Who told you to reach out to Apple?
What is an inactive account? Accounts are either open or closed. No such thing as inactive. If funds are sent to a closed account, the bank usually returns the funds to the merchants account. However, if there is a negative balance on the closed account, the refund would be applied to reduce the negative balance.
If the funds are returned, that is usually completed within 5 to 7 days and you’ll need to start the refund process again.
Apple is not involved in the refund process. Funds move directly between the merchants bank and the bank that issued the payment method used. Apple does not approve or decline transactions and cannot monitor the progress of a refund. That only involves the merchant, merchants bank and card issuing bank.