This is random, but I am hoping that someone at #Apple can help with this. My mother passed away. I know that she had an AppleID and is being charged monthly for a music subscription. I have her AppleID. I have her death certificate. I can show that I am next of kin. What I do not have is her phone, which was lost. After multiple tries with the online instructions and Apple support I am unable to get them to closer her account and discontinue her subscription. They are claiming that they cannot help due to privacy regulations. I happen to find that ridiculous because I work in the privacy space all the time. I am exhausted and stressed and don't have the energy at the moment to keep chasing this with support. If banks and several other tech companies can accommodate this situation so can Apple. I will eventually be able to close her bank account and stop the charge at the source, but I imagine that Apple will manage to get another payment or two. Can anyone help?
Sorry for your loss. Do you have her password so that you can log in and update everything yourself?
Yes, I was able to obtain her password from her laptop. However, she had enabled 2FA and they text her phone to verify, which as I stated I do not have.
Maybe filing a charge back through a credit card company would work?
Yeah definitely charge back
Close the linked card if it's the only recurring charge. Will eventually be charged off.
I'm working on closing her bank account that is the payment source, but it takes a while to make stuff happen with banks. At least they have a process that I can follow. Apple support just throws up their hands and says sorry can't help you.
Her sub is tied directly to her bank account? Or is it using a debit card? You can cancel the debit card while her bank account is still open. Also, yet another reason why you should use a credit card for everything. As for Apple, are you executor of the estate? If she didn't have a will naming you, open probate and have a judge officially name you. Just showing "next of kin" isn't enough because that doesn't mean you're managing her estate. That just means you inherit anything not explicitly given to others.
She died without a will and my only sibling is not involved. I am handling everything and no other companies are giving me trouble. Apple is just being difficult. They are not even giving me a path to follow to file the appropriate paperwork.
No will means you need to do probate to be formally declared executor. Without that, nobody should be talking to you, even with a death certificate.
I'm so sorry about your loss. May she rest in peace. I'm not an expert at all and I've never gone through anything like this, but now that my kid is 18 I'm learning things regarding security and support. For example you'd need to have a power of attorney which will grant you permissions to make decisions on your mom's behalf. Given that she's passed, you can maybe ask an attorney if the death certificate can be used to grant you the power of attorney. I hope this helps a bit. All the best.
Not my first rodeo. (I am widowed.) I know how to work the system and Apple is the only company that is giving me this much trouble.
Wow you've gone through so much. You're a very strong person. I'm sorry you're going through this. Hope you get all the support, friend. 💙
report cc as stolen and get a new card/not get a card
Post on social media and tag them. Ask your friends to like and reshare. This is pretty messed for a tech giant
Yes, I am aware of that as an option. I am not on social media much for personal reasons, and Blind is one of the few social media platforms where I have an account. That being said, it is terminally stupid that Apple does not have a way to handle this. People die every day and there are lots of posts out there of others having similar issues.