New Country Billing Issues

Question

In 2007 I moved from the United States to Brazil. New country, new bank, new credit card. At the time I didn't even think about changing my apple account info, especially as I wasn't purchasing anything. My old card info from the States was on my account.
The US card expired, something I didn't even notice, until I went to the App store and poked around. As I had changed countries, I decided to update my info and change it all to Brazil.
I had a Brazilian Visa card for use only in Brazil and when I tried to update my info, the card was rejected with the statement that the security code was invalid. Here in Brazil very often the banks issue domestic-use only cards on new accounts. When I was unable to update my info because I needed to have proper billing information, I asked my bank about this and they said I probably needed an international Visa card rather than a Brazilian-only card.
I entered into contact with iTunes support, explained that I was unable to switch to the Brazilian store, explained that I had a Brazilian Visa card for use only in Brazil, and asked if I needed to have an international card to be able to change my info and update my billing information. The tech assured me this was not the case, that I should be able to use any valid bank-issued card, and had me begin what turned into a support nightmare, complete with resetting my password I don't know how many times.
My frustration level was pretty high and I asked repeatedly if the issue was the fact that I needed an international card, not a domestic-only card, and the tech repetedly assured me this was not the case.
I knew it was, asked my bank for an international card, and decided to wait until it arrived to change my details.
That would have been fine except that the tech, in an effort to make me "feel" better, decided to issue me two song credits. I did not ask for the credits, did not want them, could not use them because I did not have billing info in the United States. To be able to use credits, you have to have proper billing information.
When I explained this to the tech, he responded that he didn't understand why I couldn't use the credits, that I just needed to update my US billing information.
I explained to him that I did not have billing information in the United States to update, that the whole issue centered around that central fact. I asked him to remove the credits to which he replied that techs cannot do this, but not to worry, the credits will be on my account witing for me when I am ready to update my billing information.
My response was less than polite. He wrote back that he spoke with his supervisor and the only thing I can do is abandon my old account and create a new account with a new id with the Brazilian store.
That is a horrible solution!
In the meantime, my new card arrived. It works just fine at setting up an account, meaning the whole issue was the domestic card.
I entered into contact with apple again to see if maybe they could get rid of the credits thus allowing me to change countries without abandoning my old account and creating a new id. The response, two different techs attempting to walk me through how to reset my password!
I am curious to know if there is a better solution. How is it a tech can simply ignore the issue, have no real knowledge about the process, credit an account without the permission of the account owner, and yet have no way to eliminate credits or enable a user to use the credits.
Is my only option to abandon my account and create a new one? What happens to the music I downloaded with the old account?

Answer 1

I'm sorry you are having difficulty. An agent with access to your account will reach out to you directly by email, private message in the Forums and/or the billing telephone number on your Verizon account for more information or to help you resolve your issue.
decafgrandmom wrote:
I'm in the process of copying 4 innacurate bills, e-mails from Verizon & supporting documentation to forward to the FTC, FCC, and anyone else I can think of to expose Verizon's shoddy billing practices.  Efforts to resolve the matter have been unsuccessful, I'm sick of calling every month, and receiving the next bill with unresolved issues.  Last call to Verizon the CSR was so confused that she couldn't itemize the disputed amount...it's a disgrace. I was however cautioned to pay the disputed amount or I would have to deal with collections - BRING IT!!!  As soon as I can find an attractive bundle with COMCAST I'll cancel Verizon - it's the worst decision I' every made.