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Family subscriptions made me cancel my card

I see a problem with the way the subscriptions are displayed.


Here's the story: suddenly while I was checking my account, I saw suspiciously high payments with my card, titled: apple.com/bill I checked my apple account information, appStore subscriptions, purchases etc. and nothing unusual was there. So I called the bank and canceled my card, deauthorized it from my apple account and filed a complaint to my bank provider.

Later I started an investigation to find out where the card information could've leaked. I have a family shearing enabled so I checked my wife's and daughter's purchases. Nothing. Then online, on this forum I read a post from 2017(!) that read: As a family organizer, I cannot manage my family members’ subscriptions on my ID, that’s clear.

So I go WHAT?! What's CLEAR? and ask my daughter and wife to log into their account to see their subscriptions and voila! It was a couple of my daughters subscriptions that had been installed a year ago...


NOW, why? Why? If it's charged from my account and my card I'm unable to see these subscriptions?

Its Absurd!

I canceled the payment for things I agreed before, and had no problem with paying, only if I knew when and for what Im being charged...


It seems this problem is here for years!

Apple pls change this.



Posted on Oct 26, 2024 6:41 AM

Reply
1 reply

Oct 26, 2024 3:25 PM in response to Kubatism

That is how family sharing payment has always been done. The Organizer, can (and must) have a card, but the Organizer can avoid having this charged by others by asking them to make sure they have adequate personal balance (e.g., from gift cards) to cover their purchases. Other family members can only pay for things by using their personal balance or by letting the remainder automatically roll over to the Organizer's payment method (such as a credit card but not the Organizer's personal account balance).


Apple sends you a receipt for any charge made to your account. You must have missed those. Check your junk mail.


The alternative is described in this document: Add a family member to your shared subscriptions - Apple Support

"If you're the family organizer and you don't want to pay for family members' purchases and subscriptions, you can turn off Purchase Sharing [ How to share apps and purchases with your family - Apple Support ]. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, everyone must use their own payment method. When Purchase Sharing is turned off, family members can share subscriptions, but they can't share individual purchases like apps or books."


Another alternative would be for a person to leave the family group altogether. However, a person can only join one family per year.


=Full details=

Based on: How to share apps and purchases with your family - Apple Support and How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support


1. If anybody in the family buys or subscribes to something, Apple first attempts to charge the item to that individual's Apple Account (Apple ID) balance, if any.

2. If a family member does not have enough personal Apple Account balance, any excess will be charged to the Family Organizer's primary payment method (usually a card of some kind). The Organizer's personal balance will not be used for purchases made by other family members. If Apple cannot bill the primary payment method, the Organizer will need to make another payment method the primary method. With Family Sharing the Organizer always has to have at least one functioning payment method.


Also note: "Some purchases, including gifts, can't be billed to Apple ID balance and will be charged to the family organizer's payment method." "Some subscriptions might not be charged to Apple ID balance."


Ref:

- Family purchases and payments - How to share apps and purchases with your family - Apple Support

- How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - How apps, content, and subscriptions from Apple are billed - Apple Support

- Check your Apple ID balance - Check your Apple Account balance - Apple Support

- Add a payment method to your Apple ID - Add a payment method to your Apple Account - Apple Support

Adding funds to your Apple ID balance:

- How to redeem your Apple Gift Card or App Store & iTunes gift card - Apple Support

- Add money to your Apple Account balance - Apple Support


You can keep track of your daughter's purchases by using Approve what kids buy with Ask to Buy - Apple Support


Family subscriptions made me cancel my card

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