Credit Card is Declined

Not true. All one has to do is read these threads to know how false your info is. I followed the advice of the Apple tech and my account was fixed, eventually. Your information fixes nothing.

Are you currently inside the U.S.?
If so congratulations I am Jealous.
For the rest of us (most of this posting) what was posted was the email I got today from Apple tech. If you outside the U.S. you will have to get a Credit card for the country in which you are currently at and use the web site for that country.
In trying to get this worked out. For me I live in Korea. I have to navigate the Korean web page (not offered is an english translated version) where the option is "Visa" "Amexpress" "Mastercard". So not I'm off to find a bank that will allow me to get a credit card (one of the three listed above) in a country I barely understand the language of to give me an approval for a credit card.

If you tell iTunes Tech Support your are outside the US, you will receive a scripted reply based on the iTunes terms of service. The problem is not geo location as many others are having the same problem, based in the US.

The only fix is an unblock that the customer service agent can´t do, only supervisors or tech. It is taking more than a week to have it fixed as they are doing it manually and are overburdened as this is a system glitch during the launch of many new products.

You will need to place a new tech support ticket and get somebody that understand this has to be escalated to a supervisor/technician. Keep trying and following up. The solution you received before does not work and has nothing to do with the App Store glitch.

Only with a non affected computer you will be able to confirm you payment method. Then you will be able to update apps, download free apps, rent/buy movies, songs and whatever. You will not be able to purchase apps.

No need to VPN in this case. BTW the proxy setup still through Windows Connections. Try changing the setting on the connection option without a VPN configured. iTunes will not be able to access the internet. Just use a non affected computer (maybe on a lan house) and log in iTunes with your account and confirm the code. If you attempt to purchase an app this computer will become affected/infected.

This is not an issue with iTunes 10 individually and has been happening for a year or so. Presently there are many thousands that are being affected by whatever change was done for the App Store security against hackers/piracy which has become rogue.

It makes no sense getting a payment option loop when logging in the US or elsewhere. If you try renting a movie on Netflix (which uses geo location) when travelling outside the US you will receive a message you are outside the US. This happens with Amazon also. All vendors are very clear with that. Point being, this is a system glitch, bug or whatever.

Apple will fix it eventually, but at this time customer service is the only one that can help those with this problem. And it takes time.

Please read my post on a partial temporary workaround.

You sound Korean to me..

My point being is that I desire to procure an application for my new Ipad. I do not wish to have the device hacked. I am using Itunes v 10. I was advised by the tech assigned my case that the Apple policies as it stands now is that if you desire to buy an app you must use:
1. credit card with associated billing address from the same county as the ISP you are using.
2. apps store region appropriate for the county from which you are physically at.

If you look at the small writing under the iPad description fields www.apple.com/iPad you'll see that this type of disclaimer is being added.

I am having the same issue while in Hong Kong. I have done a lot of reading online about this and as far as I can tell, the people affected fit into two categories:

1) Those residing in the U.S.

Issue is caused by information that in the apple.store / apple.id / itunes databases not matching up with the credit card issuer. If you follow the instructions posted online to reset all the settings in the various Apple databases to match with your credit card issuer, it will likely solve your problem.

2) Those residing/traveling outside of the U.S. but have account and credit card information linked to the U.S. Itunes store and a U.S. credit card/billing address.

Issue is triggered by new security protocols in latest OS software in ITunes and devices such as the Iphone and Ipad which locks out your account if it determines that you are located outside of the U.S. Once you trigger this lock-out it can only be manually reset by Apple customer support. For me (in Hong Kong), I was able to download music on Itunes and videos on my AppleTv just fine. Trying to download a paid app with my HK Iphone 4 triggered a lock-out of my account.

Solution: Wait for an Apple Customer Service Rep to reset your account, but this does not guarantee that you will not be locked out again if you happen to trigger their protocols. In theory, we are in violation of Apple's Terms of Service by downloading media from outside the U.S./territories, and I conjecture that they are starting to enforce their policy. I suspect the only thing happening at Apple right now besides resetting your account (temporarily) are discussions about how to allow Americans traveling abroad to continue to use the U.S. Itunes store, but closing the loophole for those who are residents outside of the U.S. from using the store.

