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This Apple has sour taste
Updated: November 15, 2012 7:42AM
D ear Fixer: I cannot download any apps on my iPhone. It says my account is disabled.
After I sent a request to the Apple support email address, I received a response from an iTunes adviser who said it appeared that my account had been disabled due to “chargeback orders” they had received from my credit card issuer.
That did not make sense, as I have not charged anything on iTunes for several years.
The rep said they were unable to activate accounts with this sort of issue, but she added that they were working on it and would send me an email. In a follow-up email, the rep said she understood my frustration and added, “I want you to know that you are not alone in this situation.”
They wouldn’t say how they would fix it or when.
Meanwhile, my smartphone is dumb.
James Conlan
Dear James: No doubt something funky was going on with your
iTunes account. You told us that when you looked at your account, there was an unfamiliar credit card listed and purchases made with that card in April seemed to be in Chinese.
Working on the assumption that you hadn’t been learning Chinese and buying iTunes products in your sleep, we assumed your account had been hacked.
Around the same time this was happening to you, Gizmodo.com and other tech news outlets reported that other customers’ accounts had been hacked or placed on lock-down because of security issues.
So the iTunes adviser wasn’t kidding when she said you were not alone.
We sent your info to Apple and you also let them know you had contacted the Chicago Sun-Times.
We never got a response, but soon after, they contacted you directly. You said they kept you on hold for about an hour and a half, then came back on and said your account was fixed — without giving any explanation.
You told us you’re just glad your smartphone isn’t dumb anymore.
Dear Fixer: Last March, I submitted applications for notary public commissions for me and my daughter to the Illinois Notary Federation in Springfield. I sent them a $40 money order for each of us, for a total of $80. The money orders were cashed.
To date, I have not received a processed application nor a refund of my money for my daughter’s application. My application has been processed.
I have called more than 20 times, as well as sent many faxes requesting either the processing of her application or the return of the $40. No one answers the phone, the voice mail system is full and no one responds to faxes, either.
Fixer, will you help?
Renee Wilson
Dear Renee: You told us you only received your notary commission after complaining to the company, and even then it took several months. Your daughter’s application, however, seems to have fallen into the abyss. Our calls and emails to Illinois Notary Federation since mid-October have gone unanswered. Not too surprisingly, they have an “F” rating with the Better Business Bureau. (Hey, Jason Gold, Illinois Notary Federation president: If you’re reading this column, give Renee back her 40 bucks!)
