More youngsters run up huge phone bills playing Cookie Run

[webfact]

GAMES
More youngsters run up huge phone bills playing Cookie Run
The Nation

BANGKOK: -- In the latest case of youngsters unwittingly running up bills while playing games on mobile phones, AIS has agreed to waive some Bt600,000 racked up by an 18-year-old boy in Mae Sot, Tak province.

The boy did not realise he was spending real money when he bought items while playing the popular Cookie Run game.

Atchara Jaikrua, who spent many sleepless nights after receiving a phone bill worth Bt596,398 thanks to her son's favourite pastime, said she was relieved to hear that the phone service operator had decided to waive the bill on grounds that she did not know it.

Atchara, who works at a drinks shop, paid her actual bill worth Bt614.46 and decided to cancel the number. She also called on other parents to beware about allowing their kids to use post-paid phones.

Similarly, a resident in Phetchaburi's Ban Lad district was sent a bill of Bt163,405 after her eight-year-old son reportedly bought items to advance in the Cookie Run game through her phone. Somthawil Khiewsa-art said the phone service operator had told her to pay the first instalment of Bt48,000 soon, adding she did not know what to do. She went on to say that her son had played the game for months without any problems and then started buying items, not knowing that they cost money.

Another parent in Udon Thani's Muang district claimed his child had also unwittingly racked up a bill of Bt70,495 on his phone. Telewiz Udon Thani executive Sawat Theerattananukulchai said he had discussed this case with AIS and the telecom operator had agreed to check if the bill stemmed from the user's ignorance. And if so, AIS would cover the expense.


-- The Nation 2014-06-25

[Bluespunk]

Hmm, you know this could work for all of us. If AIS keep having to waive cookie run bills, maybe this insidious game will be banned or at least AIS will refuse to carry it.

Pipe dream I know but still.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Bluespunk

[thesetat2013]

This seems like a scam run by the makers of the cookie run game. Since almost all players are children it seems feasable that the gaming company would verify fees with an adult prior to charging a phone bill of a minor. These few who had their bills waived are fortunate. But what about the countless others who didnt rake up such large bills and the ones who paid already. The company got their money already. This type of game designed to take advantage of unsuspecting kids should be banned worldwide

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[jaltsc]

"AIS has agreed to waive some Bt600,000 racked up by an 18-year-old boy in Mae Sot, Tak province."

In most societies and 18 year-old is considered an adult. However, in Thai society he's mommy's little boy, no matter how old he is, and doesn't have to take responsibility for any of his actions.

Edited June 25, 2014 by jaltsc

[NongKhaiKid]

Hmm, you know this could work for all of us. If AIS keep having to waive cookie run bills, maybe this insidious game will be banned or at least AIS will refuse to carry it.

Pipe dream I know but still.

With AIS waving these big bills, so far at least, how many will be tempted to play in the belief their losses will be wiped out.

AIS has a decision to make and fast before this gets out of hand.

[tartempion]

"AIS has agreed to waive some Bt600,000 racked up by an 18-year-old boy in Mae Sot, Tak province."

In most societies and 18 year-old is considered an adult. However, in Thai society he's mommy's little boy, no matter how old he is, and doesn't have to take responsibility for any of his actions.

Ridiculous comment.

At least with my 3 year young daughter playing Talking Tom on her ipad she can only spend what I give her to spend.

Lots of Child Control functions out there. Her user-id has no connection to my credit card.

I once gave her 5000 points to spend, they were gone a few hours later when I checked again.

It should never be possible to spend more than a few bath on a game, the game provider should be sued.

Edited June 25, 2014 by tartempion

[Bluespunk]

Hmm, you know this could work for all of us. If AIS keep having to waive cookie run bills, maybe this insidious game will be banned or at least AIS will refuse to carry it.

Pipe dream I know but still.

With AIS waving these big bills, so far at least, how many will be tempted to play in the belief their losses will be wiped out.

AIS has a decision to make and fast before this gets out of hand.

Agreed. Hopefully they will refuse to carry the game or refuse to be responsible for collecting the money due.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Bluespunk

[hanuman2543]

Every post-paid phone has a credit limit set by the telecom provider to protect the provider from unpaid bills. When the provider allows the bill to run higher, then the provider has to suck it up. I don' t think that they have a chance to win in court when the customer do not pay.

[impulse]

"AIS has agreed to waive some Bt600,000 racked up by an 18-year-old boy in Mae Sot, Tak province."

In most societies and 18 year-old is considered an adult. However, in Thai society he's mommy's little boy, no matter how old he is, and doesn't have to take responsibility for any of his actions.

In most societies, any one of us would be protected from running up a $20,000 bill playing an online game- regardless of how old we are. We'd be cut off once the bill got above our phone company credit limit, or we'd get a call from our credit card company to question the unusual charges. Then we would have a mechanism to dispute the bill.

There are some advantages to the nanny state- one being consumer protections from sneaky, predatory business practices.

