iTunes Store Support: the whole truth about Apple’s rules and support

I begin, perhaps, from the very beginning. What are I going to talk about? On a few idiotic rules for using the iTunes Store and the incompetence of some of its organs.

It all started in 2008. It so happened that I moved to Australia. Then I just got acquainted with the iPhone (iPhone 2G fell into the hands). Then neither the concept of the App Store, nor iTunes was mentioned. There was a simple installer. Two years later, holding the iPhone 3GS, I find myself in Australia again. At that time, the iPhone 4 was just presented and iOS 4 was born. This was the beginning of all my future problems.


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Having no idea what a Jailbreak is, what an unlock is and not understanding how it all works, I boldly clicked on the Update button in iTunes (those who had iPhones understood me). I had 3.1.2, after flashing it became, respectively, 4.0. The phone is locked, rollback only to 3.1.3, there is no jail without unlock. The phone is covered! I boldly climbed on eBay and purchased an AT & T sim card, waited for it and danced with a tambourine, after almost a month, my phone came to life again. It was then that I decided that I would never again be a supporter of piracy and Jailbreak. I know that for many it will sound silly, but today I buy almost all media content.

Being a lot of time in Australia, I started an Australian account, actively used Gift cards from the same country. Everything was fine, but I had to leave the homeland of the kangaroo, from where I went to France. There I bought an iPhone 4 and it healed completely official life. The iPhone was neverlocked, so I didn’t have any problems with unlock anymore.

Before me was the choice for the new country of iTunes. I myself am from Ukraine, but as you know, Ukraine was added to the list of countries more recently. I stopped at America, or Russia. Since I had very easy opportunities from America to receive any product / gift card (I’m not talking about the amount of software available in the US store), I decided to use the US iTunes Store!

Attention! I have already violated one of the rules of the user agreement!

At that time, of course, I did not understand this. I began to buy content through iTunes Gift cards and could not enjoy life, until one fine moment, one close friend warned me and poked his nose at the points of the rules. My next steps are clear - quickly in Support. I write: “So and so, I do not live in America, but Ukraine is not in the list of countries. Need to change to Russia? If so, how to transfer purchases? ”(It was bought on the order of 1500-2000 cu). I get the answer like: “Do not transfer the country, do not change the country, use further to your health” (all this is in the style of Apple, I think many will understand how they wrote it).

This could be finished if it were not for the events of the last couple of months! In the summer of 2013, with might and main use of the account. The developer's program was bolted to the same account, but now its term has expired, I, accordingly, extend it. The next morning, trying to update another application, I get an interesting message: "Your ID has been disabled, please contact iTunes Store Support . " I write to the support team without any hesitation so that they unblock me, to which I get the following answer:



Again, without any hesitation, I take the phone and call to Moscow. In this "Account Security Team". After waiting for about an hour on the phone, I get the answer: “Your account has been blocked. We are more than forbidden to take any action against him. The most you can achieve is a clear explanation of the reason for the blocking. ” Here the operator begins to tell me why I was blocked. As I mentioned earlier, you cannot use Gift cards and the store of the country in which you do not live. I, for 3 years, did just that. OK. No problem. Could this have been warned? I was told that I had been warned repeatedly about this and that there was nothing more to say to them.

After reading all my previous appeals for support, I came across such a line in only one of them:



Over the past couple of months, I have been in support of about 5-7 times in connection with the error “Your Purchase Could Not Be Completed”

This is the first bell. I advise everyone to immediately think about what you are doing wrong.

I used only the original Gift Card XX. All scanned copies of maps are kept by me and I am ready to provide them.

After several days of arguing with support, I received an offer to change the country and re-apply to the Account Security team. What I did. He refused all subscriptions, removed the entire balance of the account, changed the country. The answer is the same - Unlock will not be! I started to get mad at me, WWDC was on the nose, I needed a developer account. I decided to simultaneously create a Ukrainian account and fasten an ack of development to it.



Having drawn conclusions and realizing that the account could not be returned (I lost a very considerable amount), I decided to transfer the email from American to Ukrainian, since this was and is my main mailbox. Immediately I want to clarify what problems this leads to:

• The system starts to confuse accounts;
• The system asks for a password from the old account (if you enter the old one - an error, from the new one - an error);
• It is impossible to download / update anything;
• Everything is confused in iCloud (contacts, documents).

PS My advice to you: if you get into a similar situation, recover to a clean firmware - the only way without a headache.

Go ahead. Everything was fine a couple of days, until my favorite message popped up: "Your Purchase Could Not Be Completed . " Absolutely with a pure soul, I send a request for support. Attention! Account is clean. Present data, address, phone and credit card. After that, I get an answer from the same operator that this question is closed and then this ticket will not be serviced. I start to bombard them with letters of shock and rage that this and that way, the account is new, it has no relation to the American one, that I just moved the mail. To this I get an answer that, again, the question is closed and I will not get an answer later.

Now move away from the topic. What to do in this case? How to be? In reality, the state of bezkhodnosti :) Here you really can not do anything. I got the impression that there was a prejudice towards me (it has survived to this day).

The way out was to appeal to Moscow. Without specifying anything about the old case, I boldly said that I could not make purchases, fix it. And voila! After 20 minutes, I got everything back. A week has passed. Again "Your Purchase Could Not Be Completed" . I go to the support site - a new ticket - the problem is solved.

And here I fly away to rest in Italy. Ordinary vacation. Two weeks at sea and back to Kiev. Again "Your Purchase Could Not Be Completed" . I update the last ticket, to which I get a reply that just hit the spot:



Having the experience of communicating with mail support, on Friday afternoon, I decide to call to Moscow, as there is an hour left until the call center closes, and there is no desire to wait until Monday. In parallel, responding to that letter of support. I get a quite clear and clear answer on the phone: “By Apple’s rules, crossing the border, you are obliged to change the country and replace the credit card attached to it with the card of the country you are in!” What, forgive me ?!

The girl kindly promised to try to solve the problem, after warning that she did not promise anything. In the meantime, in an hour or two I received an answer to the mail:



The girl from the support still kept her word, for which she thanks a lot. I was able to buy again. But not for long. After 2-3 purchases, I received a block again.

Arriving back to Kiev, everything became normal again.

August has come. Two days before going abroad, my account is blocked again. I am sending a support letter for the question to be resolved. They answered me when I was already abroad, so that I read the rules. I answer that I am aware of everything and just ask to fix this problem before I return. The answer was yes.

I cannot buy in Kiev. I am writing to support and getting a new dose of “positive” emotions:



After this message, I was really very angry. I called Moscow - did not help. Again wrote in support - nothing. A couple of days later I wrote a huge letter with all the details - deaf. And so I decide to write a very short letter:



After literally 20 minutes account earned. Draw your own conclusions, I honestly did not understand how this helped in this situation and so dramatically changed the ignorance to the desire to help me.

After this incident, I was twice blocked account. A call to Moscow and a request for unlocking helped without questions.

Summarize:

• Use the store of the country in which you live;
• If the American support for contact does not go, contact this number in Moscow - +7 495 5809557;
• Change the country to the current one before it is too late (the programs will remain, the music will not);
• When flying abroad, simply do not make any purchases;
• If you get the error "Your Purchase Could Not Be Completed" - think about it! You are doing something wrong.

PS Also, many will tell that with them this has never been and never will be, and that this is all nonsense. I assure you, with me, too, this was not for 3 years, and here on, and for half a year all created accounts are blocked (no matter what country or what data I indicate). This is a matter of chance, but I would not risk it.