Previously Purchased Items Not Available Due to Billing Issue

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

I have 4K movies on my Plex server. The server has 80TB storage and each movie is around 50-100GB. I have no issues streaming locally with Infuse my 4K movies.

Hi DarkSorrow82 - that's incredible and super cool to know! Damn, those files are huge 🙂

 

[Rigby]

Paramount/Disney did this with the original Marvels Movies before Disney finalized the purchase they were removed from Vudu, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Google Play before they were put back out later that year under Disney.

They were not removed from people's libraries. I have a digital copy of Iron Man 2 and it is still in my library to this day (and even was upgraded to HD when DMA launched).

 

[Dobbs2]

They were not removed from people's libraries. I have a digital copy of Iron Man 2 and it is still in my library to this day (and even was upgraded to HD when DMA launched).

Paramount MCU movies were removed for a few weeks then added back after contracts, negotiations, and distributing rights were finalized from all those services I mentioned. All of those services have done this time, and time again with different movies. Heck when studios have released a bad "digital copy" for whatever reason they have removed movies then put them back on those services when they submitted a correct, and working version.

 

[Rigby]

Paramount MCU movies were removed for a few weeks then added back after contracts, negotiations, and distributing rights were finalized from all those services I mentioned.

They were temporarily removed from the store, not from the libraries of existing owners. They were also removed from UV (because Disney doesn't support UV), but were still in the users' libraries at iTunes, Vudu, or wherever they had originally redeemed or purchased the movies.

All of those services have done this time, and time again with different movies. Heck when studios have released a bad "digital copy" for whatever reason they have removed movies then put them back on those services when they submitted a correct, and working version.

And that is a problem how?

 

[oneMadRssn]

I remember going to Blockbuster and all their copies of the movie I wanted to see were out; happened pretty often. Sometimes you just can't watch the movie you want. The medium changed, but this is still a truism.

 

[Dobbs2]

They were temporarily removed from the store, not from the libraries of existing owners. They were also removed from UV (because Disney doesn't support UV), but were still in the users' libraries at iTunes, Vudu, or wherever they had originally redeemed or purchased the movies.
And that is a problem how?

Actually they were removed from libraries temporarily if they were not backed up locally at the time because it happened to me, and I sent emails to apple support when it happened. I sat down to watch Captain America, and I could not download it, or stream it. It was the only Marvel Movie at the time I didn't have downloaded (I had bought it the week before started the download and paused it). Apple Support explained to me why it was removed because of legality issues. Apple had put it in the "Hidden Movies" and it was locked in there till Disney approved for it to come back out a few weeks/months later.

Streaming from the cloud wasn't an option for purchased movies in 2011-2012. It was only for rented movies at that time. You could only stream from local iTunes at that time. So yes it was removed from my library.

Here's a bookmark from that time.

https://discussions.apple.com/message/15427342#15427342

 

[herodirector]

I get my credit card blocked temporarly, have a new computer, I can't install anything anymore from Apple store,
free programs, tons of purchase I did in the past, and I see I can't even synch my music anymore, all the albums I bought...

I bought and own all of those, I should have access to them anytime, basically Apple keep doing bad product and now even bad softwares (itunes) they just don't give a f+++ anymore about their customers.

I should have access to my content I previously paid, it just commun sense, but obviously this kind of thinking already been gone at apple since very very long time.

APPLE SUCKS.

 

[Theresa123]

iTunes Store <iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com> Response

iTunes Store <iTunesStoreSupport@apple.com>
2013-05-13 10:12 AM


Dear Rusty,

Thank you for contacting iTunes Store customer support team. My name is Judith and it will be my pleasure to assist you today. I understand that you are temporarily unable to stream your previously purchased item from cloud, nor re-download them due to a billing issue with one of your orders. I understand how this can be frustrating and I can't blame you for that.

I apologize for the inconvenience it may cause you; however, as per iTunes policy, downloading of past purchases or downloading of new purchases, as well as updating any purchases are impeded by outstanding balances. As soon as the order is paid (6.87 USD) you will be able to resume downloading.

If would like to voice your feedback and suggestion on this issue, I encourage you to use the iTunes Feedback page to submit your comments here:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/itunesapp.html

By taking the time to contact Apple about your concerns, you provide valuable input on how to make iTunes better for everyone. Apple recognizes that no one is better qualified to provide feedback about iTunes than the people who use it. Your email may make the difference.

While you will not receive a response from this department, please be assured that the advisors who review all of our patron's concerns do take these matters seriously. The more feedback we gather on these issues, the better and more likely to incite changes. Your efforts to share your feedback are very much appreciated.

