Why No iTunes Credit Towards App Purchases in Canada?

By Gary Ng on October 8th, 2009 100

Canada seems to be always a step behind our American counterparts when it comes to transactions related to electronics or online purchases. Take for example, how Canada was one of the last countries to get the Skype for iPhone app. Or how Canada was recently shut out from the latest Amazon Kindle launch.

Canada Seems to Always Be One Step Behind…

Either way, Canada seems to get the shaft somehow and it’s even more prevalent when it comes to iTunes gift cards. Canadians can purchase iTunes gift cards to use toward the purchase of music, TV shows, and movies–but not towards apps within the App Store. How many people out there have purchased an iTunes gift card for the purpose of buying apps, only to discover Apple won’t allow you to do so?

Jim Whitelaw vs Apple Canada

What gives? Well, you’re not along out there. Apple’s response to a Mr. Jim Whitelaw (and many other Canadians) is that “this is due to Canadian Commerce Laws that the iTunes Store must strictly enforce.” Huh? What does this mean? What law exactly is Apple talking about? This is when Jim decided to take this a bit further–and contact his local Member of Parliament and eventually reached up the ranks to the Canadian Minister of Industry, Hon. Tony Clement (letter below)!

letter2

The response from Tony Clement was that there is actually no such Canadian law that prevents Apple from allowing Canadians to use their iTunes gift cards towards app purchases. So if there are no laws in place, why isn’t Apple allowing Canadians to use their precious iTunes gift card dollars towards apps?

Jim Whitelaw is still playing email tag with Apple Canada, and so far he’s been offered two credits for songs (which he didn’t ask for). All he wants to do is allow his daughter to use her iTunes gift card towards app purchases for her iPod Touch! Maybe one day Apple will allow Canadians to use iTunes gift cards towards app purchases. Until then, your only choice is to link your credit card with your iTunes account in Canada.

Anyone else out there thought they could use their Canadian iTunes gift cards for app purchases, only to be disappointed? Let us know below!

Thanks to BC Brett for the heads up!

[Michael Geist via Jim Whitelaw]

Founder and Editor-in-Chief of iPhoneinCanada.ca. Follow @iPhoneinCanada and on Google+. Click here to save 20% OFF at ZAGG.com with coupon 'iphoneinca'!

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  • slowpoke14

    I also have purchased gift cards to use in the app store only to discover my credit card was being charged. WTF why are we as Canadians so neutered in this country when it comes to consumer options. I sincerley hope Apple Canada changes their policy soon, as I (as am sure many others) have refrained from purchasing apps as I prefer to use gift cards like cash.

  • parshath77

    I also just found out and was notified of the so called “Canadian Law” It's a load of BS

  • Rod

    I just had this happen to me and it is mind boggling that I can pay $50 cash to get what is supposed to be iTunes money only to find out even iTunes won't take it, truly disappointing.

  • Strange_Thought

    Ok then, assume you can be 180 days late on your mortgage and see what your bank does. :P

  • Anonymous

    Hold on a sec, Tony Clement stated that

    “Many provinces, including Alberta, have implemented legislation that regulates gift cards. If your constituent would like more information on these regulations, he may wish to visit the Consumer Information section of the Service Alberta website http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/1290cfm.”

    also he stated that:

    “I understand your constituent’s concerns, and am unaware of which Canadian laws the company representatives are said to be enforcing.”

    I submit that:

    1. In the letter all that was stated was he is “UNAWARE of which Canadian laws” company reps are enforcing.

    2. That “Many provinces, including Alberta, have implemented legislation that regulates gift cards”

    With these two points, nowhere did he say that there was NO LAW. Furthermore, many provinces have implemented legislation to regulate gift cards. The question was not answered at all. I don’t know why some people are reading more into this than there is.

    I will tell you this as FACT. Many lawmakers, be it US Canada any member of the EU often do not know the laws (per se). They know the laws they need to know when they need to know it. It’s impossible for them to. Most specialize in a segment of the law and often they know it well but certainly not all members or all aspects. Government is a complex beast. If you don’t believe me test your representatives.

    In the US we’re stating to see exactly what was said in the letter “Many provinces, including Alberta, have implemented legislation that regulates gift cards.”. Some US states are doing exactly that and being tough about it as some retailers have abused gift cards in various ways.

    Tony Clement’s response to this Apple iTunes gift card thing was in fact a non-answer; telling the person to “refer to the Consumer Information section of the Service Alberta website…”.

    I’m not saying this is right or wrong. It just is what it is, and read the letter as it was written not with waves of indignation.

    BTW, yeah it all stinks to high heaven!

