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Please HELP ME, this is urgent, I tried ordering an iPad

XciteMe said:
What can Apple Support do? They don't have anything to do w/ my financial institution. :confused:

Can somebody answer for me, if I do purchase $900 in gift cards for my iPad, what would happen if I needed to return it? Could I get my credit back or would it be Gift Card only?
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call apple support. my parents had a similar issue when they were trying to make a large purchase. apple does not charge you until the item is shipped. but they do a micro hold transaction to verify the card. like $1 or less just to process the order. my parent's card was rejected because it wouldn't take this transaction as it assumed fraud, etc. ask apple to bypass that step and you should be fine. at least this is everything i was told at the time.

oh, and calm down. its a machine, and you want to be able to buy it now so you can pay more for it in the long run? not the end of the world.
 
XciteMe said:
I just thought of something - if I do use Gift Cards to buy my iPad, what if I want to return it??? I would only be able to get the credit back via Gift Cards, huh? I wouldn't get my money back, is this correct??? That would suck. :(
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No one said buy an Apple Gift Card. Go buy a Visa or AMEX GC. Most drug and grocery stores sell them. Yes, if you return it you'll get the credit back on that card, but at least you can use a Visa or AMEX almost anywhere.
 
To answer the OP's question, you have to pay with cash (if in store, see. note below) or credit card at least for more than half of the iPad price. I'm not sure if it's still true, but it was reported to be so when the wifi model first came out. For a while, you couldn't pay with cash neither (for in store), but that has been changed recently so maybe the gift card rule has chaged as well.

OP, call the 1800 number and ask if you can purchase the iPad online entirely with gift card. You can also ask the form of refund as well. I think that fine print can be found on the gift card as well.

If that's a go, then go get the gift card. If that's a no-go, I think it's worth trying to describe the situation and try to "place order" at store. You said you cant understand how they can do that, but well, you really don't have too many options. I don't think you will look like an idiot at the store asking this. This whole unlimited data plan change is tricky situation for all of us.

Another idea is to get visa or master card giftcard and pay with it.

Good luck.
 
XciteMe said:
Can somebody answer for me, if I do purchase $900 in gift cards for my iPad, what would happen if I needed to return it? Could I get my credit back or would it be Gift Card only?
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You will be credited back via gift card/ store credit. As with any store gift card, you cannot return those for cash.

You have two options that I can see;

1. Sell the gift cards for cash and take a loss.

2. Don't return the iPad and sell it and either take a loss, break even, or profit.



edit: 1 other thing I thought of;

Pay with both your debit card and gift card. It looks like you have a daily or transaction limit on your debit card. Max out your debit and pay the rest with a gift card.
 
Go to AT&T store, buy an iPad sim card ($15 dollars). Find someone in your area with a 3G iPad and swap the cards. Activate your $30 unlimited plan. Thank that person, then deal with your bank on Monday.
 
Pro Tip- If your credit card company finds a $900 iPad purchase suspicious, buying $900 in gift cards probably isn't going to make them feel any better. It's not that they abhor the idea of you having an iPad.

Oh, and I don't know of any credit card company that doesn't have a number for you to call on the weekends. If you lose your card or it gets stolen, they really want to know sooner rather than later. My guess is that if you get to them, you can find someone willing to nix the hold.
 
skubish said:
1. Call 1-800-MY-APPLE

2. Place order by phone

3. Quit the drama.
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that won't work. It will be declined for the hold.

I've had this sort of thing happen in stores. It's very frustrating, and contacting the bank and dealing with them when your in a hurry is maddening, to say the least.

But, I really don't see the urgency of this. The 2GB is sufficient.
 
I assume that you only have a debit card and no credit cards.

That being said I'm 90% sure you wouldn't even be able to get the unlimited plan regardless. I tried using my debit card to sign up with AT&T and it did not work even though my checking account had 5 figures in it. I needed to use my Amex for it to go thru. Could be wrong though.
 
OK now I have another problem that just popped up... I just went online to check my bank statements... I was just charged $6, $1 each for 6 transactions... It gives NO details, other that they were made today.

I haven't used my card except to (attempt) to make these purchases on Apple... I canceled my order once, then re-attempted again. That's 2 times.

