Above: The app store
Apple and Google have changed their policies on giving consumers refunds for app store purchases. Of course, it took a little nudging.
Said nudging came from South Korea’s Fair Trade Commission, which ordered the companies to make changes so consumers can get refunds following purchases in a more straightforward manner. The Korea Herald reports that Apple is now required to send App Store users notifications whenever its contract terms are modified. It also points out that Google’s Android app store, Google Play, will need to respect developers’ individual refund policies and set up a system that supports this.
It’s not really all that surprising that the refund situation has come to this. Previously, Apple customers would have to submit a ticket through its “Report a Problem” feature if they wanted to get a refund on a prior purchase. Each of these requests had to be viewed by an Apple employee for approval. While these mandatory changes only apply to the South Korean App Store at the moment, Apple is thinking about extending the modifications to the global market. This is largely thought to be a preemptive measure since it’s likely such changes will become mandatory in other countries at some point anyway.
This ruling comes on the heels of the KFTC’s decision to order domestic app stores to make similar changes to their contracts. Though this is the first ruling against international app stores, Apple has been under the KFTC’s thumb in the past, and it was required to change its iPhone refund policy to allow customers to get a refund within one-month of purchase.
Via: Apple Insider
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