Thank you for your patience and understanding in this matter, Rusty. Your experience is very important to us and we truly appreciate your support to the iTunes Store. Please let me know if there is anything else I can assist you with.

Sincerely,

Judith
iTunes Store/Mac App Store Customer Support
www.apple.com/support/itunes/ww/

Please Note: I work Sunday-Thursday, 9:00AM-6:00PM EST

I’m a little confused. If our card is declined you are allowed to take back what we have already purchased? I’m sorry no I paid for that app I own it. It is mine. You taking it back is stealing from me.

 

[TiggrToo]

I’m a little confused. If our card is declined you are allowed to take back what we have already purchased? I’m sorry no I paid for that app I own it. It is mine. You taking it back is stealing from me.

1. It's not an app, it's a movie.
2. You don't 'own' apps, you own a license to use the app pursuant to the vendors and Apples EULA.
3. ALL users who've purchased a license (be it App, music, books or movies) from Apple have agreed to these terms and conditions.
4. Apple further state that it's the users responsibility to keep downloads as Apple are not legally required to offer it as a download again, especially if their rights to host it are removed.

 

[Tech198]

easier said than done with Apple... its not permanent storage that u keep forever.

Try downloading the movie to Mac with iTunes then playing offline. That should work at least, and if it does you can Airplay it.

Probably the only option, apart from just sorting out whatever went wrong with Apple

 

[seanrt]

Paramount MCU movies were removed for a few weeks then added back after contracts, negotiations, and distributing rights were finalized from all those services I mentioned. All of those services have done this time, and time again with different movies. Heck when studios have released a bad "digital copy" for whatever reason they have removed movies then put them back on those services when they submitted a correct, and working version.

Weird issue tonight, my past purchases (no longer for sale for a few years) are giving an unblemished to load error with dismiss button) they played yesterday and earlier I could still get into the episode list. The titles are from various Studios.

 

[brooksyb]

I get my credit card blocked temporarly, have a new computer, I can't install anything anymore from Apple store,
free programs, tons of purchase I did in the past, and I see I can't even synch my music anymore, all the albums I bought...

I bought and own all of those, I should have access to them anytime, basically Apple keep doing bad product and now even bad softwares (itunes) they just don't give a f+++ anymore about their customers.

I should have access to my content I previously paid, it just commun sense, but obviously this kind of thinking already been gone at apple since very very long time.

APPLE SUCKS.

Created an account just to reply in this thread. I have fought apple tooth and nail on this thing. This is flat out robbery and has to be illegal to some extent. But lets take this a step further.

Apple will not allow updates to my already purchased paid for in full applications right? What if one of these updates is a critical?! Apple is not allowing this critical update for an app I have already paid in full for - and because I did not get the critical update my GPU was fried or a backdoor was left open and my identity was stolen or a number of other things that I would consider to be of liability to Apple at this point. This is ******** on apple. Like I told the last service rep: "Yes ma'am..... I understand. Now do you understand that I'm going to go torrent every piece of apple software I can find? I am going to steal all kinds of **** from y'all"

 

[JoePutman4]

.... I'd say that logic would be about the same as repossessing someone's car the day after they miss a payment. Extreme? Yes. But a fair analogy...

I would say a better analogy is the bank repossessed seen three cars that you paid off because you’re a day behind on the payment on a brand new car.

This just happened to me over a three dollar bill which would be easy enough to solve to get access to my nearly 300 paid movies and 500 paid albums.

I went to post this because of the people that undoubtedly are out there who may find themselves on day unable to pay $20 and forever lose access to the several hundred dollars worth of movies that they may have purchased over the last number of years. This is indeed a wrong-headed rule of Apple’s.

Furthermore, their contracts with the rights holders should allow for any purchases to be downloaded or strained forever, not just during a period in which they have the right to sell the movie.
[doublepost=1532360764][/doublepost]

Time and time again, none of this would be a problem if people kept proper offline backups of all their purchased content. You paid good money for the file, why be stingy about a few gigs of hard drive space for it?

Also, this situation here is exactly why "the cloud" is not the be-all end-all solution to all out technology problems. Even for leisure activity such as watching movies, I don't want to cede control of my files to the whims of someone else. A few large external hard drives or a proper NAS are cheap cheap cheap compared to all the headache they prevent.

If you had read the posts, people are complaining about this because they have AppleTV which has no way to download them permanently store the movies. While most people who have an Apple TV may own a computer, Apple has an ethical responsibility to make these movies available after they are paid to those who own an Apple TV.
[doublepost=1532361194][/doublepost]

Did you notice that post was 4.5 years ago? Things have changed a little bit because of other services have changed their practices for streaming.

