This is an extract of emails re my (1.)complaint and of the (galling) reply by itunes of it (2.) and my response to that (3) which is where we are now. I did spend a good hour ranting very coherently and convincingly, I thought, yesterday, at my local abbey branch, with copies of my itunes order substantiating my claim (see my last email which is clearer under (3). Abbey do not in any way require any processing deadlines to be kept when purchases are made by debit cards (electron visa in my case) I looked in their terms and conditions, therefore it is my responsibility (according to them) to make sure enough money was in the account. My point is that if they publish two separate balances, ie balance and 'available balance' then this is misleading when later I find myself fined £40 for something that was not logged at point of purchase but a full 9 days later. This lack of direction (and proper policy and procedure safeguarding the customer) is evidently quite a good money spinner for them where people are sailing near to the edge financially. Ie this case multiplied up and down the country in many individuals must be quite a substantial income source. They are £40 up and I am £40 down and under stress. I will be taking this collusion and ambiguity up with the financial ombudsman. Anyway end of preamble here is non sensitive copy of emails so far:
1. copy of email sent to itunes:
With horror I checked my bank balance on my account... last night to
> discover that I had been charged £15 for an unauthorised overdraft plus
> another £25 for a 'monthly overdraft fee' ie punished twice. I am on £62
> pw income support and am supporting two teenage sons with this so this
> leaves us without food, basically. As I have been extremely careful with
> my finances due to previous fines I could not understand and spent a good
> half hour with my bank Abbey pleading on an 0845 tel no to have the fines
> waived. They would not do so as they said they had done nothing wrong. I
> could not remember the purchase so did some research and now understand
> how the problem occurred and believe itunes is responsible as I put my
> order and downloaded on 05.08.09 (order no MGFHOJ44WD) but did not receive
> the invoice until 12.08.09, a full week later. I expect to have my
> purchases immediately visible on my account to avoid such fines. I have
> noticed that I have had receipts sent late be
> fore but this has been of the order of two days and not seven. I was
> preparing for a trip away, was working and stressed and I think it
> unreasonable to expect me to be doing nominal sums in my head and
> expecting me to have photographic recall. I have been extremely stressed
> by this and need this money refunding to me as I have obligations. I also
> object to having an extremely bad night thinking about this, and the fact
> that I now have to go and see my bank to show evidence of my innocence in
> this matter hoping they will take the matter up with you. I think it
> entirely unreasonable for your accounting system to take so long and
> therefore leave me in debt and stressed. I would appreciate the return of
> my fines of £40 into my account immediately and a payment for my stress
> and a correction of your accounting system as the electron card 'available
> balance' should be accurate. I look forward to your speedy response and
> would appreciate a call. Thankyou Susan B...
This was the galling reply from itunes (2) some hours later:
Dear Susan,
Thank you for contacting us, my name is Sarah. I understand you would like to be reimbursed for the overdraft fee's you incurred from your bank when a payment was withdrawn for your iTunes Store purchase. I can appreciate your concern and I will be happy to look into this issue for you today.
Susan, the iTunes Store doesn't provide assistance by telephone. I'm happy to answer any questions you may have via email.
I understand your frustration regarding the overdraft fees. I'm sorry, but the iTunes Store is not responsible for any payment account fees or credit card company fees that customers incur while shopping on the iTunes Store. If you have any other questions or concerns regarding these fees, please contact the company that assessed the fees.
I checked your account and determined that the iTunes Store billed you correctly for the purchase.
You might consider reviewing your purchase history regularly. Here's how to do that:
1) Click this link to open iTunes and access the Apple Account Information page:
http://phobos.apple.com/accountSummary
2) Sign in to the iTunes Store using your account name and password.
3) On the Apple Account Information page, click the Purchase History button.
4) The purchase history displays the most recent purchases first. To view the details of any purchase, click the arrow to the left of the order date.
The sales and service policies for the iTunes Store are available here:
http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/ww
Apple wants your iTunes experience to be as enjoyable as possible. If you should have any other questions or concerns please remember I'm only an email away.
Sincerely,
Sarah
iTunes Store Customer Support
Please Note:
I work Friday September 25th to Saturday October 3rd. I will be off on September 26th, September 29th, and October 2nd.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you. You may receive an AppleCare survey email; any feedback you provide would be greatly appreciated.
Customer First Name: Susan
3. this was my response to this email a few hours ago:
Dear Sarah
According to itunes terms and conditions:
'10. PAYMENT METHODS. The Service accepts credit and debit cards, payment
through your Click&Buy account, Gift Certificates, iTunes Cards and Monthly
Gift balances as forms of payment. If a credit or debit card company, or
your Click&Buy account, is being used for a transaction, iTunes may obtain a
pre-approval from the credit or debit card company or from Click&Buy (as the
case may be) for an amount up to the amount of the order. Billing to your
credit or debit card or to your Click&Buy account occurs at the time of
purchase or shortly thereafter.'
For clarity, my complaint is not of the amount that was deducted but that
itunes has not followed its own policy and procedure of billing my debit
card... at the time of purchase or shortly thereafter (see section 10 Itunes
Terms and Conditions). By no stretch of the imagination can 9 full days be
described as at the time of purchase or shortly thereafter. My order no
MGFHOJ44WD was ordered and downloaded on 05.08.09 but I was billed on
14.08.09. Surely you do not expect me to keep memorising each and every
purchase on my card and to keep checking my bank details as to whether each
of these has been deducted yet before I make a purchase? I put trust in you
to behave in a proper manner and conduct your billing as you state in your
terms and conditions. You should ethically therefore accept liability for
the debt I have incurred and also acknowledge the stress you have caused me,
the hours of chasing this matter including of course writing a response to
your response to my complaint.
The failure in itune's proper and timely accounting procedures in this
particular case has resulted in me, the consumer of your product, suffering
a financial detriment and stress. I think it unreasonable for you to try to
blame the bank for fining me for your lateness in billing which caused me
inadvertently to overdraw.
Please escalate my complaint to the chief executive. I feel unfairly treated
by itunes in that I have been left financially distressed and wondering
how I am going to feed my household.
I trusted an organisation such as yours to be able to manage its accounts to
the normal standard and according to your own publisised policy to which I
signed up to in terms of my purchase - I kept my end of the contract but you
did not keep to your contract and therefore I would appreciate an ethical
acceptance of your responsibility and therefore a payment to cover my losses
and distress.
Please send me a copy of your complaints procedure.
Many thanks
Susan B
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