I just tried to reinstall an app I’ve had previously on my iPad, and my card just declined for $13.99, and I was told I could not install this app that had been free for 9 years and counting. This has shed light on probably 15 different charges like this. How do I go about this?
[Edited by Moderator]
iPad, iPadOS 16
It depends on a couple of things.
a) Did you sign in to a different user ID on the iPad than the one you originally purchased the app under? If so, then that's normal. All purchases remain forever connected to the original ID. Under a new ID, it's considered a new purchase.
b) Did the app change? Vendors on the App Store are allowed to upgrade an app and charge for it. Such as, a very long time ago, I had the Proton Web browser. Later, it disappeared from my list of purchased apps. It was still available, but under a new, upgrade version. If I wanted to use the app again (I didn't anyway), I would have had to purchase it again.
The game is free to download, and doesn't have any in-app purchase at $13.99 (among the dozen or so you can get).
Do the charges have this specific name?
APPLE.COM/BILL 866-712-7753 CA
If so, it's a known scam.
https://toughnickel.com/scams-fraud/Apple-iTunes-866-712-7753-Scam
Yes, the purchases would line up with your Apple Wallet because the crooks have your credit card info. That's all they need. Who knows where they picked it up from, but as with any such crime, they don't need access to your Apple ID.
You need to cancel your current card immediately and have your credit card company send you a new card. I'd also let them know which of your listed purchases were made by the crooks so you can get them removed.
What surprises me most is that any credit card company continues to let these charges through. These crooks have been around for a while now, and any charge with that charge line should immediately be rejected.
I have not signed on to a different account as I only have one and am the only apple user in my family. This game is currently going through its 9th anniversary, and is one of the top grossing games on the store, and doesn’t need to charge for the game. If they suddenly did, it would be a huge deal and I would’ve heard about it. This isn’t the first charge like this, this is just the first time my card has declined immediately after trying to install something. Usually, this random charge shows up days later.
Dokkan Battle. It is a Dragon Ball Z game. I don’t see how it matters though, as this has happened repeatedly. I only JUST realized it was coming from the App Store when I tried to redownloaded the game. I have been having these charges for $2.99 and $13.99 since I started using apple devices, during both the times I was playing this game, and the times I was not.
These charges show up blank, as “Apple.com/bill” or something like that. No details.
Yes, they do. What’s confusing to me is that these charges alone with this so called scam, however they line up with the charges in my apple wallet, and I quite literally received this last email about my card declining mere moments after attempting to install my game, and it lined up with the App Store denying me to install this app, because my card declined, even though it’s supposed to be free.
My only deduction from this as quickly as it happened, is that I was legitimately being charged for this game.
I’m very thankful for all the help you have given me, I just have one more question. If it is in fact a scam, why is the App Store repeatedly denying me to install my game we’ve established is free? Throughout all of this, I still haven’t been able to download the game, because it acts like it’s declining my card.
My guess would be because the crooks have been hitting your card with a lot of unusual charges, and the credit card company is now blocking them as fraudulent. The App Store items in particular since that's probably what they're charging it against.
We can only make guesses without details.
What game are you talking about?
$13.99 charges for free apps.
