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Getting my money back from an itunes gift card

S

some

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 17, 2012
3
0
Hello
I am in Europe and have US itunes account prepaid with gift card.
Today I got email from itunes support my account is in violation of their TOS and I must buy itunes items in country I am located and they will not provide support on the matter.
I have over $100 on my account.
Is there a way to get my money back ?
 
Please do not troll.
$100 is a lot of money for me.
I can show you their email if you do not believe.
I should have explained the problem started when I tried to purchase new app. So I contacted support about purchase problem first then about getting money back and this was what they responded "we are unable to provide further information".
Apparently they blocked purchasing without any notice.
Few weeks before I was able to purchase with no problem
 
hmm... this is alarming. Why do they care what store we purchased? They should provide an easy way for us to buy in as many stores as we want.

Anyone else affected?

Also, did you use US address?
 
If you are trying to use iTunes store USA in another country, you are violating the TOS... due to licensing agreements, etc...

Same rules apply for UK, France, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, etc... stores.

example:
EXIGENCES LIÉES À L’UTILISATION DU SERVICE

Ce Service est accessible aux personnes âgées de 13 ans ou plus. Si vous avez 13 ans ou plus, mais moins de 18 ans, vous devez lire le présent Contrat avec vos parents ou votre tuteur et vous assurer que vous, ainsi que vos parents ou votre tuteur, le comprenez.

Le Service n'est disponible qu'en France. Vous vous engagez à ne pas utiliser ni tenter d’utiliser le Service en dehors de ce pays. iTunes pourra utiliser certaines technologies dans le but de vérifier votre respect de cet engagement.
 
This is what happens when you try to do something through the back door. If you live in the US and buy stuff through the store for the US that is a good thing. But don't expect you can buy things in another country using a gift card or a us account that is in the US. I go to Canada often and can't buy there using my us account. When one tries to get away with something they always get caught. I'm sure apple with give you a credit in your own currency at the currant exchange rates. Why didn't you just buy the card in your own country????? Just remember, do things on the up and up. Honesty always works out.
 
uniforms said:
This is what happens when you try to do something through the back door. If you live in the US and buy stuff through the store for the US that is a good thing. But don't expect you can buy things in another country using a gift card or a us account that is in the US. I go to Canada often and can't buy there using my us account. When one tries to get away with something they always get caught. I'm sure apple with give you a credit in your own currency at the currant exchange rates. Why didn't you just buy the card in your own country????? Just remember, do things on the up and up. Honesty always works out.
Click to expand...

because some stuff is only sold in the US store (or a store of a country you are not in)? (Think of netflix)

Does a customer really have to be bullied by his/her geographical location?
 
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zymeth said:
because some stuff is only sold in the US store (or a store of a country you are not in)? (Think of netflix)

Does a customer really have to be bullied by his/her geographical location?
Click to expand...

That's true but I don't think the OP tell the whole story. He didn't tell us why Apple froze his account. There must be something wrong with his.
 
zymeth said:
because some stuff is only sold in the US store (or a store of a country you are not in)? (Think of netflix)

Does a customer really have to be bullied by his/her geographical location?
Click to expand...

Apple doesn't make arbitrary decisions concerning content selection or to freeze someone out of another country's store

There are different laws, licensing, etc. based on country, and Apple has to abide by these and show due diligence to maintain their licenses
 
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zymeth said:
because some stuff is only sold in the US store (or a store of a country you are not in)? (Think of netflix)

Does a customer really have to be bullied by his/her geographical location?
Click to expand...

Let's say company A has the exclusive right to sell a CD in the USA, and company B has the exclusive right to sell the same CD in the UK. iTunes Store USA has a contract with A, iTunes Store UK has a contract with B (that's why it took ages getting iTunes stores everywhere). Every time someone buys these songs from iTunes USA, Apple sends money to A. If someone in the UK buys from iTunes USA, B wouldn't be happy. And iTunes USA doesn't actually have the right to sell to the UK, while iTunes UK doesn't have the right to sell to the USA.

Obviously, for the consumer this is a pain.
 
I can buy War and Peace in paperback anywhere in the world. But if I wanna buy a digital copy of certain books, or other media, it's country codes, TOS agreements, yada yada. I understand the legality, and I'm sure Apple itself would like to sell anything anywhere...it's the content providers forcing them to do this.

It does seem odd that this can't be resolved. Why can't Apple transfer that credit to iTunes Store/Europe or wherever he is? That violates no TOS. He just can't buy in Apple USA unless he's "in" the USA (I don't believe you have to be a resident). And I'm guessing being "in" the USA via proxy server doesn't officially count...just saying.

Rob
 
robgendreau said:
It does seem odd that this can't be resolved. Why can't Apple transfer that credit to iTunes Store/Europe or wherever he is? That violates no TOS. He just can't buy in Apple USA unless he's "in" the USA (I don't believe you have to be a resident). And I'm guessing being "in" the USA via proxy server doesn't officially count...just saying.

Rob
Click to expand...