What can we do?
1) Let's list how our account got locked to determine if there is a pattern, and hopefully avoid triggering their protocols once again. For me, it was triggered by purchasing an app using an Iphone 4 purchased in Hong Kong.

2) We should be vocal in our complaints to Apple that they are losing a lot of revenue by blocking us from using the U.S. Itunes store.

I've been having the same problem. You'd think that Apple would want to do some damage control by disclosing to everyone what the issue is--or at least giving everyone a warning that their system is down instead of telling everyone that their credit card has been declined. They must have had a major security breach of everyone's credit card data and now they're freezing that capability until they can secure their credit card processes and notify everyone that they've had a breach.

I've been following all these forums for just over a week since I had the same issue and I agree that the problems seem to fall into those 2 categories.



For me, the issue occurred when I tried to download a free app for my new Ipad (the new Twitter app) on Sept 2. I was using Itunes on my PC when this lock-out first occured and I haven't been able to download anything including music or tv shows since on either my PC or Ipad.



I'm currently a student in the UK and have been using my paypal attached to my US CC and Bank account for several years. I bought an UK Itunes gift card and tried to create a new online account in the UK store (using my address here) and still no luck. So once locked out not only can't you purchase from the US store but you can't follow any of the instructions apple gives to start downloading from the "correct" country store.



I'm still waiting for the manual reset from Apple. It is very frustrating and has really limited the use of my Ipad. For those of us residing temporarily in outside the UK without the ability to obtain CC in that country it doesn't give us a lot of options to continue to be an Apple customer. As someone else mentioned - what is the point of having mobile technology if it is not actually mobile or only mobile within limited boundaries.



I don't beleive Apple will try to find away for those of us outside our home country to purchase while abroad (unless apple execs start to be locked out enmass). I think we will be told to either buy gift cards (if available), get new credit cards, or wait until you return home.



Personally I disagree with the business principles that limit what people can purchase by country. Does an artist or author really only want to sell their work to people inside certain borders? It all seems to be a type of corporate censorship so that multiple businesses (or countries) can control and make money on a single product.



Some might think I'm naive but I believe all the blocks on access encourage piracy more. I'd rather pay artist/developer for their creativity and time to create something I enjoy but if there are no legitimate routes for access some people will find away to get the content they want and in the end it will be the small artists who lose out.

Yes - seems to be an international issue. I work for a firm where I spend about 180 days a year in the US and the rest of the time abroad. To keep costs on phone calls down - I bought another phone in Holland where I will be on and off for the next year - made sense as US calling plans when abroad are very pricey. I believe that triggered my issue.

Apple's decision on this topic is very clear - they intend to not only be a "walled garden" but many "walled gardens" - one for each country. The fact that this does not match up with the global realities of business travelers is another reason why Apple will not be selected as an enterprise device provider. Think about business users trying to download a business app while traveling and not being able to do so... wait - I don't have to imagine it - it's happening to me right now!

My company is currently evaluating the Iphone versus Android devices - we are currently on Blackberry's but due to offices in India and Dubai we are switching. My recommendation to corporate will now have to be - Android as I cannot subject my staff to an inability to download apps like salesforce.com while traveling.

Here is the latest response I got from apple addressing why the issue has occured.

Dear Brandon,

Norman from the iTunes support team again. +*_Apparently recent changes to the security system resulted in a small percentage of our customers (still a large number) having their accounts blocked._*+ There are a number of protocols, some time consuming, that must be observed in order to unblock an account and still protect the security of the customer.

The team with the training and expertise is, I assure you, working hard at this and we appreciate the patience you have shown.

As a token of appreciation of your patience I have posted 3 song credits to your account. Thank you very much for being part of the iTunes Store family, Brandon. I hope you have a great day.

Sincerely,

Norman
iTunes Store Customer Support

Please Note: I work 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM ET Monday - Friday

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.

