{"id":34378,"date":"2021-12-07T17:00:23","date_gmt":"2021-12-07T22:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/?p=34378"},"modified":"2025-04-08T10:15:34","modified_gmt":"2025-04-08T14:15:34","slug":"apple-accounts-permanently-blocked","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mjtsai.com\/blog\/2021\/12\/07\/apple-accounts-permanently-blocked\/","title":{"rendered":"Apple Accounts “Permanently” Blocked"},"content":{"rendered":"

Quinn Comendant<\/a> (Hacker News<\/a>, Reddit<\/a>, 2<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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Apple permanently disabled my account today. I’ve lost access to $1200+ of apps that I have purchased through the App Store, my App Store balance, and my music collection of thousands of CDs uploaded to iTunes Match.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

Support unblocked my account again. Both times, they said they were unable to tell me why the account was blocked, except that I had violated the iTunes terms and conditions.<\/p>\n

Hours later, my account was blocked for a 3rd time. I called Apple, and they said my account is now permanently blocked. They said there is nothing they can do, and suggested that I create a new Apple ID and start over.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

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The Apple Engineer I spoke to was confident, “Nobody at Apple can unblock your account.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Apple Support<\/a>:<\/p>\n

This message is a well-known error that can pop up for multiple reasons. If you’d like to regain access to the App Store and iTunes Store, please contact our billing experts for further assistance.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Quinn Comendant<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I escalated to a senior advisor, who spoke with the iTunes fraud department, and confirmed my account was flagged for using too many gift cards on my account. I explained that the gift cards were purchased legitimately, and I could send receipts. They said there is nothing they can do, and suggested that I create a new Apple ID and start over. It is odd that my account was blocked repeatedly over a couple days, even though the last gift card I applied to my account was Nov 29.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Quinn Comendant<\/a>:<\/p>\n

I purchased [11] gift cards directly from Apple, Amazon, Target, and Citi slowly over the course of two months[…]<\/p>\n

I buy them when Amazon and Target have discounts such as “Get $15 Amazon credit with the purchase of a $100 Apple Gift Card”, or “Get 15% discount when you apply Membership Rewards Points towards your order”. The gift cards sold from Amazon and Target are authentic, full-price gift cards.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n

Quinn Comendant<\/a>:<\/p>\n

\n

I received a call from Isabela with Apple’s Corporate Executive Relations, who explained that my account was blocked in error “because of a glitch” affecting more than a few users. She said they’re working with engineering to fix the problem.<\/p>\n

[…]<\/p>\n

The real glitch is not the algo, but rather Apple’s obstinance and lack of recourse. I shouldn’t have had to go to the length I did to get this resolved. Apple should have immediately passed my case to an internal investigation team with whom I could have disputed my case.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Mere Civilian<\/a> (Hacker News<\/a>):<\/p>\n

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A few months ago, the balance on my Apple account was running low (less than $100), and therefore, I attempted to add funds to my account using my credit card<\/a>. My first attempt resulted in an error, and I decided to try again in a couple of days. The very next day, all my Apple devices gave the following prompt when updating apps from the App Store: “Your Account Has Been Disabled in the App Store and iTunes.”<\/em><\/p>\n

I called Apple Support and was advised that my account has been permanently disabled, and there is no recourse. Apple alleges that I breached the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions<\/a>. Despite asking what exactly I did for Apple to terminate my over 10-year relationship with Apple, the answer provided was, please read the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions. I then asked what does Apple recommend I do. Apple Support representative said: “Create a new account and start from fresh”. This means I have lost all my app and media purchases and the funds in my Apple account.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

Via Dave Mark<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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This was interesting (and worth reading) on a number of fronts. Part of this is the hoops the poster had to jump through to try to find out why their account was disabled, and the fact that they never did get that info.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

As with Comendant:<\/p>\n\n

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Towards the end of the week, a kind soul from Tim Cook’s executive team reached out to me and indicated that he would look into my case. A feeling of hope and joy quickly overcame me. He worked behind the scenes with the relevant teams, and within two weeks, my account was enabled and was working.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n

But no explanation as to why this happened to him. It surely will again to someone else.<\/p>\n\n

To the extent possible, don’t put all your eggs in one basket. And don’t take support’s “no” for an answer.<\/p>\n\n

Previously:<\/p>\n