[prism]

Don't these post paid accounts have credit limits? Mine does and it's WAY below the amounts being run up by these kids. It'd be a simple fix by limiting app/in app purchases on these accounts.

[UbonRatch]

I have no idea what this game is all about, although I've heard of it.

What I do know is that I get spammed by LINE everyday, with messages saying my friend has invited me to play 'Cookie Run'. I simply deleted them, knowing they are spam and knowing I'm not interested in the slightest.

What is the addiction of getting to the next level, and going all out and out to achieve it? I really don't understand such. I can think of thousands of things I'd rather spend my time engaged in. Somebody? The addiction?

[phantomfiddler]

Hmm, you know this could work for all of us. If AIS keep having to waive cookie run bills, maybe this insidious game will be banned or at least AIS will refuse to carry it.

Pipe dream I know but still.

This being AIS has thaksin written all over it. I recently changed to DTAC and my money seems to last much longer.

[h90]

This seems like a scam run by the makers of the cookie run game. Since almost all players are children it seems feasable that the gaming company would verify fees with an adult prior to charging a phone bill of a minor. These few who had their bills waived are fortunate. But what about the countless others who didnt rake up such large bills and the ones who paid already. The company got their money already. This type of game designed to take advantage of unsuspecting kids should be banned worldwide

Sent from my GT-S5310 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Just a limit, if the bill is higher than say 50 USD per month it must be confirmed that an adult is causing that.

[h90]

"AIS has agreed to waive some Bt600,000 racked up by an 18-year-old boy in Mae Sot, Tak province."

In most societies and 18 year-old is considered an adult. However, in Thai society he's mommy's little boy, no matter how old he is, and doesn't have to take responsibility for any of his actions.

In most societies, any one of us would be protected from running up a $20,000 bill playing an online game- regardless of how old we are. We'd be cut off once the bill got above our phone company credit limit, or we'd get a call from our credit card company to question the unusual charges. Then we would have a mechanism to dispute the bill.

There are some advantages to the nanny state- one being consumer protections from sneaky, predatory business practices.

Well on DTAC I have a credit limit of 2000 Baht.....

[henksteeghsth]

A phone is for calling

My Nokia from 600 THB can do that

[Payboy]

The problem with having a 600 baht Nokia, is that no one wants to call you.

[Kaoboi Bebobp]

Hmm, you know this could work for all of us. If AIS keep having to waive cookie run bills, maybe this insidious game will be banned or at least AIS will refuse to carry it.

Pipe dream I know but still.

This being AIS has thaksin written all over it. I recently changed to DTAC and my money seems to last much longer.

^^^This. I will avoid using strong language but I dumped AIS 3-4 years ago when it was sucking me dry of hundreds of baht within hours of doing nothing. (I got all the money credited back.) I went to True and my spending went to normal. I have since switched to DTAC. I use 3G data services on phone systems in Cambodia and Vietnam too where I've never experienced the outrageous money drain as I experienced on AIS.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Kaoboi Bebobp

[UbonRatch]

I have post-paid with AIS, but no idea what my limit is, as I rarely run up a large bill - over 800B... and I have an S4... some would say waste of a phone... but I do use it for e-mails, and simple calls to make contact, plus LINE and Skype and FB are free ... AS FOR GAMES? Forget it... 55

[UbonRatch]

Hmm, you know this could work for all of us. If AIS keep having to waive cookie run bills, maybe this insidious game will be banned or at least AIS will refuse to carry it.

Pipe dream I know but still.

This being AIS has thaksin written all over it. I recently changed to DTAC and my money seems to last much longer.

^^^This. I will avoid using strong language but I dumped AIS 3-4 years ago when it was sucking me dry of hundreds of baht within hours of doing nothing. (I got all the money credited back.) I went to True and my spending went to normal. I have since switched to DTAC. I use 3G data services on phone systems in Cambodia and Vietnam too where I've never experienced the outrageous money drain as I experienced on AIS.

I can't say I agree. I was with DTAC, and the reverse... my bills were over 1,200 per month. Changed to AIS and now normally between 650-750B. However, when I told my wife AIS was linked to Thaksin she now wants to move back to DTAC, despite higher bills. I also found DTAC does not connect well when I visit Ubon, but AIS has great connection.

Edited June 25, 2014 by UbonRatch

[joepattaya1961]

Can you imagine what kind of money Naver (Line) is making?

Just THB 800,000 by 2 people in one month....and what about all the other users............

Why ain't I that creative?

[orosee]

A phone is for calling

My Nokia from 600 THB can do that

Despite what the name says, a "smartphone" is not "a phone with a big screen and apps" but a tiny computer with additional functions such as telephony and photography. It is also a communication device beyond the domain of voice. WiFi tablets are the same thing minus the telephony function (which can be added via service apps such as Skype). From observation I would say that very little time is dedicated by smartphone users to voice communication, it's mostly games, games and then more games, followed by Facebook time and chatting on "Line" or "Whatsapp". Which in turn makes the term "smart" phone more than a little bit ironic. The only smart people here are the hardware and app developers.

