are issued with a police crime reference number and details are then passed to the police, who may pursue the case further.

Officers decide whether or not a crime has been committed and, if so, they then give the person who has reported the crime the opportunity to press charges.

Avon and Somerset Police today refused to comment on the case.

Mr Crossan is among an increasing number of parents who have been caught out by their children’s spending on iTunes.

Earlier this year, five-year-old Danny Kitchen spent £17,000 buying weapons and ammunition in the iPad game Zombies v Ninja.

His parents Greg and Sharon were delighted to learn Apple would refund the money, because they were a series of innocent purchases made over a very short space of time.

With more than half a billion active accounts, the App Store is the most popular online marketplace in the world.

The store currently offers more than 775,000 apps to iPhone, iPad and iPod touch users.

GROWING PROBLEM OF CHILDREN RUNNING UP HUGE ACCIDENTAL BILLS

This is by no means the first case of a parent being shocked to find their child had run up a huge bill on their computer by playing games.

Earlier this month MailOnline reported how Theo Rowland-Fry had racked up a £980 bill by buying virtual doughnuts while playing a Simpsons game.

And just last month five-year-old Danny Kitchen (pictured right), from Bristol, made 19 purchases totalling more than £1,300 for extra software to help him play the game Zombies vs Ninja.

By pressing a shopping trolley icon on the screen, Danny was offered the chance to buy extra animated ‘ammunition’. He bought dozens of in-game ‘weapons’ and ‘keys’ which cost up to £69.99 a time.

His parents were refunded after they contacted Apple.

Customers who accidentally rack up large bills on iTunes do not have an automatic right to a refund, although Apple does appear willing to return the cash on a case-by-case basis.

But in the US, the company is paying out £66million in compensation to parents whose children ran up massive bills while using its free apps.

Now, as many as 23million people are eligible for a refund. However, the decision is unlikely to affect British families.

A US legal case was triggered by a nine-year-old girl from Pennsylvania who bought $200 (£132) of ‘virtual money’ from three free Apple games. In a lawsuit brought by her father, the games were described as ‘highly addictive’ and designed to ‘compel’ children to buy game currency.

Under the terms of the case settlement, Apple has now agreed to offer refunds worth a total of $100million (£66million).