Euro iTunes customers get 14 DAY refund option

Return of the Mac apps

Apple iTunes customers in the European Union have received a small gift from the fruity firm this holiday season - a new policy that allows up to 14 days for users to cancel their purchases.

The company has issued the new policy for customers in the 28-member-state bloc. The change, not announced by Apple, was spotted by German-based Apple blog iFun and later found in other countries including the UK.

"If you choose to cancel your order, you may do so within 14 days from when you received your receipt without giving any reason, except iTunes Gifts which cannot be refunded once you have redeemed the code," the new terms of service agreement reads.

Apple goes on to say that users should opt out of unwanted purchases by using the 'report a problem' feature on iTunes, or by filling out and submitting a form to Apple with the information on the disputed purchase.

The company noted that iTunes Gifts purchases as well as iTunes Match, Season Pass and Multi-Pass would not be eligible to cancel via 'report a problem'.

The new terms will give users time to file a cancellation report for the purchase on items that had previously been considered final. Once cancelled, Apple will delete the item from your folder.

While Apple hasn't said much of anything about the decision, it has been widely speculated that the new policy is a move to get in line with recently-enacted EU Directive on Consumer Rights, which calls for giving users a 14 day 'withdrawal period' starting from the time the customer takes posession of the items or services purchased.

That law, first pitched in 2011, was brought into effect in June of this year. ®