Got a far from satisfactory response from Apple. And here was me thinking that under the Sale of Goods Act, my contract is with Apple. I will write back. Here's the email:
Dear Christian,
Thanks for writing in today! My name is Matthew with the iTunes Store and I'll be assisting you with your request. I understand you recently purchased a new iPad and would like to restore your magazine purchases on your new device. I can certainly appreciate how eager you must be to keep up to date with your magazines on your new device, and I would be more than happy to help.
Christian, I am unable to determine the cause of the inability to restore your purchases, nor am I able to restore your purchases for you. However, you may be able to reach some kind of resolution by contacting the providers of the magazines in question.
Here are links to their support pages:
Martha Stewart Living Magazine for iPad
http://www.marthastewart.com/msl-support
Martha Stewart Everyday Food Magazine
http://www.marthastewart.com/edf-support
Subscriptions and some In-App Purchases cannot normally be restored for free. For detailed information on In-App Purchase types, please read:
iTunes Store: About In-App Purchases
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4009
If you have any questions, or if the magazine providers are unable to assist, please don't hesitate to let me know.
Take care and have a nice day, Christian.
Sincerely,
Matthew
iTunes Store/Mac App Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Thursday-Monday, 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM EST
Lang_Country : en_GB
Product : iPad (3rd generation) Wi-Fi
Support Subject : iTunes Store, App Store or iBookstore
Sub Issue : Unable to download certain content from the App Store
GCRM Case ID : 299096124
See additional info below
Which operating system is installed? iOS 5.x
What version of iTunes is installed on your computer? iTunes 10.6
Choose the iTunes Store or App Store for your country: United Kingdom
Describe the alert message you received: Restoring purchases failed
Details:
I have just bought the new iPad. I have current subscriptions for Everyday Food and Martha Stewart Living magazines. When I go into each magazine in the newsstand, I am prompted to restore purchased material..I say yes - I want to restore - and I enter my password. Each time I get an error message saying 'restoring purchases failed' - it does however allow me to re-download single issues I have bought but not any in a subscription. I also tried to repurchase the items and then I get told that I already have a valid subscription and asks if I want to restore purchases. I click yes but the same problem I already described happens.