Unrecognised third party charges apple.com/bill

[4lami]

My Son EE account is tie to mine, an when I got my bill for march 2024, I realise an additional bill of about £238, from apple, in tranches of about 17 charges ranging from £19.99, £9.99 and £2.99, making my total bill for the month £299.95, instead of £61.07,this charges was taken on my Son phone no, and my entire family member do not own any apple device or account, so I called EE to report this,and i was advised to call apple, I did and apple said the charged will be cancelled and returned, nothing has been done by apple till date, can anyone help me on what to do pls, I appreciate any suggestions right now.

[infinitywaiter]

I would definitely advise you to go back through your sons mobile phone and email records, to triple check that he has not actually brought anything from Apple.

If he has brought things that ended up with charges being added to the bill, then this will obviously be billed and charged as you have received.

Companies like Apple and Microsoft might let people get away the one time when parents complain about kids spending, however they won't do it more than once.

You should read the link below from Apple and triple check that your son is not actually buying things.

If you see "apple.com/bill" on your billing statement
Apple.com/bill will appear on your billing statement when you buy music, films, apps or other content from Apple. It will also appear when a subscription has been renewed and when a family member has bought apps or content from Apple.

https://support.apple.com/en-gb/108092#:~:text=If%20you%20see%20%22apple.com,apps%20or%20content%20f....

I would advise you to set your sons mobile up so that they can't spend without your permission.

https://ee.co.uk/help/cyber-security/getting-started/set-up-safe-manage-childs-phone

With regards to refunds, you can only wait for Apple to respond to you directly and refund you directly or not.

Finally, you should have a good read of the replies in this old post from the forum link below, as ultimately it is your responsibility for that mobile device and not EE, therefore if any purchases on your sons phone is actually agreed too by him, then you will be charged as the bill payer.

https://community.ee.co.uk/t5/Contracts-Billing/490-bill-from-my-sons-phone-I-have-a-block-on/td-p/1...

Especially if you've not setup your account correctly and your son can easily add EE extras like Apple Music to his mobile account, of which you will be charged monthly after the free trial ends, or he can simply buy from Apple and charge to his mobile bill, therefore making you liable.

Your son might have easily brought those through an Apple ID that he has created himself and without thinking about the costs adding up and therefore you've got charged as the bill payer, he then might have panicked when confronted with the actual costs involved and claimed it was nothing to do with him, however, if it happens again, be warned that Apple will not refund a second time and you yourself will still be liable, not EE.

[Bbeauty]

Apple will not refund at all. It is impossible to get help but, please ask EE to block 3rd party charges and also contact BOKU who can block this for the number. This happened to me last year on my niece's phone and I have been fighting but with no joy. It is pretty much impossible. EE can not help either. Apple is fraudulently.... we don't even have a iPhone.

[Bbeauty]

Apple doesn't refund even though they know it is fraudulent.

[Jonae]

After working for EE for the good part of 10 years I can safely say this is not surprising at all. I have been charged almost £240 in apple charges from my old EE work number.

I contacted EE as I usually make a payment on the EE app. This is when I noticed my monthly bill was usually high for this month. I called the not so customer service and received little to no help. Instead I was told I need to contact apple. Keeping in mind I have not linked this number to my Apple account.

When I asked to speak to a manager I was then told "I can't transfer you to a manager because there is a procedure that needs to be followed". I have created a complaint and I am now waiting to see what can be done. 

Safe to say I will be disputing this for the next year. Honestly no accountability from the so called best network in the UK.

[Chris_B]

@Jonae  why should EE take accountability of something when they are not billing you they’re only passing the bill over to the account it’s been made against.   And if you did work for EE you’ll know this.    

[Jonae]

I am speaking to a very helpful customer advisor who is helping me with this as I type. The point I am making is that the charges that have been made to my ee phone number are being charged to my network provider. This number is not linked to an Apple ID account hence why I cannot chase this with apple. I am contacting my network provider for answers and support and help for unusual charges.

I worked for EE and have had to deal with this but I was always able to help our customers and complete a dispute charge form etc. Which is what is happening now. @Chris_B EE community star thanks for your input great help (sarcastic tone). If you do not have solution I would appreciate you not tagging me. This wasn't helpful but I get it people want too be heard right....

[Chris_B]

@Jonae  To have a charge to your EE account the number got registered

Perhaps you should read THIS 

Apple can not just start billing your EE account with authorisation from the end user.    And even an ex employee would know that.   

And if you think being sarcastic on a public forum is a great even for an ex employee I can see why you no longer work for EE.   

[Jonae]

@Chris_B I did not come to have a back and forth with you. Please do not tag me in anything. 

I have had the charges disputed and now waiting for my number to be changed. For anyone else who has had this same issue. Please ask EE to raise a dispute of charge form, have the reference numbers ready from apple or the third party company for each individual charge and they will be able to assist you by contacting Apple direct or the third party company. My bill is now restored and I am satisfied.

I hope this helps anyone else who may experience this same issue in the future. The agent named Stacey was extremely helpful and I am looking forward to the NPS text to rate her brilliant service and support.