Yup. It's funny people are so quick to point out the rule. If you're a US citizen living in Japan and want to buy Mac for the first time, don't you wanna have access to US store?

What Apple should do is transferring his purchased history & his credits to whatever country he's coming from. Plain and simple. His crime is only want to buy things, not stealing. But I still think the OP didn't tell the whole story. His account must violate some rules other than registered to the country where he doesn't belong. If I have to guess I'd say he didn't use a proper US address.
 
Last edited:
Their email says I violated “Terms of Service” nothing else.
If you want whole story I initially created account with valid US address and credit card issued to my name on that address. At that time few years ago iTunes store did not even exist in my country so even if I wanted could not open account from there.

Then I read reports of frauds in iTunes store and as a precaution removed my CC number, address and put fake address and funded account with gift card. This was actually per Apple employee advice that also had changed something on my account so “NONE” button became available for payment info, all fine with their TOS back then !!! And it worked with first gen. Apple TV, first iPhone and until now 2nd gen TV and 4S.

So when last year Apple opened store in my country I noticed stupid messages on Apple TV that new store available blahblah as if they were trying to force people to switch. Few days later I put 1st gen Apple TV on VPN and that is it. iPhone when on Wifi is on VPN when on data plan it is not. Interestingly during CarrierIQ scandal when 2nd gen. AppleTV was on VPN from day one, right out of box I selected automatic time zone setup in settings and it was always finding my home country … go figure VPN does not protect against their practices.

Since I accumulated so much content TV shows, music, apps and Apple store was not available at the time in my location I think Apple should not force me to switch. Aside lost money I already know some horror stories how such switch ends - basically you have to repurchase what available in new location (not much) and besides “free download” not always available for example:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/2443094?start=0&tstart=0

Take a look on page 3 by user Jsjxyz
 
some said:
Then I read reports of frauds in iTunes store and as a precaution removed my CC number, address and put fake address and funded account with gift card. This was actually per Apple employee advice that also had changed something on my account so “NONE” button became available for payment info, all fine with their TOS back then !!! And it worked with first gen. Apple TV, first iPhone and until now 2nd gen TV and 4S.
Click to expand...

That's my suspect all along.
FWIW, one of my friend had the exact problem a few years ago (his US address wasn't valid). What he do is explaining to Apple nicely, calmly and clearly the reason why he was using US store and that he didn't and never use account for stealing. He asked Apple to check his purchased records. Finally Apple unfroze his account and simply let him change the address.
You may have a better shot if you're not focus on the money in the account. Also you may have a much better shot if you're not from the country that's deep in piracy, like Russia for example.

Talk to another rep. Tell him how you love Apple products. It'll help. Good luck.
 
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robgendreau said:
I can buy War and Peace in paperback anywhere in the world. But if I wanna buy a digital copy of certain books, or other media, it's country codes, TOS agreements, yada yada. I understand the legality, and I'm sure Apple itself would like to sell anything anywhere...it's the content providers forcing them to do this.
Click to expand...

Actually, many companies have exclusive distribution rights and as a result some things may not be available or have different warranties depending on location. For example, I bought a grad school textbook in paperback in the UK that was only available at 5x the price in hardback in the US. The UK book even had a notice restricting its export. Camera gear is another example where a manufacturer may not honor a warranty except in the region it was original intended for purchase.
 
There are quite a few laws that companies have to deal with when importing electronic material into countries. Things you may never think about but they have to. Many countries do not allow the use of the color red for blood; thus if there is blood and it's red, either it can't be sold there or the color has to be changed. Another one is Nazi references; I believe Germany does not allow ANY references to Nazi's (I guess for good reason), good or bad.

These are just a few, there are TONS of regulations. Thus to maintain good standing with governments companies bend over backwards for them to get their products sold there. Allowing someone to easily circumvent the checks means that they aren't trying and can result in fines. Thus the crack down.
 
I'm trying to get a refund on my iTunes card and having one hell of a time getting my money back having Trubel finding out how
 
MacDawg said:
I'm sure if you contact Apple Support they will work something out
They hardly stole your money :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Usually if Apple can't satisfy with credit refunds.. (Usually they do better luck with credit cards), they make t "sound" better by offering you something else with a discount, or even for free...

That's not exactly any better either.
 
uniforms said:
This is what happens when you try to do something through the back door. If you live in the US and buy stuff through the store for the US that is a good thing. But don't expect you can buy things in another country using a gift card or a us account that is in the US. I go to Canada often and can't buy there using my us account. When one tries to get away with something they always get caught. I'm sure apple with give you a credit in your own currency at the currant exchange rates. Why didn't you just buy the card in your own country????? Just remember, do things on the up and up. Honesty always works out.
Click to expand...

Very very High and Mighty there ! Try actually living in another country (for example Japan like I do) - The itunes store doesnt have very much content at all. Thank god for netflix is all I can say. The ibookstore is just crap (and all I can say is thank god for Amazon)

I have bought and paid for stuff with gift cards from many friends who are from the U.S. I was given those cards as birthday presents. So of course I used them in the U.S store....Oh I have an echo too - Does that make me a double criminal ????
 
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