On December 31st, 2011, I tried buying American Horror Story season one through iTunes. I also tried to buy Pan Am Season One the next day. In attempting to download each of the TV series, I encountered the same problem. I received an error message telling me that part of the file was corrupted. After exhaustive attempts to solve the problem on my end, because I sincerely thought the problem was on my end, I contacted Apple Customer Service to try to resolve this issue.
The following is a series of emails sent between myself and Apple Customer Service between January 1st, 2012 and January 5th, 2012. Certain details have been changed or omitted, such as names and other specific personal information. This was done to protect my identity and the anonymity of myself and the person I was messaging with.
January 1st, 2012
First Name : Hunter
Last Name : Red
Email : (My personal email address)
Apple ID (Optional) : Redertainment
Lang_Country : en_US
Product : iTunes Store
Support Subject : Purchases, Billing & Redemption
Sub Issue : Problems downloading TV shows bought through iTunes.
See additional info below
What device did you use to connect to the store? Windows computer (PC)
Which operating system is installed? Windows 7
What version of iTunes is installed on your computer? iTunes 10.5
Choose the iTunes Store or App Store for your country: United States
Item title: American Horror Story- Season 1 Episode 10- Smoldering Children Pan Am- Season 1 Episode 9- Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Details:
I've researched this problem online, tried several different problems to solve this problem on my end with no luck. I'd really like to watch American Horror Story in it's entirety. Is there a different method to solve this problem than the one's I've found online?
January 2nd, 2012
Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2012 02:49:23 -0800
From: (Email for Apple Customer Service)
To: (My Personal Email)
Subject: Re: Purchases, Billing & Redemption; Follow-up: 184580048
Dear Hunter,
Greetings from iTunes Store Customer Support. My name is Vishal and I will assist you today.
I'm sorry to hear that the series "American Horror History" and "Pan-Am" didn't download properly.I apologies for the inconvenience caused by this.I will do my best to get the issue resolved at the earliest.
Hunter, I have posted the series to your account. Please follow these steps to download the items:
Before that, I have also reviewed your account and found some download error's
There are a few things that I would like you to try.
First, make sure you're using the latest version of iTunes. It can be downloaded free of charge from the iTunes website:
http://www.itunes.com/download
Certain types of software can cause conflicts and prevent purchases from downloading properly, even if the software appears to be configured to allow full access to the iTunes Store. This can include firewall, virus-protection, and web-acceleration software. You should be able to determine if you have a software program that is causing the difficulty by using the MSCONFIG utility on your computer. For detailed instructions, please refer to the following article:
Using MSCONFIG to troubleshoot conflicts in Windows Vista and Windows 7
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2292
After making sure you're using the latest version of iTunes, and after temporarily disabling any security software you may be using, try choosing Check for Available Downloads from the Store menu three times in a row. You may be asked to enter your login information each time. Checking for available downloads multiple times can help to force the downloads to start.
If you still can't download the items in your download queue after choosing Check for Available Downloads three times, please follow the suggestions in this article:
Unable to download purchased videos
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1566
If the suggestions above don't help you to download your purchased items, I suggest testing to see if this issue occurs while you are signed in to a new user account on your computer. To learn how to create a new user account in your version of Windows, please read this article:
Windows 7: Create a user account
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/Windows7/Create-a-user-account
Once you are signed in to this new user account, open iTunes and start the download. If the download progresses without error, you will know that the original issue is with the particular user account that you were using. You may want to consider adopting this new account as your user account and transferring your files from the old account to your new one.
If signing in to a new user account does not resolve the issue, I suggest that you sign back in to your original user account and use Microsoft's MSCONFIG utility as described above to temporarily disable additional startup programs.
Alternatively, if the issue persists, you might consider downloading the item from another computer or location and transferring the file back to your original computer.
If you are still unable to download the items after following these suggestions, please reply to let me know.
Hunter, after trouble shooting, please follow these steps to download the series.
1) Make sure you're using the latest version of iTunes. It can be downloaded free of charge from the iTunes website:
http://www.itunes.com/download
Note: Installing the latest version of iTunes will not affect your library or any items in your account that you haven't downloaded.
