Buying software and physical goods share a lot of similarities. One of those similarities includes getting refunds. You typically go to the store that the item was purchased from to return it. When it comes to iOS and Mac apps, that’s certainly the case, although the steps to get to the right place aren’t as obvious. The good part is that everything is automated, so you don’t have to spend time talking to a customer support representative just for a simple refund, however your mileage may vary.
Note: As screenshots aren’t provided with this tutorial, please take a look at our video tutorial below for more of a visual walkthrough of the process.
Video Tutorial
Written Tutorial
The refunds will take place in both iTunes as well as your web browser, even for Mac apps.
To start, fire up iTunes, and from the Store menu, look for your account. After entering your username and password, you should now be looking at your account overview.
Under Purchase History, click on See All. It will now load your list of purchases, starting with the latest ones up top. If the app that you want refunded is in the latest purchase set, click on Report a Problem. If it’s in a different order, click on the small arrow to the left of the order date first, and then click on Report a Problem. A Report a Problem option will be available next to each app. Click on Report a Problem for the app that you want refunded. It will then open up your web browser.
Login with your same information to be taken to the support page. From the Choose Problem dropdown, choose the option that best fits your reason to get a refund. For my more recent refunds, I used both “didn’t mean to purchase this item” and “item opens but doesn’t function as expected” with success. After selecting the reason, enter in a description of the issue, making sure to include the word “refund” somewhere in there, such as “therefore, I would like to receive a refund for this app.” Next, click on Submit.
You should be seeing a message that says “your payment method will be issued a refund for this purchase. You should receive this refund in five to seven business days.” Most of my app purchases are made with iTunes credit, and refunds seem to take less than a day to come through.
Feel free to follow Brian and Gadget Unit on Twitter.