Don was robbed by a thief who went on a $200 iTunes spree. Determined not to let something like this happen again, he called Apple’s customer service, which took days to respond before giving him no useful help.

His case echoes the mass iTunes robbery of early July. He writes:

I’m writing to you to describe my incredibly awful experience with Apple and their iTunes store. This past Thursday, I noticed a series of charges appearing on my bank statement. My debit card had been charged from iTunes for a collection of TV shows, applications, and music, totaling close to $200.

When I tried to contact Apple, I was directed to their e-mail support, as the iTunes store does not offer phone support. Despite a promise of a 48 hour turnaround, it took Apple 72 hours to send me a copy-paste job about securing my account.

In the course of a series of e-mails from Apple, I was told that: FTC regulations prohibited Apple from issuing a chargeback (?!?) itunes support could not deauthorize my computers, despite the fact that the person who accessed my account had done it in order to gain access to play the files

It could take 90 days to process my claim.

In the meantime, my account was canceled on iTunes.

A quick Google search shows that this is not an isolated problem, and one distinct from

Apple’s recent App hack. A number of users have had their accounts raided in a similar fashion.

Have you been hit by an iTunes fraudster? How has your experience with customer service gone?

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.