Hi I own an iPhone 4. When I am trying to download a free app from the store, why does it ask me for my credit card details and even charge if I do give the details. I am based in India. Thank you for your help.
iPhone 4, iOS 4.3.2
Hi Geethesh,
I did write to the Apple people. their response is that $ 1 will be charged even for free apps to check whether one has money in the credit card account and that the debit will be shown by your bank, but eventually they will not be charged.
I am copying below a part of their mail which may of help to you too:
quote:
When you update your billing information, the iTunes Store will place an authorization hold of $1 on your credit card to verify your account information. You might see this authorization request on your online statement. This is not an actual charge, it is simply a test to confirm that your credit card account is active and has credit available to accommodate transactions.
Authorization requests are automatically removed from your account by your financial institution. The amount of time it takes to remove authorization requests varies by financial institution. If you have any questions about the way your financial institution handles authorization requests, please contact their customer service department.
To review the actual charges on your account, here are easy steps to view your Purchase History:
1) Make sure you're using the latest version of iTunes. It can be downloaded free of charge from the Apple website at:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download
Note: Installing the latest version of iTunes will not affect your library or any items in your account that you haven't downloaded.
2) Click this link to launch iTunes and view the Sign In dialog:
http://phobos.apple.com/accountSummary/
3) Enter your iTunes Store account name and password.
4) Click the Account Info button to proceed.
5) On the Account Info screen, click the Purchase History button.
Your Purchase History will display your most recent purchases first. To view details of any purchase, click the arrow to the left of the order date.
unquote
hope this would be of help to you.
You have to have an Itunes account to buy any apps, even the free ones. To have an itunes account you need to give the details of your card. If it is your first purchase from the itunes store, then there will be small amount taken from the account to test that it is a real account etc, (it is returned at some point).
If it is not your first purchase then I have no idea why you were charged.
Account details such as credit card information must be available on your iTunes account before downloading free or paid apps.
From the iTunes menu bar click iTunes / View My Account / Edit Payment Information.
Make sure the Security code and expiration date are correct then click Done.
Hey Carolyne and alsablo,
Thank you very much for responding. I am aware that credit card info is needed. Also, these were not the first purchases either. Have checked all those information re the payment information as well.
Therefore I am unable to understand the billing process and the reality is that my bank is denoting my account for these one one dollar "purchase". Any, have written to mac help as well, let's see what their response is. Will fet back to this forum. Thanks again for helping.
Or, from the iTunes menu bar click iTunes / View My Account / Edit Payment Information and check to see if a None option is available to you. If so and you choose it, then you will only be asked to verify your account with your password when choosing free apps.
But come the time that you wish to buy something, the system will again ask for bank card information.
thank you everyone for your help.
I think the problem is solved for me for the time being. it appears that prima facie App store will charge $ 1 for your free apps while you download, to check whether your card has money in the account or not, but eventually they will not be charged. so if there is a problem, it is to be taken up with your financial institution, i.e. eventually the monkey may be on your back in case there is a problem.
but at least i have some clarity now. I am hoping that i will not be in a soup with my bank in case they start debiting my account with those $ 1 dollar (supposedly non transactions) transactions.
Hi,
Even I received a message twice from my bank stating that $1 is deducted during verification of Apple ID. But When I checked my credit card statement, there were no transaction records present there.
Quite strange !! I didn't get it either ?????
Bank card charges entail 2 steps. The first step is the primary charge. But the second step is the one that makes the charge complete. If the second step is never taken, then the charge falls off the account. Apple only takes the first step to verify an active bank account. But it never takes the second step with free apps, so the $1 charge falls off the account.
I'm from Malaysia and been using apple products for few years. All these while i've had my credit card info updated. today after i updated my phone to ios 5version, i was charged USD1 when i verify my credit card info with my apple id......and i never buy any apps.....why is there a charges??? how can i claim it back???
You do not have to claim it back, just as we have explained above, the charge was just to verify that your bank card account is an active account and usable. The charge will not be processed and will fall off of your account in a few days.
I was hoping to find an answer with this post, and I KNOW that if I say the same question, I'll get the same answer. I'm going to ask anyway.
Anyways, my mother had given me her iMac a few weeks ago. My husband, being the computer whiz he is, wiped everything off, and installed the latest software from the App store (it's $30). There was one charge onto our checking account showing that it had gone through. However, when I went to go and check my account balance to see what the balance was, there was a second charge from the Apple store for the same amount! Who should I contact about that?
Hi sg58,
I am facing the same problem.
Could you please provide the email contact for apple support id from where you got explanation about the money being deducted.I want to cotact them and get the same in written for future reference.
Thanks and Regards,
Sukanta Nath
I am having the same issue, and I am based in India too. This week I installed two free apps and was charged $1 for each app!
Has someone from Apple responded to this issue yet?
Hey Dahveed, thanks for your response. I tried but don't have a None option available to me. thanks nonetheles.
I am having the same problem, being charged $1 for free apps. I've been using the same account for years and this has just started occuring.
Being charged One dollar for free apps from mac app store
