App store charging twice for same app

Question

In Decemeber 2010 I purchased Goodreader for iPad, was emailed this statement:

GoodReader for iPad, v3.1.2, Developer: Yuri Selukoff (4+) 
£0.59

I installed Goodreader on a new iPad just a few days ago. I was notified I'd been charged again for it:

GoodReader for iPad, v3.18.6 (4+) 
 YURI SELUKOFF   App    £2.99

I don't understand why and it's hard to find any definitive info about this (aside from forum posts).

What could be to blame? The price change? The change of developer string (to upper case)? At one point Apple forced me to change my Apple ID from a usernae style to email address style. Could that be the cause?

This isn't the only app this has happened with.

Answer 1

I don't know if GoodReader re-issued a new build that was similar in name, but costs more money or if there was a mix up on your account.

Your best bet is to report a problem from within the purchase history using iTunes on a computer since it will have the order numbers (actually they are alphanumeric strings) for both purchases so you can ask Apple's billing support if indeed my guess is the case.

You could also look over the purchase history on iOS - but a developer could remove an old version of an app for sale, and it would no longer appear in the purchased history for download.

Lastly, you could reach out to GoodReader support and ask them if they had a paid upgrade somewhere between the two versions you have in your purchase history. Support for each app is always available from the App Store as well if you want to use that link rather than the one I dug up above.