Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against Apple Over iTunes 'Double-Billing' Customers

[Phillip Swanson]

Whoever said it’s lonely on top never saw the inside of courtroom.

Apple is on the other end of another class-action lawsuit accusing Cupertino’s finest of double billing customers for purchases made via iTunes.

New York resident Robert Herskowitz filed the suit alleging Apple charged him twice for purchasing the pop song single “Whataya Want from Me?” by Adam Lambart. Hopefully the judge presiding over the case has decent taste in music and throws the case out.

Jokes aside, the lawsuit claims Lambart immediately contacted Apple after discovering the song had been double-billed. Lambart received the usual automated response informing him his request was being reviewed and that Apple would send a “personal response soon.”

Below is the alleged “personal” response.

Your request for a refund for “Whataya Want from Me” was carefully considered; however, according to the iTunes Store Terms of Sale, all purchases made on the iTunes Store are ineligible for refund. This policy matches App1e’s refund policies and provides protection for copyrighted materials. — Apple

The lawsuit claims:

“Apple has ‘double billed’ customers for purchases made through the Apple Stores. Even more troubling, Apple has implemented a policy and practice of refusing to refund the extra charge to customers who have been over-billed, causing their credit cards or PayPal accounts to be billed twice for a purchase...

This is what happened to Plaintiff Robert Herskowitz. On or about December 2, 2010, Mr. Herskowitz purchased twenty-two songs from the iTunes Store. However, Apple double-billed Plaintiff for one of his selections, a ‘pop’ song entitled, ‘Whataya Want from Me.” In other words, Apple billed Mr. Herskowitz a total of $2.58 for a song that cost $1.29 to download.”

What is unclear is if Herskowitz accidentally purchased the song twice on his own volition, only later noticing the error or not. Still, Apple’s lack of an explicit return policy leaves holes open for class action lawsuits like this to gain traction. The lawsuit is looking for no less than $5 million in restitution for those involved.

Source: Justia.com

[smoothcreak]

I didn't know Lambart was the one complaining.
Jokes aside, the lawsuit claims Lambart immediately contacted Apple after discovering the song had been double-billed. Lambart received the usual automated response informing him his request was being reviewed and that Apple would send a “personal response soon.”

[FTFlintstone]

Whoever said it’s lonely on top never saw the inside of courtroom.

Apple is on the other end of another class-action lawsuit accusing Cupertino’s finest of double billing customers for purchases made via iTunes.

New York resident Robert Herskowitz filed the suit alleging Apple charged him twice for purchasing the pop song single “Whataya Want from Me?” by Adam Lambart. Hopefully the judge presiding over the case has decent taste in music and throws the case out.

Jokes aside, the lawsuit claims Lambart immediately contacted Apple after discovering the song had been double-billed. Lambart received the usual automated response informing him his request was being reviewed and that Apple would send a “personal response soon.”

Below is the alleged “personal” response.



The lawsuit claims:



What is unclear is if Herskowitz accidentally purchased the song twice on his own volition, only later noticing the error or not. Still, Apple’s lack of an explicit return policy leaves holes open for class action lawsuits like this to gain traction. The lawsuit is looking for no less than $5 million in restitution for those involved.

Source: Justia.com

Lambart contacted Apple?

[fbiryujin]

I've been double billed a few times in the various parts of the iTunes system. (apps, movies, and music to be precise) Sometimes it was my fault, other times it was a glitch, or a mistake on Apple's end. I can tell you that EVERY time, not most, not some, not all but one, but EVERY time I've called and told them about a double billing (even for a double billing of something that's 99¢) I've had a refund issued for the second billing. Once I was even given some video download credits (1 credit = a single tv episode, or music video. No movies though) as an apology for the mistake, and the hassle. If this guy was not issued a refund, then based on my experience with iTunes customer service, I doubt he was due one. This lawsuit should be thrown out IMHO.

FYI: Every time I visit ModMyI I have issues seeing the comments. This occurs on Macs, and PCs across Chrome, Safari, and Firefox (no add-ons) I may not respond to this thread, because I may not be able to see the comment responding to this post. If I don't answer, feel free to PM me if you want a discussion.

[Cer0]

FYI: Every time I visit ModMyI I have issues seeing the comments. This occurs on Macs, and PCs across Chrome, Safari, and Firefox (no add-ons) I may not respond to this thread, because I may not be able to see the comment responding to this post. If I don't answer, feel free to PM me if you want a discussion.

This is an issue with how VB does front page articles. If you click the link at the bottom of article to see original thread then you can see full comments.

[DaCodec]

Happened to me, I called and was denied a refund. I just very, very rarely made future purchases on iTunes.

[baRRy boRRis]

The lawsuit is looking for no less than $5 million in restitution for those involved.

Does that mean that he is oping to get $5M from Apple?! For getting over charged $1.29? What is wrong with this guy?!

[Jimmu]

Does that mean that he is oping to get $5M from Apple?! For getting over charged $1.29? What is wrong with this guy?!

It's a 'Class Action' i.e. more than one litigant.

[zrevai]

It's a 'Class Action' i.e. more than one litigant.