This is 2018 and the policy is still intact today. Undoubtedly it was in tact in 2017 when you posted this. It is bad policy and I am quite sure that Apple could successfully be sued for billions of dollars in a class action over it. It doesn’t matter what the terms and conditions say if it is unclear to the consumers when they make the purchase. That’s a matter of US consumer law.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

.... I'd say that logic would be about the same as repossessing someone's car the day after they miss a payment. Extreme? Yes. But a fair analogy...

I would say a better analogy is the bank repossessed seen three cars that you paid off because you’re a day behind on the payment on a brand new car.

This just happened to me over a three dollar bill which would be easy enough to solve to get access to my nearly 300 paid movies and 500 paid albums.

I went to post this because of the people that undoubtedly are out there who may find themselves on day unable to pay $20 and forever lose access to the several hundred dollars worth of movies that they may have purchased over the last number of years. This is indeed a wrong-headed rule of Apple’s.

Furthermore, their contracts with the rights holders should allow for any purchases to be downloaded or strained forever, not just during a period in which they have the right to sell the movie.
[doublepost=1532360764][/doublepost]

If you had read the posts, people are complaining about this because they have AppleTV which has no way to download them permanently store the movies. While most people who have an Apple TV may own a computer, Apple has an ethical responsibility to make these movies available after they are paid to those who own an Apple TV.
[doublepost=1532361194][/doublepost]




Whilst Apple & iTunes seems way more reliable than Amazon and Google in this case, it's an area that Apple needs to sort out 100% with the distributors etc and my God, they need to sort it out fast. When films/music videos go missing, it's Apple's image and name that is severely tarnished not the film distributor.


[doublepost=1532375279][/doublepost]

.... I'd say that logic would be about the same as repossessing someone's car the day after they miss a payment. Extreme? Yes. But a fair analogy...

I would say a better analogy is the bank repossessed seen three cars that you paid off because you’re a day behind on the payment on a brand new car.

This just happened to me over a three dollar bill which would be easy enough to solve to get access to my nearly 300 paid movies and 500 paid albums.

I went to post this because of the people that undoubtedly are out there who may find themselves on day unable to pay $20 and forever lose access to the several hundred dollars worth of movies that they may have purchased over the last number of years. This is indeed a wrong-headed rule of Apple’s.

Furthermore, their contracts with the rights holders should allow for any purchases to be downloaded or strained forever, not just during a period in which they have the right to sell the movie.
[doublepost=1532360764][/doublepost]

If you had read the posts, people are complaining about this because they have AppleTV which has no way to download them permanently store the movies. While most people who have an Apple TV may own a computer, Apple has an ethical responsibility to make these movies available after they are paid to those who own an Apple TV.
[doublepost=1532361194][/doublepost]

This is 2018 and the policy is still intact today. Undoubtedly it was in tact in 2017 when you posted this. It is bad policy and I am quite sure that Apple could successfully be sued for billions of dollars in a class action over it. It doesn’t matter what the terms and conditions say if it is unclear to the consumers when they make the purchase. That’s a matter of US consumer law.

I truly agree with this. I recommend Apple TV to friends, many of whom do not own computers and will be buying iTunes films simply for use with the Apple TV 4K. Same with many friends of mine who own iPhones but again, not computers etc. (Also you CANNOT download 4K iTunes film so you rely 100% on Apple's servers which Apple TV is really marketed for using).
Whilst Apple & iTunes seems way more reliable than Amazon and Google in this case, it's an area that Apple needs to sort out 100% with the distributors etc and my God, they need to sort it out fast. When films/music videos go missing, it's Apple's image and name that is severely tarnished not the film distributor.

HOWEVER, after all of this, I'd NEVER go back to DVD/BluRay from the olden days and feel happy buying film from iTunes and Vimeo (who are truly wonderful to deal with BTW).

 

[cjcampbell]

Apple is still doing this scam. This is a violation of interstate commerce laws and federal consumer laws. Using the same logic, I could go and confiscate Tim Cook’s house because they have denied me access to content that I have already paid for.

Apple is not afraid of being sued. It is time to press criminal charges. Having Mr. Cook perp-walked on national TV for conspiracy to commit fraud just might bring about a few changes in policy there.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Apple is still doing this scam. This is a violation of interstate commerce laws and federal consumer laws. Using the same logic, I could go and confiscate Tim Cook’s house because they have denied me access to content that I have already paid for.

Apple is not afraid of being sued. It is time to press criminal charges. Having Mr. Cook perp-walked on national TV for conspiracy to commit fraud just might bring about a few changes in policy there.