Norman,

This is a problem that many other user are having, as I gather from reading through the apple forums. The common link is that we are all almost Americans that are traveling abroad. I am currently in South Korea, and my billing address is in the United States. The ones who say their problem has been resolved say that they received a notice from apple saying there account has been reset and the wait 24 hours and try again. I can not say for sure that I have the same issue, but the fact of the matter is that it is taking much longer then I would expect to resolve this issue. I simply ONLY want to purchase the Nike+ GPS app.



On Sep 14, 2010, at 22:05, iTunes Store <iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com> wrote:

Dear Brandon,

Norman from the iTunes Store support team again. Thank you for your patience as Apple works to make your experience with the iTunes Store more enjoyable.

Apple is working toward a resolution of the issue you reported. Your experience with the iTunes Store is of the utmost importance. Your request is flagged for follow-up and you will be contacted once we have more information.

Sincerely,

Norman
iTunes Store Customer Support

Please Note: I work 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM ET Monday - Friday

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 : Brandon
Customer Last Name : *******
email : ****************
Web Order # :
Support Subject : iTunes Store Account and Billing
Sub Issue : Managing your Account
See additional info below
OS version: Windows 7
Country: US
iTunes version: iTunes 10
iTunes account name: brandonm@mrtc.com
Specific request: My credit card or billing information is not accepted
Details:
When trying to purchase an APP (specificly Nike+ GPS) i get the following message: "Your payment method was declined. Tap Contineue to sign in, then update your billing info.". I have contacted my finacial institute that provides my debt card used for my payment method, they advise me they see now reason why the action was declined. Additionaly they see a 99 cents athorization from apple that is approved (note that the Nike+ GPS app is $1.99). What I am hoping to find out by sending this e-mail is can you tell me why it is declineing the card?

TrackID: 11377434

OK after sending 4 emails to customer service and the last email had attachments of all the letters and replies ..It took Apple 5 weeks to fix my account as of last week I am now able to download and purchase Applications...Today I got an email from Matt as follows
Hello Elaine,

I am sorry that you have experienced difficulties while attempting to update your account information. Please try again in 24 hours. If you are still unable to update your account information, let me know.

Sincerely,

Max

By the way Max does not reply to me personally lol

They mis-mailed me today saying that the problem was fixed and I was getting a 5-song credit. Except it was for somebody else's account. I wrote back and they apologized and gave me a 5-song credit too.

Brandon - you got short changed a couple songs there. 😉

Also in Hong Kong - same problem - except I live here and am using a HK address and credit card.... I cannot use my account over Broadband BUT it works perfectly if I use 3G on either iPhone or iPad (Wifi switched off in both cases) - as soon as I activate Wifi, I get the Credit Card declined problem. This confirms many of the above theories that APPLE has introduced some IP security checking which is failing miserably (Asia Apple support told me this morning that my account is linked to Australia and that is why my HK address and credit card are not working over Broadband). I have never lived in Australia or had bank accounts there. I can only assume that APPPLE's new security software is misreading my IP address and placing me in Australia and I get rejected on the mismatch. Clearly this does not happen when I use the 3G option on my iPhone and iPad. Go figure!!

Bryan-hk - that is beyond ridiculous. I just hope that internally at Apple this IP checking change has resulted in as much pain, annoyance, anger and fist shaking as it's caused their customers. A head prominently displayed on a pike outside 1 Infinite Loop would be welcome.

Why on Earth are they going through this idiocy to deprive themselves of revenue? Who spends their time figuring out ways of angering customers and making less money?

Meanwhile I continue to wake up every morning hoping to get my own golden ticket in my Inbox informing me that I'm free once again to throw money in the direction of our fickle walled garden gaolers.

At least at night I can console myself with visions of Android phones dancing in my head waiting until my current service contract is up.

2 years ago iPhone was the only option on the block....today's ALLOT different. I'm about one step from telling the Apple guy that's 'helping' me with my credit card denial problem to just take his time because I'm going Android. 3 weeks is un-freakin-acceptable. A multi hundred billion dollar company that cant figure out how to accept PayPal????