The App Store run-around

An interesting tale from a customer who bought NetShare from the Apple App Store, decided that the AT&T terms of service agreement breach wasn't worth the effort and asked for a refund.

via HorridVoices

Let me start off by quoting the policy of Nullriver on iPhone app sales:

We offer returns on purchases made via our web site within the last 30 days. This excludes products purchased on the iTunes App Store or any retail store.

Now, until a day or two ago, the last part didn’t exist. I’m guessing it did do to the following story. Until then, it simply said they would refund purchases within 30 days. And on with the story…

So, Netshare made a pretty big splash in the market when it was released. And I, like many iPhone customers, have been biting at the bit to tether my iPhone to my laptop. Netshare looked like just the trick, and I was among the first to buy it.

And then I found out that it was against the AT&T TOS to use it. No biggie says I. I know Nullriver’s web page says they will refund up to 30 days after purchase, and I know Apple can help as well. I don’t want to violate my TOS, so I’ll ask for a refund.

The following was the response I got from Apple on the matter…

I understand that the app you purchased will violate your TOS with AT&T. I know how eager you must be to have this resolved. My name is Andrew and I am more than happy to help you with this.

Unfortunately, in order to have this issue looked into, and resolved you will need to contact NetShare directly, you can contact them from the link below:

http://www.nullriver.com/support

If you have any further questions regarding this issue, please feel free to reply back to this email.

Seemed pretty simple. Apple says it’s up to Nullriver. No problem. I forwarded them Apple’s response, and this is what I received back from Alex Lovett at Nullriver…

Hi whether or not it violates any contract is still being looked into and its not clear in anyway at this point.

Apple should have told you they have a policy of not refunding and we have no say over it, the sale is thru Apple entirely

All we can do is fix bugs, and offer support, otherwise Apples policy is All Sales are Final

…Uh oh, this seems like a grade A run around to me. I replied to Alex pointing out that their website offered a 30 day refund policy, and was told that they were in a rush to get the info on Netshare up, and had no intention of honoring it. It was shortly after that they changed the site to reflect that no App Store purchases would be eligible for refund.

Again, from Alex Lovett at Nullriver:

Ah, the support was set up in a rush and is still being worked on, normally for all our apps we do have a 30 day refund policy, but it is simply not possible to do that with the AppStore as its all operated and handled by Apple, otherwise we would offer it. If you speak to Apple they may grant you a refund/reversal on a one off chance, ive heard of them doing that

So, I thought I’d give Apple on more try. I sent Nullriver’s reply back to Apple, and got the following response from someone only named Andrew…

As previously stated, unfortunately there isn’t anything I can do for you. All iTunes purchases are final, and I am unable to refund you for the app.

You will need to contact NetShare directly, as this is there product and we can do nothing with it. You can contact them from the link below:

http://www.nullriver.com/support

Sincerely,

Andrew
iTunes Store Customer Support

It seems that Apple has a policy that they won’t refund no matter what, even if they have sold an application that violates a contract with their own partner.

Further, it seems Nullriver is nothing but a bunch of liars who can’t afford 10 bucks to make up for their own mistake in offering a refund on their website they won’t actually honor.

In the case of Apple, I can understand their position some. They never said they would give a refund, and they did remove the app from the store, hopefully for good. It seems there is some legal confusion over whether or not this app is legal, and that probably got it through the vetting process until someone higher up pulled it.

In the case of Nullriver, I can’t understand at all. I know if it were me, and I realized I made a mistake in what I offered for a refund on my web site, I’d have done everything I could to honor the refund, change my site, and not look like a liar to my customer base.

I guess Nullriver doesn’t care at all about what their customers think of them, but be warned, these guys have no intention of honoring anything they say, so long as they get your money.

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