  • Anonymous

    Hold on a sec, Tony Clement stated that

    “Many provinces, including Alberta, have implemented legislation that regulates gift cards. If your constituent would like more information on these regulations, he may wish to visit the Consumer Information section of the Service Alberta website http://www.servicealberta.gov.ab.ca/1290cfm.”

    also he stated that:

    “I understand your constituent’s concerns, and am unaware of which Canadian laws the company representatives are said to be enforcing.”

    I submit that:

    1. In the letter all that was stated was he is “UNAWARE of which Canadian laws” company reps are enforcing.

    2. That “Many provinces, including Alberta, have implemented legislation that regulates gift cards”

    With these two points, nowhere did he say that there was NO LAW. Furthermore, many provinces have implemented legislation to regulate gift cards. The question was not answered at all. I don’t know why some people are reading more into this than there is.

    I will tell you this as FACT. Many lawmakers, be it US Canada any member of the EU often do not know the laws (per se). They know the laws they need to know when they need to know it. It’s impossible for them to. Most specialize in a segment of the law and often they know it well but certainly not all members or all aspects. Government is a complex beast. If you don’t believe me test your representatives.

    In the US we’re stating to see exactly what was said in the letter “Many provinces, including Alberta, have implemented legislation that regulates gift cards.”. Some US states are doing exactly that and being tough about it as some retailers have abused gift cards in various ways.

    Tony Clement’s response to this Apple iTunes gift card thing was in fact a non-answer; telling the person to “refer to the Consumer Information section of the Service Alberta website…”.

    I’m not saying this is right or wrong. It just is what it is, and read the letter as it was written not with waves of indignation.

    BTW, yeah it all stinks to high heaven!

  • Anonymous

    Oh dear! LOL you nailed it!

    I guess this is the problem with people NOT reading the EULA’s and TERMS AND CONDITIONS!

    readtheterms, your right on with this -guess I should call it a find… ^_^

    This is the kind of thing that sucks about EULA’s and TOSA’s people just don’t read them and often don’t know what ‘rights’ they may be giving up or sometimes fees imposed. It’s always about the fine print, so to speak.

    If your using iTunes, you agreed to these terms.

    So I think we all know what to do. If we don’t like this, work with lawmakers to require retailers and online retailers to bring this information to the forefront of the users attention or get rid of it altogether.

    Here is the full text of the TERMS AND CONDITIONS from Apple.

    http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/ca/terms.html

  • Anonymous

    Oh dear! LOL you nailed it!

    I guess this is the problem with people NOT reading the EULA’s and TERMS AND CONDITIONS!

    readtheterms, your right on with this -guess I should call it a find… ^_^

    This is the kind of thing that sucks about EULA’s and TOSA’s people just don’t read them and often don’t know what ‘rights’ they may be giving up or sometimes fees imposed. It’s always about the fine print, so to speak.

    If your using iTunes, you agreed to these terms.

    So I think we all know what to do. If we don’t like this, work with lawmakers to require retailers and online retailers to bring this information to the forefront of the users attention or get rid of it altogether.

    Here is the full text of the TERMS AND CONDITIONS from Apple.

    http://www.apple.com/legal/itunes/ca/terms.html

  • nonamer

    AGGGGG SSOOOOOOOOO GAAAAAAAAAYYYYYY

  • nonamer

    SO GGAYYYYYYY

  • Quipp

    Grab a clue. No one is making demands. Terms of service has little to do with the spirit of service. People are commenting that they want to give Apple money. If there is no lawful reason to prevent customer for doing so all the EULA legalese is moot. Apple should change their policy whether or not people read the fine print.

  • Quipp

    So what. Just because it is in the terms of service doesn't mean it should be. This is a PR and revenue stream issue. Preventing people from spending money is a bassackwards approach. TOS are fluid as water and can change at any time. Therefore if there is no real legal reason why apps are exempt then Apple would do well to “change this policy without notice” to something that is in line with what consumers prefer.

  • Len

    After purchasing $50 of iTune cards, I too discovered they could not be used for apps purchases. It was pointed out to me, by “iTunes Customer Support”, that after more than 1100 words in the “Terms of Sale Agreement” they do say iTune cards cannot be used to purchase apps in the iTune store.

    This is not at all what I expect from Apple !!

  • Prom1

    Agreed, however many consumers in the US have taking larger corporations to court and won lawsuits for not clearly stating restrictions on what a service can or cannot be used for with the company that issues it. I'm unsure if this – clarity of iTunes AppStore restrictions – falls in this situation, but its something to consider if it isn't; not the lawsuit but for Apple Inc, Canada to consider adjusting.

