Lion download charged me 20 time more = $599.80 - Help!!!

Same predicament as all of you Initial purchase went fine install went fine perfect Apple experience. Then the initial refund. Then 4 more charges and refunds. By then I am freaking out because even though the refunds have come my linked checking account to Paypal is showing that come tomorrow 6 x 32.09 is being stolen from my account. called Paypal they said call Apple. Couldn't find a number so emailed support. Two emails and they still insist they have no issue. I disputed the charges with Paypal and "won" most of the cases. In total I was billed 11 times. Unlinked paypal from my itunes account until this is blown over.

So far tomorrow I will have 11 charges debited. No sign of the refunds although Paypal is showing all charges refunded.

This has shaken my faith in the app store. I am now afraid to make any more purchases from them for fear they will drain my bank account.

Did you by any chance look at your screen while it was downloading? I had a lot of ´retries´ - think it restarted / resumed download at least 5 times in my case - wonder if that might be the issue (recharging everytime the install resumes where it left off)?

Cannot you just oppose with your bank for unauthorized charges? As Apple confirms that you should not be charged more than once, it should be a piece of cake?

Anybody knows if it´s only Paypal, or direct Credit Cards as well?

Stop using PayPal, they are not your friend, use a credit card instead and then you can have the card provider take the money back

Didn't look at the screen but there was no interruptions. Problems such as these are issues between Apple and Payapl and how they process the transactions between their systems and not an end user issue. Whose fault does it lie with? Thats something both companies will point to each other as the culprit. Just checked paypal account and 11 charges and 10 refunds. Checking account stills shows I am screwed until the refunds post.

Hi,

Make sure you are emailing the App Store customer service, not the iTunes Store customer service. There is a link when you open the App Store. App Store agents acknowledge it is an issue with their automated payment service and it's affecting credit/debit card holders as well. They say that their engineers are working on the issue and they have no further information about what is going wrong with their system. If you have PayPal linked, you are in for a whole other world of hassle (like I am). PayPal takes several days with your refunds "on hold", about the same amount of time it takes for money to get back and forth from your bank account. If you use Visa, your card issuing bank can erase the disputed charges right away. You can ask an App Store agent to relay the problem to your bank if necessary; usually in the form of a letter or email for you to deliver.

Make sure you log into your PayPal account and file a dispute for each unauthorized transaction. Then make sure you call your bank in advance to warn them about the unauthorized charges that are about to appear. This is the most legal way to not be liable for them.

Hi,

Some people with credit/debit cards are reporting this issue as well.

Hi,

iTunes Store agents may not be up to date with this issue. Make sure you're contacting App Store customer service agents as they are aware of the issue.

I am soooooo angry. So I bought Lion on the 22nd. They took those 4 charges of 29.99, but I have already told you all about that. So after I called and got my issue "resolved" then why on the 23rd did they take 2 more unauthorized charges of 29.99? And another 3 on the 24th? My account is overdrafted, and I have overdraft fees from other purchases I made with money I did have until Apple stole it. Yes, Apple stole my money, as they did not have my permission on the 23rd or the 24th to have access to my account.

Hi,

That would make me furious. I haven't had any more unauthorized charges since the initial ones, but I'll be keeping an eye out now. Didn't you cancel your payment agreement from within PayPal?

I canceled mine and then reinstated another one. I'm not sure if it's the different agreement code protecting me from more erroneous charges or if I'm just lucky so far, but I think I'll be changing the agreement to my Visa card so that I'm instantly protected if this happens again. Without any agreement, you can't even download free iOS apps, so that's why I set up a new one. But I can't change it to Visa until my funds are back in there for them to verify the card.

Perhaps you can just cancel all types of payment agreements with your Apple account?

Well, Apple didn't exactly steal your money unless you see the charges in your iTunes/App Store account, but by pinging your PayPal account for the same charge, your money definitely ends up being barred from your possesion. Also, this issue is caused by their automated payment system's overload glitch, supposedly, and not by human error.

The PayPal rep I talked to on the phone this morning assured me the "temporary holds" on the refunds will be lifted by Wednesday and that PayPal is now aware this specific issue is happening to people.

Csound1 wrote:

Stop using PayPal, they are not your friend, use a credit card instead and then you can have the card provider take the money back

No such problems here, and I have downloaded more than once. I don't use PayPal.

Phil

There appears to be a hawk in our midst with this thread. I see your posts dissapearing.

If you could answer these, hopefully they won't delete your answers:

Was your payment agreement canceled when the most recent unauthorized charges showed up in PayPal?

Have you spoken with the Mac App Store customer service agents? (open App Store app and there's a link)

Same thing here, I was charged 14 times between the 20th to the 22nd. I used Paypal and my home account was seriously overdrawn. iTunes refunded my money but due to the delay in the banking system it will take 5-10 days for all the money to return to my bank account. I emailed iTunes instantly when I found the issue but it took them 48 hours to reply and now I am again waiting for another reply from them. Also, my bank and Paypal said they would not help with the over draft fees. I am steaming to say the least.

Also, I find it infuriating that banks and companies are more then happy to instantly take your money, but when it comes to a refund they drag their feet.

Hi,

I just tried replying to your latest post, but it was removed as well. Here's a copy of my reply:

Hi,

What about the first question of whether or not your payment agreement was canceled when the most recent charges appeared?

It's definitely not a PayPal issue, as the App Store agent has acknowledged that it's an issue with Apple's automated payment system; they just don't know what's wrong exactly yet.

At this stage, you should:

Make sure your payment agreement is canceled.

Dispute all unauthorized charges from within PayPal.

Wait for the refunds to go into effect.

Ask a PayPal agent and App Store agent to give you something in writing you can turn over to your bank.

Tell your bank you're waiting on PayPal's refund process before you can transfer the money back.

Then just wait.

If for some reason the PayPal refund holds aren't lifted within 5 business days, start the dispute process with your bank. Or, you could start that process now and cancel or reverse it when the refund holds are lifted and money transfered back.

Good for you, but when things go wrong PayPal are not obligated to take the cash back while the dispute is in progress, unlike your credit card provider who are.

My stance on PayPal is the same, you might as well give your money to the bloke on the corner and ask him to get it for you.

Omri Parsons Iv wrote:

snip

Also, I find it infuriating that banks and companies are more then happy to instantly take your money, but when it comes to a refund they drag their feet.

Why are you criticizing banks and credit card providers when (according to your post) you used Paypal