So where do I start.
For sometime now Apple has offered a 14-day refund policy in the EU (and UK) as shown below in the quote below from the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions(Correct on Nov 30, 2020).
Right of cancellation: If you choose to cancel your order, you may do so within 14 days of when you received your receipt, without giving any reason.
To cancel your order, you must inform us of your decision. To ensure immediate processing, we recommend you use Report a Problem to cancel all items, with the exception of subscription services in Third Party Apps, Apple Music, iTunes Match, Series Pass, Multi-Pass and unredeemed iTunes Gifts purchased directly from Apple. The excepted items can be cancelled by contacting iTunes Support. Subscription services can only be cancelled following the initial subscription and not upon each automatic renewal. You also have the right to inform us using the model cancellation form below or by making any other clear statement. If you use Report a Problem, we will communicate acknowledgement of receipt of your cancellation to you without delay.
To meet the cancellation deadline, you must send your communication of cancellation before the 14-day period has expired.
Effects of cancellation: We will reimburse you no later than 14 days from the day on which we receive your cancellation notice. We will use the same means of payment as you used for the transaction, and you will not incur any fees for such reimbursement.
Exception to the right of cancellation: You cannot cancel your order for the supply of Content if the delivery has started upon your request and acknowledgement that you thereby lose your cancellation right.
However, try to get a refund from Apple and you will quickly realise why they are a multi trillion dollar company.
I contacted Apple today, 30 November 2020, for a refund for a subscription I purchased. The long and short of it was I was charged the full £68.99 instead of the £38.99 Cyber Monday offer I was sold.
Even the purchase pop-up stated that “… you will be charged £38.99, and the subscription will renew at £68.99…”. It was not until I looked at my bank account that I saw the full amount had been taken out!
So off I went, to the Report a Problem as the terms state. But for some reason I was not able to claim a refund. Confused, I then went and spoke to Apple’s Support about the matter.
Customer support after some time talking about this, told me that i was not entitled to a refund under their terms.
This got me intrigued, so I spent some time reading through the terms I found this little snippet of text
Apple may refuse a refund request if we find evidence of fraud, refund abuse or other manipulative behaviour that entitles Apple to a corresponding counterclaim.
To me, this is fair enough. If someone if abusing the refund policy constantly, then yes, they should waive their right to refunds.
But this doesn’t help me. My last refund for an item purchased from iTunes or the App Store was on Dec 4, 2016. Almost 4 years ago. This refund was for the Fawlty Towers, The Complete Collection (Remastered). I got a refund for this because the quality was terrible, I know I know its and old show, but the video kept jumping and skipping as well even after rewinding it — or should that be skipping back 🤔.
Any how, prior to that I had a couple of other refunds. The four that i can see relate to quality issues with a rental, issues with playback in a movie, a pre-order I forgot to cancel, and an accidental purchase due to my son all occurred across 2016.
The question raised now is, does this class as refund abuse?
If so, surely a 4 year ban from refunds is a bit much? And what is an acceptable timeframe for a potential ban?
Since Dec 4, 2016 I have not been able to get a refund from Apple, I have tried a couple of times when I have had valid issues with an App each one was declined. But compare this to the thousands I have spent on media from Apple through the App Store and iTunes. It really seems like a flawed system.
I have looked around the internet and have seen quite a few people are also having issues with refunds and Apple. It seems to be a common theme.
During my conversation with Apple support, I asked if there was a complaints department. I was advised any feedback I have can be noted on my case, and there is no one who deals with complaints.
When I asked about it being noted, “does anything come of that?”
I was informed, “No, it’s just so we have records of what was said.”
So whats the conclusion of this post, other than being a long rant about my experience with Apple today. Well I wanted to document my experience, hoping that it may help someone else out there.
I will provide an update once Apple support get back to me with regarding this matter. As far as I am aware I am well within my legal rights to get a refund, as are many other people.
Maybe someone out there who understands consumer law can post a comment and help clarify this whole Apple Refund problem.
Thanks for reading if you made it this far haha. Please like and share, let's see if we can get some answers on the legal stance of Apples refund policy and where consumers actually stand.