  • Big 360 Man

    This is very shady marketing practice on the part of Apple. And don't give me the BS about reading the terms of sale. How many teenagers bought these cards and sat at the check out, with a magnifing glass and read the terms and conditions on the back??? Give your head a shake!!
    My son bought a $25 card with his hard earned money only to find out about this problem. Kudos to Jim Whitelaw on this article and the other ones. After a few nasty e-mails to Apple they are finally going to give my Son a refund.

  • clie78787878

    There is a massive change underway in the mobile media market as it becomes unshackled from the operators’ portals that have dominated it for a decade, all without having made any significant inroads into the content use of mobile users. The new capped data packages, fuelled by further competition, will see a total revamp of the mobile media market. It will no longer be based on portals but on direct services by content and services providers via open source phones and mobile-friendly Internet-based services. The next step is the continued emergence of m-commerce and in particular m-payment services.

  • rockybudgeboa

    How about a prepaid Visa? Can we use that? I just bought the Ipod Touch 8GB fro my daughter yesterday and she wants the Koi Pond and well, she is not pleased.

  • Nav Dhami

    I am in the same boat. I bought an iTunes card to download apps but found out that it doesn't work. After wasting almost 2 hours trying to download, I started searching on internet and found these links. I think Jim has done a great effort and I support him fully. It is ridiculous that the iTunes store shows credit on the top but won't let me buy.

  • Milan

    That guy Jim Whitelaw is a FAGGGOOOOTTTTTTTTTT. I bought my 25$ gift card only for apps and now i find out they wont let me download them. FUCKKKK. I guess I will pointlessly buy music which i can download easily off of LimeWire.

  • Tammy D.

    We just purcahsed ipod for our son -with an i tunes gift card. After more than two hours of searching today – found this website to learn that gift card can't be used toward apps that he would like. This should be made very clear to the buyer. Totally frustrated.

  • Marc

    this is bad. they should get charged or something for inforcing a law that is fake. stuppid apple.

    i just bought a gift card tow hours ago just for apps and i sent 2 emails to apple.

  • Rav3n_NB

    You're a fucking retard and all your information is based on speculation and Tony Clement that doesn't know his head from his ass. No one has figured this out, true, but stop blaming Apple for fuck sakes.

    It's not all their fault. I'm sure the companies that create these Apps (Oh yeah, Apple supports the only 2-3 they've created which are free, and most of them are from 3rd party developpers). Don't you think these companies would like to be paid directly from the individual who purchased the Application and not from Apple? Duh. Get with the times, get a credit card or suck it up princess.

    Use your brain English Canada, use your brain….

  • Rav3n_NB

    If you want Apps Canada and are too much of a loser to get a credit card, get yourself US giftcard and create a bogus US address. Zip: 90036, 123 Fake street, Hollywood, Calif – Thank god for Price is Right :)

  • robert

    i found this outand was like wtf but i was fine with buying songs

  • annoyed

    Yah, I found this out yesteray after I received a gift card and bought my first app. I thought it would use the credit from the gift card, but instead charged my visa. Not the experience I expected and it was really frustrated. I have since removed my CC info from my account so it won't happen again and have no intention to use my credit until they fix this.

    Any sorry last poster, but no one actually reads the terms and conditions, seriously? This is just common sense. Also, people RECEIVE gift cards and not buy them for themselves. You would expect that when you have a credit you can use it for anything in a store. No different than any other gift card from a retail or online store.

    It's called managing the expectaction of the user experience of a consumer.

  • Zeke

    my problem is that i don't own a credit card, im 14. my ipod is nnow pretty useless since there is no way i can buy apps. i jailbroke, so i get cracked apps, i don't like pirating, but if apple actually let me get apps legally, i would

  • Robert

    On the back of the the itunes gift card in the legalese it does say “Not redeemable for all purchases, such as iPod games or App Store purchases.”

    So we are warned (i was stung by this too), yet what are we able to buy on the Itunes Store? All I can think of is Music/Audiobooks, Movies, TV Shows and Apps/Games. Yet the front of my $50 iTunes gift card says “Get the latest music, movies, TV shows, and more.” So what exactly is this more if it is not Apps or games? I understand what Readtheterms is saying, yes it is the the TOSA and yes I agreed to have read it. However software developers now perfectly well no one reads the TOSA. How long till a TOSA claims the rights to all my assets?

    What Apple has done is deceitful. Doesn't matter if they've done the legalese to cover their backsides, other businesses have been slapped before for hiding something like this in their disclaimers.

