Mere Civilian:

A few months ago, the balance on my Apple account was running low (less than $100), and therefore, I attempted to add funds to my account using my credit card. My first attempt resulted in an error, and I decided to try again in a couple of days. The very next day, all my Apple devices gave the following prompt when updating apps from the App Store: “Your Account Has Been Disabled in the App Store and iTunes.”

Follow the headline link for the details. In a nutshell, the poster’s Apple account was disabled due to alleged breach of the Apple Media Services Terms and Conditions.

This was interesting (and worth reading) on a number of fronts. Part of this is the hoops the poster had to jump through to try to find out why their account was disabled, and the fact that they never did get that info.

Another part was that having their account disabled meant they lost access to all ten years worth of “app and media purchases and the funds in my Apple account”. That’s alarming.

There’s also this:

The next day, I called again and was provided with the same response. However, this time, I was told that the Back End Team had made the decision, and there is no way to appeal that decision or even contact them. Furthermore, the senior Apple support person confirmed that they do not have access to the details as to why the account was disabled. This Back End Team appears to have God-like powers.

To be fair to Apple, this is a bit one-sided, anecdotal, so take with a grain of salt.

But read on to the end, where Tim Cook’s executive team comes to the rescue.