During the transition from .Mac to MobileMe it appears Apple has inadvertently charged customers signing up for a free trial. When customers sign up for a trial of MobileMe Apple pre-authorises a charge but it appears that many customers had that charge removed from their accounts, Apple is working to reverse the charges and sent out an email of apology to those affected offering a 30-day extension to their trial period.

Dear MobileMe Member,

Apple has identified and resolved an issue that caused an incorrect, temporary authorization hold of 121 GBP to be placed on your credit or debit card when your MobileMe trial account was created. We have addressed the issue and want to apologize for any inconvenience.

Typically when you create a new trial account, your credit or debit card is verified by authorizing a small charge (equivalent to USD $1). Unfortunately, an error caused the incorrect amount to be preauthorized for your card. Be assured that this is not a charge, but only an authorization hold. The hold is released by the card-issuing bank after a predetermined period, usually between a week and a month. Where possible, Apple is working to have these holds removed earlier.

To show our appreciation for your continued loyalty, we have extended your free trial period by 30 days. This extension is in addition to the 30-day extension of which you were notified on July 16, for a total of 120 days of free MobileMe service.

Look for the extension to be reflected in your account settings in the next few weeks. You may now enjoy MobileMe free of charge until [November 8, 2008], after which your annual paid subscription will begin.

Thank you for being a MobileMe customer.

Sincerely,
The MobileMe Team

Last week Apple sent out an email apologising for the problematic and slow transition from .Mac to MobileMe and offered every user a 30-day extension to their subscription.