2) Open iTunes. From the Store menu at the top, choose Check for Available Downloads. You can also click this link to do the same thing:
https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/checkForPurchases
3) Enter your account name and password, then click the Check button.
The serieses should begin downloading and appear in your Purchased playlist. If you receive an error message while downloading, try again after turning off any firewall or web-accelerator software that you may have installed. If the download process is interrupted for any reason, it should resume once you reopen iTunes.
This article provides information about resuming interrupted downloads:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1725
If you don't see the items in your iTunes Library, please include this information in your response to this email:
- The name of your Internet service provider (ISP)
- The type of Internet connection (such as dial-up, cable modem, or DSL)
- Any troubleshooting steps you may have taken
- Any error messages you may have received
I appreciate you valuable time and patience in this.
Please reply to this email if you have any other concerns or issue.I will be more than glad to assist you.
Thank you for choosing the iTunes Store. Apple appreciates your business.
Sincerely,
(Name Of Customer Service Person)
iTunes Store/Mac App Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Monday - Saturday, 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM CST.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you.
January 2nd, 2012
This message was sent by me.
I just tried what was suggested in this email. None of them worked, just like they didn't work before I sent the email. Like I said, I tried several techniques that I found online with no luck. Do you have any other suggestions, suggestions other than the ones I find online or are contained in this email? Thank you.
January 3rd, 2012
Date: Tue, 3 Jan 2012 08:17:31 -0800
From: (Email For Apple Customer Service)
To: (My Personal Email Address)
Subject: RE: Purchases, Billing & Redemption; Follow-up: 184580048
Dear Hunter,
Please accept my sincere apologies for the frustration this downloads has caused.
Please follow the steps in this article for error-50
Information about error -50 and downloading videos
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1583
Certain types of software can affect the way a computer sends and receives information from the Internet. Here are a few examples of these types of software:
* Firewalls
* Web accelerators
* Ad filters
* Virus protection software
If you have any of this software, and if you cannot access the iTunes Store, you will need to configure these applications to allow iTunes to connect to the internet.
Please refer to the documentation that came with that software, and if necessary contact the software's manufacturer. You'll need to configure the software to allow these domains to send and receive data from the Internet:
itunes.apple.com
ax.itunes.apple.com
If a web accelerator appears to be causing the issue, please contact your Internet service provider (ISP) or the maker of the software.
Hunter, If you aren't using a firewall or any of the types of software listed above that might restrict your connection to the iTunes Store, please respond to this email with the following:
- the type of Internet connection you use (such as dial-up, cable modem, DSL, or corporate network)
- the name of your ISP
And at least one of the following:
- the order number of one of your purchases
- the last four digits of the credit card used for your iTunes Store account
- the answer to one of your security questions
And two items from this list:
- your birth date
- the billing address listed on the account
- the phone number on the account
Upon receiving your response, Apple will verify your billing address, reset your password, and send you an email with your new password.
I appreciate you valuable time and patience in this.
Please reply to this email if you have any other concerns or issue.
Thank you for choosing the iTunes Store. Apple appreciates your business.
Sincerely,
(Name Of Customer Service Person)
iTunes Store/Mac App Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Monday - Saturday, 7:00 AM to 4:00 PM CST.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you.
January 3rd, 2012
This message was sent by me.
I just tried doing what is described in the link you sent me, again. It didn't work and my problem is not resolved, again. Like I said before, I have tried a number of different methods to solve this problem. To this point, I have exhausted all the options I have found online, including the ones you have sent me.
I believe the problem may be on Apple's end. I don't say this because I am some arrogant tech nerd who thinks he knows everything about everything. I say this because I tried downloading American Horror Story Season 1 Episode 10 on my iPad. The download would be nearly complete, stop, and start again from the beginning. No matter how close the download came to being complete, this happened on every attempt I made to download the episode in question on my iPad. Unless you are going to tell me that there is a persistent problem with both my laptop and my iPad, a problem that I cannot seem to solve despite exhaustive efforts to do so, the problem must be on Apple's end.