Except in most class actions 90% or more of the settlement amount goes to the initial plaintiff and their attorneys. The attorneys will also keep a majority of their % and leave Mr. Herkowitz with a few thousand dollars for his trouble. Nobody but the attorney wins in most class actions asking for crazy huge damages.

[Jimmu]

Except in most class actions 90% or more of the settlement amount goes to the initial plaintiff and their attorneys. The attorneys will also keep a majority of their % and leave Mr. Herkowitz with a few thousand dollars for his trouble. Nobody but the attorney wins in most class actions asking for crazy huge damages.

This may be so where you come from/reside. It is certainly not, necessarily the case worldwide.

[bigboyz]

Wow..not good at all! If Apple looks back on your account and you are double billed, its a no brainer to refund the customer as you only need to purchase an application once. Im not really sure how you PAY for an app twice..? If someone has time please explain. Usually says INSTALLED when you have purchased an app..must be tapping the BUY button twice or quickly..definitely glitchy sounding.

[redstar299]

Use American Express and put a stop payment on the credit card. No way Amex is gonna allow Apple to double charge you I don't care what there terms and conditions are

[Taz1981]

Ummmm............ Typo

"New York resident Robert Herskowitz filed the suit alleging Apple...."

"Jokes aside, the lawsuit claims Lambart immediately contacted Apple after discovering the song had been double-billed. Lambart received the usual automated response informing him his request was being reviewed and that Apple would send a “personal response soon.”

[cmwade77]

I have only been double billed once and I emailed Apple and they refunded it and gave me credit for a movie rental. So, I really think this may not have merit.

Now, the one that does is where accounts were being charged when people didn't make purchases.

[szr]

What is unclear is if Herskowitz accidentally purchased the song twice on his own volition

It should not allow one to purchase the same item more than once. Once it's purchased once, it should have prompted that it had already been purchased and if he would like to download it again (if it hasn't already been downloaded.) If did not prompt and instead charged him again, then this would constitute a flaw in Apple's online ordering system, and the if Apple really is refusing to issue a refund for the extraneous chargers, then it would appear that the lawsuit has merit, even if it only serves to get Apple to admit there may be a problem (if there indeed is one) and rectify it, rather than be allowed to just shrug it off (even even it is such a small amount; what if it happened to something like a TomTom app, which can easily run around $99 USD.)

[zrevai]

It should not allow one to purchase the same item more than once. Once it's purchased once, it should have prompted that it had already been purchased and if he would like to download it again (if it hasn't already been downloaded.) If did not prompt and instead charged him again, then this would constitute a flaw in Apple's online ordering system, and the if Apple really is refusing to issue a refund for the extraneous chargers, then it would appear that the lawsuit has merit, even if it only serves to get Apple to admit there may be a problem (if there indeed is one) and rectify it, rather than be allowed to just shrug it off (even even it is such a small amount; what if it happened to something like a TomTom app, which can easily run around $99 USD.)

Is everyone forgetting that until the iPad 2 was released, and more to the point iOS 4.3, that the only thing Apple allowed to be re-downloaded without extra charges was Apps. The ability to download previously purchased music, tv, and movies was only fully available once icloud was fully deployed and for movies that was just last month!!!

In 2010 when this happened if you purchased a song and it didn't download fully, clicking the purchase button to try and get it to download would charge you a second time.
That changed for music when they implemented the first beta phase of what would become icloud shortly after iOS 4.3.3 was released.

So really this guy just didn't know how things worked when he made the mistake of buying a song twice. Also why bring suit after your issue has been fixed?? I hope the judge/jury awards the guy his $1.29 refund which is all he is due.

[djdraco]

I would have double charged for that song too, even would have sent a messenger to beat him over the head. Who the heck listens to that? And why is apple spelled App1e? Since when did Cupertino start using leet?

[alanjf]

Is everyone forgetting that until the iPad 2 was released, and more to the point iOS 4.3, that the only thing Apple allowed to be re-downloaded without extra charges was Apps. The ability to download previously purchased music, tv, and movies was only fully available once icloud was fully deployed and for movies that was just last month!!!

In 2010 when this happened if you purchased a song and it didn't download fully, clicking the purchase button to try and get it to download would charge you a second time.
That changed for music when they implemented the first beta phase of what would become icloud shortly after iOS 4.3.3 was released.

So really this guy just didn't know how things worked when he made the mistake of buying a song twice. Also why bring suit after your issue has been fixed?? I hope the judge/jury awards the guy his $1.29 refund which is all he is due.

This isn't 2010. I don't recall being charged again just to download what was already purchased, and I seem to recall that this was the case long before iOS 4.3.3. Also, this is about iTunes, not iOS.

[zrevai]

This isn't 2010. I don't recall being charged again just to download what was already purchased, and I seem to recall that this was the case long before iOS 4.3.3. Also, this is about iTunes, not iOS.

Exactly I'm referring to the iTunes app on iOS. And I know it's not 2010, but the guy in this article is complaining about a purchase made in 2010. Which is before Apple let you re-download music and would charge you twice if you clicked the purchase button twice or however many times you kept pressing it!!!

Until iTunes 10.3 beta, and iOS 4.3.3 there was no way to re-download music.

Apple offers preview of iCloud music feature

[ohthatguyagain]

All sales are final has been the policy for all digital media and software for at least two decades. This case has no merit. The user agreed to those terms.