Speaking from experience, I don't think that Apple are bothered. Their main aim is selling and money.

 

[Mlrollin91]

Apple is still doing this scam. This is a violation of interstate commerce laws and federal consumer laws. Using the same logic, I could go and confiscate Tim Cook’s house because they have denied me access to content that I have already paid for.

Apple is not afraid of being sued. It is time to press criminal charges. Having Mr. Cook perp-walked on national TV for conspiracy to commit fraud just might bring about a few changes in policy there.

It is not a scam and it most certainly does not violate any federal or state law. Want to know why? Because you agreed to their Terms and Conditions. Its actually stated in the terms and conditions that they reserve the right to suspend your account/purchases in the event of a billing error. Once you correct the error, they will release your purchases.

Nothing here violates any law. Not contract law, not constitutional law and certainly not criminal law. I would advise you of taking a few law classes before throwing out statements like this.

Additionally, your parallel argument makes absolutely zero sense.

 

[Shegacha]

This is an ongoing customer support thread with Apple:

Lang_Country : en_US
Product : iTunes Store
Support Subject : Purchases, Billing & Redemption
Sub Issue : Previously Purchased Items Not Available
GCRM Case ID : 444391591
See additional info below
Choose the iTunes Store or App Store for your country: United States
Item title: Princess and the Frog
Order number: M2M768ZT3Z
Details:
This weekend we attempted to watch The Princess and the Frog. We purchased this movie on April 21st, 2013. When we tried to watch this movie we were told that a billing issue on our account was preventing us from watching the movie.

Apparently we have had a bit of a billing snafu this last week and an item we tried to purchase did not go through billing. I apologize for this and will correct this problem on Wednesday when I get paid. That being said, it seems unreasonable that Apple would prevent me from viewing a completely different item that has already been paid for. I accept, and completely agree, that you would block the item that failed a billing attempt and even block future purchases. However to block the download, playing, or otherwise interacting with an item already bought and paid for is wrong. In fact one could argue it borders on fraud or theft.

I am asking that Apple amend their policies and procedures around the way they handle failed purchases to block only:
a. The content attempted to purchase
b. Future purchases

While I will correct my billing mistake, again genuinely sorry we LOVE your tech and services, I must make a stand against the current method used to force customer compliance. While I am sure it is effective, it is not fair and I am certain not legal. I will be making this request public knowledge and will be pursuing this change vigorously.

[doublepost=1535497307][/doublepost]I have the same problem and agree completely!
I feel like it is so wrong not to be able to watch movies that we bought and not cheaply and should belong to us to watch. No matter about a billing problem that has nothing to do with the purchased movie!

 

[UNDERD0G]

[doublepost=1535497307][/doublepost]
I have the same problem and agree completely!
I feel like it is so wrong not to be able to watch movies that we bought and not cheaply and should belong to us to watch. No matter about a billing problem that has nothing to do with the purchased movie!

I can see both sides of this however, I do believe this is Apple‘s way of strong arming people into making payments they’re responsible for. The Apple iTunes system definitely needs modifications to make these movie purchases more consumer friendly.
The problem is there are too many digital licensing issues surrounding content and makes for a very complicated way of “owning” movies, music, apps etc.

 

[Ledqueen12live.com]

YES YOU'RE SLOW. Here's the simple black and white of it. YOU buy a movie with iTunes a year ago...no problem. Then one day, your card isn't working or you need to update your credit card info, or something. iTunes is preventing you from streaming movies you have ALREADY BOUGHT until your balance is paid or your account is brought current. That is BS. Why should your entire account be frozen because of one upaid situation. You already bought and paid for your entire library. They should only limit you with what you want moving forward until your balance is paid. I am facing this now. My card has been changed and I can't watch anything until a new card is in the mail. BS

I agree completely and yet it’s 2018 and nothing has changed🙁
It’s comparable to purchasing a hard case DVD in a store with a credit card, going home and 2 weeks later deciding to view that DVD but the original card you used to purchase it is either,maxed out or declined and somehow that DVD just won’t seem to play.
Now that’s fraud because the 1st initial business exchange was already completed with receipt in hand.
Then again the devil is in the details and if iTunes presents full disclosure,
then in fact we are agreeing to their bogus terms🙁
Cheers!

 

[UNDERD0G]

I agree completely and yet it’s 2018 and nothing has changed🙁
It’s comparable to purchasing a hard case DVD in a store with a credit card, going home and 2 weeks later deciding to view that DVD but the original card you used to purchase it is either,maxed out or declined and somehow that DVD just won’t seem to play.
Now that’s fraud because the 1st initial business exchange was already completed with receipt in hand.
Then again the devil is in the details and if iTunes presents full disclosure,
then in fact we are agreeing to their bogus terms🙁
Cheers!