  • Omg

    yea thats what i did but i kinda got pissed because when i went to a apple store and brought the itunes card they said that it will work, but when i got home i didnt. so i went and called apple and told them the problem, they went and refunded my itunes card by sending me a check

  • Vancouver Island

    We can't buy apps with a itunes gift card in Canada but you could if you lived in the States . I just found this out today .I bought a gift card from a box store and made a point of asking the clerk if you could use it to buy apps for an ipod touch . I was told no problem thats what they are for . So i bought one for my young daughter . She is a little young for a credit card . Now i find the gift dosn't do the job.
    So you wonder why people jailbreak the things .
    Good for Tony Clement bad PR for Apple

  • jay

    Feb 6, 2010 you still can not buy apps. I bought the card to buy apps. very disappointed with apple.

  • http://www.busybrian.com/ Brian

    I bought my wife a gift card specifically for apps. I would never have bought it otherwise! I want my money back!

  • Nelson Cheung

    This is ridiculous! Not only it makes no sense, it has also wasted so much of my time to find out why my iTunes credit that clearly showed up in my account was not being debited for the purpose of my purchase. I thought there was a bug in the iTunes program that I installed.

  • Jody

    I just bought my kids Visa gift cards that they can use instead. Works fine!

  • pissedoff691

    ya,, thats gay,,, ive been tryin to figure out why i cant buy any games or apps,,,,, i dont have a credit card,,, soooo im kinda screwed,,,,, thanks apple for giving me a 200.00 paperweight!!!!!

  • darkangell0407

    i also cannot use my itunes credit to buy apps, what a pain in the @#$

  • frieken

    It would seem that depending on where you buy your card, it may or may not have a disclosure on it. I searched a lot of stores in my area and none of the cards or packing had any sort of statement on them. In my travels in USA and Canada, I did find a few that had a disclosure statement on them. So, all is not equal in the gift cards that are for sale out there.

  • Doball

    I feel that it is unconscionable that i Tunes /Apple disallows Canadian consumers from access to apps on the cards it is discriminatory to say the least! We, in fact pay more for the devices than the U.S. consumer; I wonder how Apple would respond if we launched an “avoid Apple” campaign in Canada? Since Apple seems to ignore Canadian consumers perhaps we should ignore Apple in Canada!

  • Pingback: Apple Adds “Gift This App” Feature in App Store | iphone place

  • junjihiroma

    I bought a Visa gift Card,it let's me buy the apps but will not charge charge the card.WTF?

  • bb

    It pisses me off, nowhere on the card or cardboard that comes with it does it say something about not being able to purchase apps. Fucking bull

  • fghfghkfhg

    fucking bullshit, fuck you itunes, you fucking piece of shite

  • Pingback: Canadian iTunes Gift Cards Now Work For Apps | iPhone in Canada Blog - Tips, Tricks, News, and Tutorials for Canadian iPhone Users

  • Jack

    I just bought a $1.99 app and it cost me 41,400% in interest. Here is how it happened. I had an itunes balance and saw an app for the touch. bought it and realized afterwards that my itunes balance didn't change. The VISA I had as an automatic billing picked up the purchase two days before the statement date. That's all well and good, except I had a $5,000 payment go through that VISA for my son's university. Although I had cleared off that purchase before the statement, I missed the $1.99 app purchase. VISA appied 19.50% to the entire purchases for the month and I got hammered with interest on the full $5,000 plus!. The interest works out to 41,400% annualized for that $2 app.

  • SharkO

    Guys if u live near the us in Canada make a account that's sign up with US and then go down to the states and buy a gift card from there !! Then u can download apps ( experinced it ) i can still use my Canada iTunes account and us iTunes account!

  • SharkO

    Guys if u live near the us in Canada make a account that's sign up with US and then go down to the states and buy a gift card from there !! Then u can download apps ( experinced it ) i can still use my Canada iTunes account and us iTunes account!

  • http://twitter.com/JosephDawson Joseph Dawson

    As of a few weeks ago this has changed. You now can buy apps in Canada with store credit.

  • Pingback: Canadian App Store is Behind: Can’t use gift cards for apps! « Just Another iPhone Blog

  • gay apple

    ya i just wasted money and a few hours of my day over this bullshit!!

  • gay apple

    your an idiot it does not state any of that on the gift cards. i read it prior to purchase and at the very most it say ” not redeemable for all purchases” wich could mean a million things. should never include downloading of the most common things.. APPS! go read the terms and conditions on your meds you loser.

  • readtheterms

    @gay for apple..

    I realize you don’t keep up to date with any thing related to technology. If you did you would realize that this has changed, you CAN use store credit to purchase apps in canada you lazy D- bag

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