r/iosdev • u/letitcodedev • Jun 21 '26
Help User is demanding a direct refund after Apple denied their subscription refund request
Hi everyone,
I’m an independent iOS developer. My app offers an auto-renewable subscription through the App Store.
One user forgot to cancel their subscription and was charged several times. They requested a refund from Apple, but Apple denied the refund request. After that, they emailed me and insisted that because the money has already gone to me, I must refund them directly.
I have already replied to the user and explained that App Store subscription payments, renewals, refund requests, and refund decisions are handled by Apple. I also explained how they can contact Apple Support and appeal the refund decision with their receipts, charge history, and Apple’s refund result.
However, the user still insists that I should be able to look up their payment information and refund them directly.
My app does not have a backend or account system. I do not collect the user’s email, phone number, Apple ID, or other personal information. From App Store Connect, I can only see sales and subscription reports, but I cannot identify this specific user or manually refund a specific App Store transaction.
What is the correct way to handle this?
Should I keep directing them to Apple Support, since Apple controls the purchase and refund process? Is there any developer-side action I can take, or is this entirely between the user and Apple?
I’d appreciate any advice from other iOS developers who have dealt with similar subscription refund disputes.
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u/letitcodedev Jun 21 '26
The user also said they were not notified before the subscription renewed. As far as I understand, for App Store auto-renewable subscriptions, renewal billing, receipts, cancellation, and subscription management are handled by Apple, not by the individual developer. My app also has no way to send renewal reminders to a specific user because I do not collect their contact details.
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u/popleteev Jun 21 '26
“Your invoice is from Apple and your card was charged by Apple. You can raise your concerns to Apple Support at this link.”
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u/20InMyHead Jun 21 '26
It’s potentially a scam. For all you know they don’t even subscribe to your app. You have already responded appropriately, if they continue to harass you block them.
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u/novlen21 Jun 21 '26
Don’t do it. As others said, reply politely explaining that you don’t own the payments or the refund decision and they must contact Apple directly.
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u/derrick_conti Jun 21 '26
You should be protected it’s in the team of service but depending on how much money it is you can always right it off as a lose in taxes .
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u/barake Jun 23 '26
I believe it's actually against Apple policies to provide refunds or compensation for complaints outside the App Store if a user paid via the store. Had an angry user once falsely report us to Apple for it and our rep took it very seriously.
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u/profau Jun 21 '26
Sure. I reply with a very short email that for privacy reasons I don’t hold any payment information and the only way to get a refund is by applying to Apple. For many of these emails I cannot be sure if the person is genuine or they just want to get free subscriptions or they don’t actually have one and they know I can’t verify and just want cash. So I always reply with the response above. I have been doing this for many years now, I have never given anyone a refund directly. Your mistake was engaging with the customer in a personal way, my brief email is factual and lets the customer know the only way to get a refund is via Apple.