And if you look at this from a weird angle, you basically paid 600 Baht for a functionality that smartphones provide for free.

[orosee]

Can you imagine what kind of money Naver (Line) is making?

Just THB 800,000 by 2 people in one month....and what about all the other users............

Why ain't I that creative?

They're abusing people with a gaming addiction and children. Those of my friends who play games such as "Candy Crush" told me that they've never bought any game items for real money. If the publisher's business model would be "many small purchases by a large number of people" then they would have set daily spending limits on game items. By not doing that they pretty much admit that they are targeting vulnerable people (addicts) and people who can't properly oversee the consequences (children).

The reason why you (joepattaya) never got this idea is probably because you're a good person and not scum. Don't feel bad about it.

[orosee]

Love the article: "a bill worth Bt596,398". So does that mean that she could sell the bill for this amount? Or hold it and wait for its worth to further appreciate?

I love the copy-paste English phases here. Something "is valued at" when actually it's "priced at". A bill has "worth" although it's just a statement of an amount.

Edited June 25, 2014 by orosee

[UbonRatch]

A phone is for calling

My Nokia from 600 THB can do that

Despite what the name says, a "smartphone" is not "a phone with a big screen and apps" but a tiny computer with additional functions such as telephony and photography. It is also a communication device beyond the domain of voice. WiFi tablets are the same thing minus the telephony function (which can be added via service apps such as Skype). From observation I would say that very little time is dedicated by smartphone users to voice communication, it's mostly games, games and then more games, followed by Facebook time and chatting on "Line" or "Whatsapp". Which in turn makes the term "smart" phone more than a little bit ironic. The only smart people here are the hardware and app developers.

And if you look at this from a weird angle, you basically paid 600 Baht for a functionality that smartphones provide for free.

Couldn't agree more. As I said, I have an S4 and it's probably more powerful than my ACER laptop, in all honesty.

However, 98% of the apps I use are free.... so I don't run up huge bills. It seems it is GAMES that are the bad apple here, as many point out.

As the first response to the OP suggested... such games that incur costs should be banned worldwide. Playstations and X-Boxes don't incurr additional costs, once purchased, as far as I know - apart from the games one wants to indulge in - and spend once to buy and utilise. It's these darned GAMES with apps and what appears to be ways needed to get to next levels which cost... something I still can't get my head round. I do see posts on FB where friends are asking for things from each other, or help to get to a next level. If that's what tickles their fancy - then fine - but it seems those games don't incur costs - just sharing.

[Spoonman]

Love the article: "a bill worth Bt596,398". So does that mean that she could sell the bill for this amount? Or hold it and wait for its worth to further appreciate?

I love the copy-paste English phases here. Something "is valued at" when actually it's "priced at". A bill has "worth" although it's just a statement of an amount.

when she defaults AIS sell the bill to the debt collector it will be worth something for her to clear up the mess before her knee caps are broken.

Edited June 25, 2014 by Spoonman

[orosee]

Love the article: "a bill worth Bt596,398". So does that mean that she could sell the bill for this amount? Or hold it and wait for its worth to further appreciate?

I love the copy-paste English phases here. Something "is valued at" when actually it's "priced at". A bill has "worth" although it's just a statement of an amount.

when she defaults AIS sell the bill to the debt collector it will be worth something for her to clear up the mess before her knee caps are broken.

But the bill itself does not have this worth, it's a piece of paper. If you lose it you can get a new one for free; try that with 600,000 Baht of real money.

[VocalNeal]

The problem with having a 600 baht Nokia, is that no one wants to call you.

When calling how do they know what phone he has?

[UbonRatch]

The problem with having a 600 baht Nokia, is that no one wants to call you.

When calling how do they know what phone he has?

I believe 'twas called humour, sire.

[Payboy]

The problem with having a 600 baht Nokia, is that no one wants to call you.

When calling how do they know what phone he has?

I suspect the screening happens before they ask for the number.

[bonobo]

My wife's (then g/f) niece took my phone to play Candy Crush and Angry Birds, she unwittingly ran up about $200 in charges. My phone is set up for me, so everything is in English, and my niece couldn't understand that there was a charge. The phone is a Google Nexus 5, so it came already hooked up to a Google account, and as I paid for the phone with my credit card, the account was linked.

My credit card company sent me an alert that there was suspicious activity on the card, so when I checked, I was amazed that there were close to 100 charges between Line and the company that owns Angry Birds. I contacted the American company that owns Angry Birds, explained the situation to them, and they immediately gave me a refund for the $80 or so that was charged for their game. I contacted Line, and after several attempts, I received instructions that for each and every charge, I had to fill out about four pieces of documentation, then send them in so they could "consider" it. This had to be done separately for every charge, probably over 60 of them.

Instead, I issued a chargeback complaint through my credit card company, and I think it has been resolved in my favor.

I think the Angry BIrd company acted in good faith, but for Line, from my experience and from all the news flashes, I think they are a rip-off whose practices are less than honorable.