[doublepost=1544722246][/doublepost]That’s exactly accurate however, as you said in the intrest of full disclosure Apple has covered themselves in the “contract” your agreed to upon using said iTunes service. On another note there’s still the law of the land in which us pee-on’s occasionally get an upper hand at. So, unless someone high up in power changes this,or enough people complaining then it’s Undoubtedly going to continue this way because too much of it is subjective .

 

[seanrt]

They were not removed from people's libraries. I have a digital copy of Iron Man 2 and it is still in my library to this day (and even was upgraded to HD when DMA launched).

Every iTunes purchase I’ve made dating back many years is still available to me. Even titles no longer in the store for sale. That includes over 80 Tv series and close to 200 movies. A good example is Halloween 4. There is a current version with different artwork and license now for sale, but my prior copy that I got with original artwork and different license holder is still in my library to stream or download.
I do find it necessary to occasionally redownload episodes and movies as iTunes will make an update to the file. I have a lot of Hanna-Barbera titles purchased between 2010 and 2015, that will show an encode date of say 2017 with better compression, image and sound. I wish iTunes would alert you when there is an update to the file you currently have downloaded.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

Every iTunes purchase I’ve made dating back many years is still available to me. Even titles no longer in the store for sale. That includes over 80 Tv series and close to 200 movies. A good example is Halloween 4. There is a current version with different artwork and license now for sale, but my prior copy that I got with original artwork and different license holder is still in my library to stream or download.
I do find it necessary to occasionally redownload episodes and movies as iTunes will make an update to the file. I have a lot of Hanna-Barbera titles purchased between 2010 and 2015, that will show an encode date of say 2017 with better compression, image and sound. I wish iTunes would alert you when there is an update to the file you currently have downloaded.

That's really great to know buddy. The only things that i've lost are: 1 movie from an independent company (even though it's still for sale in iTunes) and 2 music videos purchased from iTunes.

 

[Weiser878]

4. Apple further state that it's the users responsibility to keep downloads as Apple are not legally required to offer it as a download again, especially if their rights to host it are removed.

I ran into this with almost $400 worth of music purchased from
iTunes in 2014 and 15. The albums and collections were removed from the store by the original artists, and I no longer have access to them.

With these and movies the problem is I don’t have a computer on which to download them. I have an iPhone, I have an iPad and I have an Apple TV. Even though I had them downloaded to my old iPhone, when I got a new iPhone it was only able to re-download music that was still hosted in the iTunes Store. That’s how I lost all those albums.

I cannot download them to keep, and I can’t download movies to my Apple TV
Without the ability to download to the device, and without the ability to transfer those downloads through my own iCloud subscription it’s a very flawed system indeed.

 

[BODYBUILDERPAUL]

I ran into this with almost $400 worth of music purchased from
iTunes in 2014 and 15. The albums and collections were removed from the store by the original artists, and I no longer have access to them.

With these and movies the problem is I don’t have a computer on which to download them. I have an iPhone, I have an iPad and I have an Apple TV. Even though I had them downloaded to my old iPhone, when I got a new iPhone it was only able to re-download music that was still hosted in the iTunes Store. That’s how I lost all those albums.

I cannot download them to keep, and I can’t download movies to my Apple TV
Without the ability to download to the device, and without the ability to transfer those downloads through my own iCloud subscription it’s a very flawed system indeed.

It is flawed and it's dishonest. To me, it's theft. No wonder people illegally stream or download film or music - it's absolutely no different except big companies have dirty lawyers to lie for them.

VERY UNUSUAL to have lost so many albums. Something nor right there and maybe a call to Apple will fix this. One or two yes but not 400dollars worth.

The chances are Apple don't care about this matter due to the fact that they have Apple Music and probably a film streaming service soon. It's rare for films to disappear from the cloud but it does happen and here in the UK, many titles get removed from the iTunes store to purchase and some never return - The Rebound film got removed in 2014 and has never returned, Visual Acoustics got removed last week even though Google & Amazon still sell it.

Sometimes music gets removed when it changes label. In the UK, the ENTIRE S.O.S. Band catalogue has been removed 10-15 albums although it's still available in the US.

My advice, if you buy music from iTunes, make sure that you download it. It's rare for tracks to be removed from the Cloud but it does happen - it happened to my 'deluxe' edition of Jackson Waters and sadly, it's no longer in the Apple Cloud and George Michael's deluxe edition of Faith which included music videos got removed.

My advice - if you love it - Download it!