Are you telling me Apple's website or Master Card is charging me $3 each for each time I tried buying my iPad and was declined?

Oh my God I'm getting more and more upset... I will not pay $6 on the principle of, that's theivery and deception. Nowhere did it tell me i'd be charged for trying to buy an iPad.
 
XciteMe said:
OK now I have another problem that just popped up... I just went online to check my bank statements... I was just charged $6, $1 each for 6 transactions... It gives NO details, other that they were made today.

I haven't used my card except to (attempt) to make these purchases on Apple... I canceled my order once, then re-attempted again. That's 2 times.

Are you telling me Apple's website or Master Card is charging me $3 each for each time I tried buying my iPad and was declined?

Oh my God I'm getting more and more upset... I will not pay $6 on the principle of, that's theivery and deception. Nowhere did it tell me i'd be charged for trying to buy an iPad.
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It's just a temporary authorization. It'll go away within a week.

Have you not bought anything over the internet before? That is very common.
 
Here's an idea, revolutionary I know and suggested by everyone else here...**** AND CALL APPLE. seriously?! This is not life and death. Save the kavetching for you Facebook buddies.
 
XciteMe said:
OK now I have another problem that just popped up... I just went online to check my bank statements... I was just charged $6, $1 each for 6 transactions... It gives NO details, other that they were made today.

I haven't used my card except to (attempt) to make these purchases on Apple... I canceled my order once, then re-attempted again. That's 2 times.

Are you telling me Apple's website or Master Card is charging me $3 each for each time I tried buying my iPad and was declined?

Oh my God I'm getting more and more upset... I will not pay $6 on the principle of, that's theivery and deception. Nowhere did it tell me i'd be charged for trying to buy an iPad.
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that is exactly what I was talking about. call apple already if you are that desperate. as i and othrers have said it's a temp charge that will go away in a few days.
 
PlaceofDis said:
that is exactly what I was talking about. call apple already if you are that desperate. as i and othrers have said it's a temp charge that will go away in a few days.
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There's nothing I can do. I just called Master Card again, I told the lady, I pretty much begged like a baby "Isn't there ANYTHING you can do to suspend this security procedure that's stopping me from buying it?"

She said "Sorry, no, that's all within your bank."

If my own Credit Card company cannot help, I don't expect Apple to. They're just the middle man in all this. Money talks, as they say.

I guess no iPad for me. I'm just going to have to either reconsider the 2GB cap, or just see if the new iPhone will be enough. :rolleyes:
 
The charges you are seeing are temporary, goes away in a few days, sounds as though they were trying to get authorization and could not so they tried several times.
As far as getting the iPad, I think you will be okay if you get this straightened out first thing Monday morning, my understanding is that as long as your order has been placed by the 7th they will honor the unlimited plan.
Hope it works out for you :)

Patty
 
XciteMe said:
There's nothing I can do. I just called Master Card again, I told the lady, I pretty much begged like a baby "Isn't there ANYTHING you can do to suspend this security procedure that's stopping me from buying it?"

She said "Sorry, no, that's all within your bank."

If my own Credit Card company cannot help, I don't expect Apple to. They're just the middle man in all this. Money talks, as they say.

I guess no iPad for me. I'm just going to have to either reconsider the 2GB cap, or just see if the new iPhone will be enough. :rolleyes:
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I sure hope that isn't where you are leaving this. The show was just starting to get good!
 
Maybe it's all for the best. Perhaps you can take the time to reflect on your frenzy and decide how to appropriately gauge situations before you have a real emergency in your life.
 
First, I'm sure there is a fraud department for your bank you can call. For example, with Bank of America, if your card is declined for potential fraud protection purposes, there is a special number to call and it prompts you through an automated system to verify the charge in question.

Another option... If you have a paypal account you can set up a virtual credit card with them and use that to pay.

Good luck...
 
Why don't you try signing up for the Barclays card on apple's site. Once you it is approved instantly and you can complete your order.
 
First, MC is lying to you.

Second, try a Best Buy if you have one local to you, they seem to get them in stock more often now, though they still go pretty fast.
 
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