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 iTunes Disabled my Account
Posted Wed December 31, 2008 12:00 pm, by Raphael C. written to Apple Computer Inc
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I have spent the better part of the week and over 14 emails back and forth trying to resolve an issue with itunes support but have not received any resolution. The problem stems from a virtual credit card number on my itunes account. The bank could not process the transaction because I created a virtual card number for a purchase at the Apple store, and then my itunes account started to use that same virtual number, but since they have different merchant IDs, my bank cannot approve a $4.98 order. Since that order cannot be approved Itunes disabled my account. I offered to give them my real card number to pay the $4.98, but they said they cannot take off the block until that transaction is approved.
I am very frustrated because I have two large companies telling me that it is not their fault and I am stuck in the middle. The Apple Itunes rep told me that I should just create a new account, but after 4 years I would lose access to over 800 purchased songs, over 20 purchased Apps and over 50 purchased TV shows. I tried to find a phone number but was told by Apple that there are no phone numbers to call for Itunes Customer Service and no place to make a complaint. I was directed to there feedback site, but that is geared towards making suggestions about future products or to report a bug. It is not geared toward making complaints.
I pleaded with the itunes support rep to escalate the problem but was told that there is no solution and no way to escalate.
I offered to give my real card number to pay for the unpaid charge but was told that there was nothing they could do. This seems to be a major bug that a customer is locked out of all of their legal purchased songs and tv shows and are then given no process to pay the outstanding charge by other means.
I have been the biggest supporter of Apple over the past 2 years convincing my Wife, Dad, Sister in law, Mother and Father in law to buy Macs and not to mention two co workers. Which is why it is especially heartbreaking that I am being let down.
All I want is two things.
1. To be able to pay the $4.98 I owe Itunes and
2. To be able to make future purchases with my existing itunes account.
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by Monster Posted Mon June 1, 2009 @ 6:26 AM
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Apple disabled my account when I bought two gift certificates for a
friend. That is all it took for them to make it impossible to use
their service. There is no resolution forthcoming. Too bad for Apple
becuase I spent all my entertainment budget per month on itunes. No
longer able to legally purchase what I want to view or listen too,
perhaps I will have to sink to watching it for free. If anyone out
there find a solution, please post it - I am too busy to keep trying
to figure it out so Apple will get no more of my business in the
meantime. A great company has once again headed south. Product quality
has fallen recently, and now their service products are not
functioning.
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by Doug S. Posted Fri January 23, 2009 @ 3:58 PM
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The exact same thing happened to me - online store purchase pushed
that credit card number to iTunes unbeknownst to me. Merchant id
mismatch and begin the iTunes death spiral.
Unfortunately I also have an iPhone so I'll loose all my paid apps in
addition to paid music if I create another account. If I don't create
another account I can never download a free app, update for a paid app
or buy anything new.
There may be hope though. Here was the offical response from the
apple support rep:
I have been advised that a fix has been scheduled for integration.
The schedule has not been released or finalized yet. At the earliest,
the fix will be integrated in mid-February. In the meantime, the only
thing I can suggest if you want to keep using the iTunes Store before
the issue is resolved is if you create a new iTunes Store account. If
you do want to create a new iTunes Store account, it's very important
that you do not use a virtual credit card.
Of course they didn't say it was February 2009 ;-). Anyway I'll wait
and see if the rep writes back about migrating apps/music to my new
account.
Good luck.
-Doug
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by M M. Posted Mon January 5, 2009 @ 3:42 PM
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A somewhat similar thing happened to me in that itunes"disabled" my
acct due to "security concerns". I suspect that when my credit card
was stolen the thief tried to use itunes but couldn't get in b/c o f
the password. In anycase, i could not find a way to unlock it because,
as you have pointed out, there is now way to reach any type of
customer service.
Anyway, after a lot of searching, this is the solution that I found
and it worked for me. You should be able to find a link that lets you
change your password. Once you change your password and answer the
security question, it should work. if you can't find th elink off
hand, you can go to "get your password" under acct info and once you
do that, it should take you to a window that will let you change your
password.
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by MA Cunningham Posted Sat January 3, 2009 @ 11:53 AM
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the whole "virtual card" thing? Are you saying you created a fake
credit card number or is it some sort of special account through the
Apple Store?
Since it sounds like the Apple store somehow linked to your iTunes
account. Couldn't THEY help you straighten this out? I would turn to
them to seehow to fix this problem. Surely they don't really expect
you to just abandon all the legally acquired DRM's you have.
Or possibly could you authorize your bank to pay the $4.98 charge to
appease them?
I do agree with you that there has to be SOME way to remedy this.
Someone somewhere in that company can do something about it. I hope
they figure it out for you.
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by Kitty_Cat Posted Thu January 1, 2009 @ 9:07 PM
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I'm a little confused. Your music and tv shows are not connected to
your itunes account. You should still be able to watch them after you
make a new account. Maybe I'm missing something?
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by petalmom Posted Thu January 1, 2009 @ 8:56 AM
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Wow, this sounds like a real problem! It appears that you have tried
everything to correct it and I'll admit that I'm stunned that neither
the bank or Apple are equiped to help you.
Good luck and I hope that eventually you find resolution!
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