Dustin Curtis ("Designer. Investor. Nomad.") suddenly found himself locked out of most of his Apple services and multiple calls to Apple didn't help. He finally figured out the problem – a mistake with an equipment return led to an unpaid charge on his Apple Card. So Apple took the drastic step of kicking off the Apple platform and then not telling him what he needed to do to get back on.
From his post:
It appears as though charges from Apple are special, and if your account is not 100% current, Apple will quickly take drastic action. Unfortunately, this email got lost in my inbox and I didn't see it until I went looking. But it is extremely concerning for several reasons.
- Apple says it will hold my Apple accounts hostage in order to collect a payment.
- It says it is related to an iPhone when it was actually regarding a MacBook Pro. And iTunes no longer exists. The lack of attention to detail is not great given the seriousness of the threat that follows.
- It was sent when Apple Card was only a few days past due.
- It suggests that charges by Apple on Apple Card are different from other purchases, and this can have serious consequences. (Also: the Apple Card agreement does not mention this technicality.)