A man named Robert Herskowitz has filed a federal class action suit against Apple, alleging that the company ‘double-bills’ for purchases made on iTunes with “troubling regularity” and that the company’s “illegal” policies also apply to other digital stores like the App Store, the iBookstore and the Mac App Store.
Herskowitz seeks an injunction and punitive damages of more than $5 million for a national class, alleging breach of contract, breach of faith, unjust enrichment, unfair competition and business law violations.
Apple violates its own terms of agreement as well as California state and common laws, according to the complaint.
The man claims he bought a single (admittedly crappy) song from the iTunes Store for $1.29, for which Apple charged him twice. He claims that he received the following response from Apple after he lodged a complaint:
“Your request for ‘Whatya 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 Apple’s refund policies and provides protection for copyrighted materials.”
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According to the complaint, Herskowitz asserts that the agreement governing use of Apple’s digital stores “says no such thing.” He claims the policy has “resulted in substantial numbers of Apple customers throughout the country having been double-billed by Apple.”
Apple’s refund policy states that Apple does not provide refunds in the event of a price reduction or promotional offering. Charging twice for a digital song, book or movie does not fall under that policy because its own terms limit it to price discount events only, Herskowitz asserts.
To be continued, no doubt. You can see the full complaint embedded below:
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