Reading these messages, I am reminded of computer software throughout
the past 30 years.
When you purchase a program on disk in a store, the policy is, and has
been for the past 30 years, that if you open the packaging, you cannot
return the program. I wasted many dollars purchasing software that
turned out to be inaccessible. Very occasionally, I was able to convince
the shop to refund my money, but usually I was out of luck.
The real question is why has our computer culture been like this for at
least the previous 30 years? The answer is, software piracy. In the
beginning of computer usage, when disks took the place of punch cards,
people figured out how to exactly duplicate software. So, they would
purchase the program disk, take it home, open it, copy it, return the
disk to the store, say it did not meet their needs, get a refund, and
return home to use their now free software. The more enterprising
amongst them would share the software, or even sell the software. This
is otherwise known as piracy, and it is very big business. Oh, and save
for a few business enterprise exceptions, most purchased computer
software cannot be returned, even if it is inaccessible. And, it
definitely cannot be try-it before you buy-it.
So, what about the App Store? Apple ties your software purchase to your
account to reduce software piracy. However, any app you purchase
immediately and permanently exists on your iOS device and in any
external back-up medium. So, when you get a refund from Apple, you still
have access to the app. You will not be able to upgrade it without
purchasing it again, but the original software may well be in your
possession. Unless you agree to allow Apple to make random spot-checks
of your iOS device to confirm that you have, indeed, removed any and all
incidents of the software, and they can check in several months time to
continue verifying that you are not secretly running the software you
haven't paid for, well, that is the other side of the argument. If I was
an app developer, I would not want to know my apps were being pirated.
David Chittenden, MSc, MRCAA
Email: dchitten...@gmail.com <mailto:dchitten...@gmail.com>
Mobile: +64 21 2288 288
Sent from my iPhone
On 04/08/2013, at 13:45, Aman Singer <aman.sin...@gmail.com
<mailto:aman.sin...@gmail.com>> wrote:
Hi, alan.
You say
what happens when a sighted person gets an app and they think it
doesn't meet their needs.
With respect, that depends on whether the description accurately told
the sighted user what the application would do. If the textual
description and the screenshots the app store presented gave an
accurate description of the app, then the user has nothing to complain
of. If the description was inaccurate, then the user should get a
refund. THe problem, of course, for the blind user is that the
description may or may not be true. The app may say it can do X, and
may in fact do X for a sighted user but not for a user of VO. For the
VO user, the description is simply false unless it says that VO will
not work with the app. It seems plain that the VO user is entitled to
an accurate description, one which says whether the app will actually
do what it says it will. Failing that, the user is entitled to try the
product to see if the description is false. Failing even that, the
user is entitled to a refund if the description turns out to be
nonsense. Apple has chosen not to allow the first or second options,
it seems only reasonable, though not fully satisfactory, for them to
allow the third.
Aman
dealer of what it 2013-08-03, at 1:08 PM, "Alan Paganelli"
<alanandsuza...@earthlink.net <mailto:alanandsuza...@earthlink.net>>
wrote:
Hi All,
My concern here is this. So what happens when a sighted person gets
an app and they think it doesn't meet their needs. Do they get a
refund? I'd guess not. This sounds to me to much like pulling out
the blind card. What I'm saying here is, if there is a satisfaction
guaranteed or your money back policy in place then that's one thing
but just because it doesn't work well with voice over may not fly.
-------
Regards,
Alan
Go Chicago Bears in 2013!
Teenagers; Tired of being harassed by your stupid parents? Act
now!!!!! Move out. Get a job. Pay your bills wile you still know
everything.
Please click on:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~alanandsuzanne/
<http://www.home.earthlink.net/%7Ealanandsuzanne/>
There, you'll find free files of my arrangements and performances
played on
the Yamaha Tyros 1 keyboard. The albums in Technics format formerly
on my website are still available upon request. Thanks for listening!
----- Original Message -----
*From:* Sieghard Weitzel <mailto:siegh...@live.ca>
*To:* viphone@googlegroups.com <mailto:viphone@googlegroups.com>
*Sent:* Saturday, August 03, 2013 1:49 AM
*Subject:* RE: Bad experience with iTunes Store support regarding
app refund
Hi Cara,
I agree and think that unless Apple comes up with a better way to
do this they should be willing to give Voiceover users a refund
without the hassle. I must say, however, that I really like that
15 minute return policy Google apparently offers, but of course
trying to get Apple to do something like that is not just a
completely different ball game, it’s a different sport!
If Apple was really concerned that this would be abused, they
could request proof that somebody is actually visually impaired
or they could limit refunds to a certain number per year. I am
very sure that given their computers they could easily track this
on somebody’s Apple Id.
If you are getting involved in this feel free to use my below
messages as an example, I am pasting the message I sent without
the purchase details, i.e. order number and all that, as well as
the response I received.
It was obvious that the person who responded somehow seemed to
understand the situation, but on another level she apparently
didn’t. She summarized my request by saying I “inadvertently “
purchased some apps which of course is not at all the case and
not what I said.
Here is my initial message and her reply which makes me think she
really didn’t get it despite the fact that she said it was an
“appropriate exception” and they would refund me the money which
still has not happened:
*From:*Sieghard Weitzel [mailto:siegh...@live.ca]
*Sent:* Saturday, July 20, 2013 9:04 AM
*To:* 'itunesstoresupp...@apple.com
<mailto:itunesstoresupp...@apple.com>'
*Subject:* Voiceover inaccessible apps
Hello,
My name is Sieghard Weitzel. I recently purchased several apps
for tracking packages in order to find out which one offered the
best features. I tried a couple more, but they had free Lite
versions which allowed me to try them before buying the full version.
I am blind and have been an iPhone/Voiceover user for almost 4
years and unfortunately I found that two of the paid and 2 of the
free/Lite apps have accessibility issues and I was not able to
use them with Voiceover. I wrote to the developers, but have not
received any reply as to whether they might consider making
improvements so the apps would work with Voiceover. I used iTunes
credit to pay for the paid apps and was wondering if it was
possible to receive a refund since I have already deleted the
apps from my phone.
-----Original Message-----
From: iTunes Store [mailto:itunesstoresupp...@apple.com]
Sent: Sunday, July 21, 2013 4:50 PM
To: siegh...@hotmail.ca <mailto:siegh...@hotmail.ca>
Subject: Re: Voiceover inaccessible apps; Follow-up: 280679929
Dear Sieghard,
Greetings from iTunes Store Customer Support. My name is Alishia
and I am happy to assist you today.
I understand that you inadvertently purchased some apps from the
App Store and you would like to receive a refund for the
purchase. I know how important it is to have the issue resolved.
I assure you of assistance.
Sieghard, after reviewing the circumstances of your case, we
determined that issuing you a refund for the purchase of "Apps"
is an appropriate exception to the iTunes Store Terms and
Conditions, which state that all sales are final.
You will see 6.70 CAD added to your store credit balance within
48 hours. You may need to sign out of the iTunes Store and then
sign back in before you see the credit in your account.
The iTunes Store provides a warning message that asks if you are
sure that you want to buy an item. This warning can be turned
off. If you would like to make sure that this warning is on, you
can reset the warnings in the iTunes Store by following the
instructions in this article:
Resetting iTunes Store warnings
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1734
Additionally, you can make modifications on certain devices that
will prevent them from making purchases:
iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch: Understanding Restrictions
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4213
I hope the information provided would resolve your issue.
Sieghard, if you have any additional questions, please let me
know and I will be happy to assist you further. Thank you for
being a valued member of iTunes family.
Have a nice day!
Sincerely,
Alishia
iTunes Store Customer Support
http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/ww/
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