Netflix.com: They wanted my money so they charged me
Written: Jun 27 '02 (Updated Jun 27 '02)
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I can't remember exactly when it was that I first joined Netflix.com but it has to have been at least a year and a half or more ago. We had recently acquired our DVD system, and I remember overhearing someone at work talking about Netflix and the convenience of having DVDs mailed to your home.
A rocky start
We had actually also received a 10-free DVD rental coupon that was packaged with our DVD. So, I went and ordered a few DVDs. I still had to give my credit card.
The DVDs came quickly, and they came with an easy to return envelope with pre-paid postage. All we had to do (and all you still have to do) is pop the watched DVD back into the envelope and mail it off on its merry way. The system is pretty simple.'
Only, a couple things went wrong with my membership.
First off, we were charged for our DVDs. When I called customer service, they told me the code on the coupon was bad -- yet, there it was, packaged with our Toshiba DVD. And we had only received the DVD system one month beforehand. I asked if it had expired -- and they told me that code had never existed. (Yet, I held their marketing material in my hand with a printed code.)
I gave up trying to get the free DVDs, and figured it was a good deal. At the time we paid a few bucks for each DVD - about the same as what we would have paid at Blockbuster, and the convenience was nice. And we thought it was fun to come home to our mailbox and find some new DVDs waiting.
After a few orders around the same time period, we did not order again -- for no particular reason really other than loving our cable selection, and liking the walk to Blockbuster.
Several months went by, and I would occasionally receive e-mailings from Netflix which I would glance over and delete.
Charges on my Visa bill
To be fair, there is a *small* chance somewhere, in the fine print, I was alerted to this. However, I don't believe I was. One day, my husband and I opened up our Visa statement and found that we were charged $19.95 from Netflix for a monthly service. This was months and months after we had ever rented a DVD.
Basically what had happened was that Netflix changed their system to a monthly fee service, we weren't informed, but we started getting charged.
The breakdown is as follows: the smallest package is one for $13.95 a month, where you can rent up to 10 movies in any given month and have up to two movies out at any point during that month. The next package up is $19.95 a month, where you can rent as many movies as you want without having more than three movies out at a time. The pricing plan goes up from here at the rates of $24.95, $29.95 and $34.95. With each increase in price, you are allowed to have more movies "checked-out" at any given time. Some of the larger packages seem crazy to me -- who can possibly watch 8 DVDs at once?
I didn't sign up for any of these packages, but because my credit card number and information was stored in their system from months before, they decided to put me on a plan. (Gee, thanks.) I was irritated because I had not actively chosen this.
I was given an option to unsubscribe electronically from a not-so-friendly customer service rep - so I went and did this on the link he had provided me with.
The next month, I was charged again. I sent *another* email and this time I received a very nice email back apologizing for the error. They indicated they saw where I had *tried* to cancel my account but due to a "system glitch," I was still left as a member. They credited my account for that month (but not the month before, when I had not taken anything out.)
Recommending Netflix
I am answering yes to the question, "Would you recommend this product to a friend?" The reason why I'll answer yes is that I think the convenience is handy, and I think the price is right -- if you are aware you are paying. If you are a person who rents a lot of DVDs in a month and can't be bothered to go out to get the DVDs, this is the place for you.
Personally, I probably won't be renting from there again, simply because I did not appreciate the way I became a monthly dues paying member without my consent, and due to the fact that it was so hard to break my membership.
Recommended:
Yes
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whitty
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Location: Philadelphia, PA
Reviews written: 142
Trusted by: 126 members
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