What child wouldn't want a game app about raising a playful puppy on her new iPod Touch? Eight year-old Brenna Jardine thought the game Touch Pets 2 was really fun.

"If you make it happy coins pop out behind stuff," she said.

Her dad, Terry, liked it because it was free to download -- at least he thought so until he got the bills.

"There was $852 worth of receipts all from Touch Pets 2 all dated December 26th," he said.

That's right, $852 in charges in just one day for using a "free" app? How could that be?

Jardine discovered his daughter was spending real money in the game to buy coins or bones for the electronic pet. Something called "in app" purchases. And they aren't cheap, individual charges showed up for $55.99, $55.99, $78.30, and $111.98.

He was outraged and found other complaints on the iTunes apps website, including one that asked ‘what kind of virtual food costs more than real food?'

"You can't get anyone who would say this is reasonable," Jardine said.

CTV News contacted the app maker for an explanation. Joe Wagner of Ngmoco.com responded, writing:

"For any accidental purchases, we encourage players to contact Apple via the ‘report a problem' link on their receipt and explain the circumstances that caused the inadvertent purchase."

He also points out that a password is required to make purchases. However:

"In some circumstances, which we can't control as they're controlled by the device's software, a password may not be required -- this is typically within 15 minutes of recently entering your password, and is a feature that Apple controls and has implemented. However, it is important to note that our games always display a confirmation that the player wants to spend real money for the purchase."

Jardine responds that Touch Pet 2 is a game that is geared for younger children.

"They don't understand they are using real money," he said.

Jardine contacted Apple, who told him it will reverse the charges.

He's now turned off the option to allow so-called ‘in app purchases', and advises all parents to do the same. There's an instructional link on the Apple website.

Like a cell phone, an iPod Touch is more than a fun device, it's also a bill collecting system.

And when you run up any charges, they can be automatically billed to your iTunes account and then you have to fight to get your money back.

With a report from CTV British Columbia's Chris Olsen