I have since obtained American Horror Story Season 1 Episode 10, as well as the other episodes from that season, through other means. This means that I no longer have use for the purchase I made. The only reason I bring this up is that this purchase, in addition to Pan Am Season 1, continues to be automatically added to my download cue every time I open iTunes. I cannot seem to find a method to clear these purchases off my download cue outside of completing the download, which is not possible for the two episodes (AHS: Smoldering Children and Pan Am: Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) that are apparently corrupted on your end. I addition, I do not wish to waste my valuable disk space on something I will just delete anyway.
Is there anything you can do on your end to prevent this automatic downloading from happening? I am not asking for a refund, I am asking for the downloads that keep on appearing in my download cue to stop automatically appearing in my download cue.
Stay Care
Hunter Red
(After the message, I included my internet connection, ISP, birth date, and billing address.)
January 4th, 2012
On Jan 4, 2012, at 10:48 AM, (Email For Apple Customer Support) wrote:
Dear Hunter,
Please accept my sincere apologies for the frustration this download has caused. I took the liberty of removing the file(s) causing the issue from your download queue, and refunded your purchase of $34.18 USD plus any applicable sales tax. The credit will be posted to your credit card used to purchase within three to five business days.
Please wait at least one week before repurchasing this title. This will give us time to investigate the issue and make any corrections that may be necessary.
I have added 3 video credits to your account. Please note, however, that the video credits can only be used to purchase TV episodes or music videos. It cannot be used to purchase or rent full-length movies or episodes of a TV Show that are listed as Season Only.
I have also added 2 movie rental credits to your account. You can use these to rent any 2 movies that are rentable on the iTunes Store priced 4.99 USD or lower.
When you sign in to the iTunes Store with this account, the credit(s) will appear by your account name in the upper-right corner of the window. The next time you buy a videos or movie rentals from the iTunes Store, your credit(s) will be used as payment.
If you don't see the credit(s), refresh your account information by signing out and back in to the iTunes Store. The Sign Out and Sign In options are available from the pull-down Store menu in iTunes. If you don't see this menu, you should download the latest version of iTunes from our website for free:
http://www.apple.com/itunes/download/
Thank you for choosing the iTunes Store. Apple appreciates your business.
Sincerely,
(Name Of Customer Service Person)
iTunes Store/Mac App Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Monday - Saturday, 4:30 AM to 1:30 PM CST.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you.
January 4th, 2012
This message was sent by me.
I thank you for your assistance in this matter, but I am still experiencing one slight problem. The episodes of Pan Am, which I have also had almost the same problems downloading as I did with American Horror Story, still automatically appear in my download cue. Is there anything that you can do about this? Thanks again for your great help.
Sent from my iPad
January 5th, 2012
On Jan 5, 2012, at 9:04 AM, (Email For Apple Customer Service) wrote:
Dear Hunter,
Can you please mail us the order number for Pan Am series or the names of the episodes of the same. So that I can submit it investigation. because there are lot pending downloads in the queue, I couldn't make out which one.
Thank You.
Sincerely,
(Name Of Customer Service Person)
iTunes Store/Mac App Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Monday - Saturday, 4:30 AM to 1:30 PM CST.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you.
January 5th, 2012
This message was sent by me.
I don't have an order number for the episodes of Pan Am that I wanted to download. It was a free download, which is the only reason I wanted to download it. The episode I've been having problems downloading is named "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang", which is the ninth episode in the first season of that show.
Thank You
Hunter Red
Sent from my iPad
January 5th, 2012
Dear Hunter,
At your request, I have removed the items from your download queue. The next time you sign in to the iTunes Store, it will no longer be waiting to download.
If you have any other questions, or if you need help with any other downloads, please let me know.
Thank you for being a loyal iTunes Customer. Apple appreciates your business. Have a great day!
Sincerely,
(Name Of Customer Service)
iTunes Store/Mac App Store Customer Support
Please Note: I work Monday - Saturday, 4:30 AM to 1:30 PM CST.
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to assist you.
So that is where the series of emails ended. I have not used the credits that were sent to me, but that is because on Friday, January 6th, 2012, I bought another product that I needed to expend time and effort to make sure was setup and working the way that I thought it was. What is this product?
I bought a Mac Mini which I am using as a Media PC. I do not plan to buy American Horror Story again through the iTunes store as I can now watch it through Hulu and play it on my TV. As far as Pan Am, I only bought it at the time that I bought it because it was free.
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