How to Get a Refund From Your App or Report a Problem With Your App Purchase – AppleToolBox

Do you want a refund for an iTunes or App Store purchase (e.g. books, movies, apps or TV shows)? Apple’s terms and conditions say “all sales and rentals of products are final.” This means that Apple does not offer refunds.

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But Apple may make exceptions if you have a valid reason. Apple’s policy states that:

“All Transactions are final. Content prices may change at any time. If technical problems prevent or unreasonably delay delivery of Content, your exclusive and sole remedy is either replacement of the Content or refund of the price paid, as determined by Apple. From time to time, Apple may suspend or cancel payment or refuse a refund request if we find evidence of fraud, abuse, or unlawful or other manipulative behavior that entitles Apple to a corresponding counterclaim.“

How to Get a Refund From Your App or Report a Problem With Your App Purchase

You might run into a situation where you’ve decided that the app doesn’t work for you and you want a refund. Unfortunately, there’s no “refund purchase” button to be found in the App Store. Instead, Apple makes the process a bit more convoluted, as it requires the refund to be reviewed. Here’s how you can get a refund for apps on the iPhone and iPad that you’ve purchased.

1. Open Safari on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Navigate to reportaproblem.apple.com

3. Sign in with the Apple ID used to purchase the app.

4. Tap on the drop-down box and select Request a Refund.

5. In the second drop-down box, select a reason for the refund.

6. Click the Next button.

7. Scroll until you find the app that you want to get a refund for.

8. Once the app is selected, tap the Submit button at the top of the webpage.

In the event that going through the steps above results in Apple telling you that you can’t request a refund, this could be a few reasons. The most likely reason is that the charge is still pending, meaning that Apple can’t even try to refund the charge yet. In order to get past this, you’ll just have to wait until after the charge goes through.

We aren’t exactly sure when Apple added this next method, but there’s another option for those who want to get a refund. Here are the steps that you’ll need to take:

1. Open the App Store on your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap the Apps button in the bottom toolbar.
3. Scroll all the way to the bottom until you reach the Quick Links section.
4. Tap either Report a Problem or Request a Refund.
5. Follow the on-screen steps to complete the process.

This may not look much different compared to following the steps listed above, but at least Apple has added a shortcut button that is accessible from the App Store itself. It’s worth pointing out that you can also reach out to the developer directly from the appropriate App Store listing, and then follow the on-screen steps to request a refund.

How to Check Refund Request Status

Now that you’ve requested a refund, you will be able to keep an eye on the status. Because this goes through a review process, there are different stages and steps that are taken in order to ensure that everything is on the “up and up”. After the refund has been requested, here’s how you can check the status:

1. Open Safari on your iPhone or iPad.

2. Navigate to reportaproblem.apple.com

3. Sign in with the Apple ID used to request the refund.

4. Tap Check Status of Claims.

5. Tap Pending in order to see the status.

Apple states that an update will arrive within 48 hours of the refund request being made. It also may take a bit longer for a decision to be made, depending on your history of refund requests, the app or service in question, and the time of the year.

Obsessed with tech since the early arrival of A/UX on Apple, Sudz (SK) is responsible for the original editorial direction of AppleToolBox. He is based out of Los Angeles, CA.

Sudz specializes in covering all things macOS, having reviewed dozens of OS X and macOS developments over the years.

In a former life, Sudz worked helping Fortune 100 companies with their technology and business transformation aspirations.