There are so many great applications available on the App Store that you can do pretty much everything and anything you could imagine. From being more productive to better managing your finances or sitting back and enjoying some of the best games that iOS has to offer, there really is an app for that.
But sometimes an app doesn’t work as advertised, or just isn’t as great of an app as you thought it might be. In these cases, you might want to try and get a refund so that you won’t be out the few dollars that it cost to get the app or unlock all of the features.
How To Get a Refund for Apps on the iPhone and iPad
While there are many that bemoan the fact that app developers have made the switch to the in-app purchase model, this is actually a good thing. For one, it gives you the ability to test out an app before making a decision as to whether you should shell out your hard-earned cash. But it also helps keep applications actively developed, instead of stagnating and being forgotten.
On the other side of the coin, you might run into a situation where you’ve decided that the app doesn’t work for you and you want a refund. Unfortunately, there’s no “refund purchase” button to be found in the App Store. Instead, Apple makes the process a bit more convoluted, as it requires the refund to be reviewed. Here’s how you can get a refund for apps on the iPhone and iPad that you’ve purchased.
Sign in with the Apple ID used to purchase the app.
Tap on the drop-down box and select Request a Refund.
In the second drop-down box, select a reason for the refund.
Click the Next button.
Scroll until you find the app that you want to get a refund for.
Once the app is selected, tap the Submit button at the top of the webpage.
In the event that going through the steps above results in Apple telling you that you can’t request a refund, this could be a few reasons. The most likely reason is that the charge is still pending, meaning that Apple can’t even try to refund the charge yet. In order to get past this, you’ll just have to wait until after the charge goes through.
How to check Refund Request Status
Now that you’ve requested a refund, you will be able to keep an eye on the status. Because this goes through a review process, there are different stages and steps that are taken in order to ensure that everything is on the “up and up”. After the refund has been requested, here’s how you can check the status:
Sign in with the Apple ID used to request the refund.
Tap Check Status of Claims.
Tap Pending in order to see the status.
Apple states that an update will arrive within 48 hours of the refund request being made. It also may take a bit longer for a decision to be made, depending on your history of refund requests, the app or service in question, and the time of the year.
Andrew is a freelance writer based on the East Coast of the US.
He has written for a variety of sites over the years, including iMore, Android Central, Phandroid, and a few others. Now, he spends his days working for an HVAC company, while moonlighting as a freelance writer at night.
Write a Comment