iTunes introduces 14-Day European return policy

[RoadWarrior]

Apple has introduced a 14-day return policy for iTunes sales in Europe to come into line with new laws governing online sales in the territory and the changes have the music industry worried.

New European laws now allow for a 14-day trial period for any online purchases, including digital downloads.

Apple quietly introduced the modification to its terms and conditions in Europe this week to comply with the 'right of withdrawal' rules approved by the EU in June, 2014.

Under the new guidelines a customer who purchases music from iTunes in Europe can now apply for a refund with no questions asked anytime from the time of purchase through to 14 days later. The exception is for iTunes gift cards that can only be returned within 14 days if the customer has not redeemed the code.

iTunes is even being more generous with its refund policy than the law demands. The new rules state that a download cannot be returned if the performance has been played on any device (which iTunes can monitor through its software).

iTunes, however, will refund the full price of the purchased music even if the song has been played and thus creating a concern for an already heavily bootlegged industry. The no questions asked refund policy makes it easy for music to be downloaded and copied with the customer then applying for a full refund, therefore rendering the value of music worthless.

The new iTunes Terms and Conditions do not apply outside of Europe. Apple has no plans to implement a similar refund policy in other territories at this stage