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Netflix "Free" Trial

By Ed Foster, Section Gripes
Posted on Wed Aug 13, 2003 at 10:32:10 PM PDT

A free trial can wind up costing you, warns one reader:

I recently signed up for a two-week free trial of Netflix. After looking for some DVDs and realizing they didn't have any of the new releases, I knew this service wasn't for me. I rented three movies I wanted to see, kept them for four days and sent them back. I then went to their web site and canceled my membership two days before the free trial was to expire. Luckily, I check my credit card statements on line once a week to make sure everything is OK and to my surprise, there was a membership charge for Netflix. I immediately called them to ask what was going on. They apologized, attributed the charge to a system problem and quickly reversed the charge. I suspect some of your readers might not check their statements often enough and may question whether they canceled early enough to avoid being charged. I'm willing to bet Netflix makes a lot of money this way.

< Used Hardware and Software Licenses | Forced to Play the Rebate Game >


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Netflix "Free" Trial | 10 comments (10 topical) | Post A Comment
Netflix Generally OK[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#1)
by FlipFlop on Fri Aug 15, 2003 at 10:54:10 AM PDT

I have been using Netflix for over 3 years now, and generally speaking have had a good experience. I signed up for the "2-week free trial," and all that meant is that they didn't charge my credit card until 2 weeks after I signed up. They didn't charge me earlier than that, so maybe they did give you an honest answer. I have had no billing problems with them at all.

My only gripe is that when a DVD is in short supply, it shows up in your queue as a "short wait," "long wait," or "very long wait." All this means is that if the top DVD in your queue is in wait status, they wait 24 hours to see if it arrives; and if it does not arrive, they send you the next DVD in your queue that is available. This works okay for the most part, however there is NO weight given to the fact that you may have had a given DVD at the top of your queue for a longer time than another subscriber. It's simply "luck of the draw" on your timing as to whether you will get that rare DVD or it gets sent to someone who had just put that DVD in their queue.

One of the best things about Netflix is their selection, especially with foreign films. They have a much larger library of films than any of the video stores near my house.

[ Reply to This ]



Netflix Supply vs. Your Rental History[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#4)
by Anonymous User on Thu Aug 28, 2003 at 06:34:00 PM PDT

FlopFlip, You might be interested to know that Netflix makes titles available to you depending on your rental frequency, and not just based on supply issues. Check out http://slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=03/04/23/130257&mode=thread&tid=97 I'm generally satisfied with Netflix, but strange things start to happen in your queue when you return several movies within a month. Richard

[ Parent | Reply to This ]


Thanks for posting this...[ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#5)
by Anonymous User on Wed Sep 03, 2003 at 02:01:18 PM PDT

This is an interesting twist to the Netflix business model, and also explains something I've wondered from time to time (but have never gone to such lengths to find the answer to). Recommended reading for any Netflix customers.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]


Read the terms carefully[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#2)
by pfaut on Fri Aug 15, 2003 at 07:56:47 PM PDT

Not computer related, but I once got screwed on a like-it-or-your-money-back deal. We subscribed to a local newspaper. After 13 weeks if you weren't satisfied they would refund your payments. After about 10 weeks I cancelled because I was tired of hunting for my newspaper every morning - sometimes in the bushes, sometimes under the car, never once on the porch where I asked them to put it even though they kept saying that would be no problem. They refused to give me my money back because I failed to take delivery of the paper for 13 weeks.

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Not my experience at all...[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#3)
by Anonymous User on Mon Aug 18, 2003 at 02:29:43 PM PDT

Of course, I'm a Netflix customer who kept them after the trial.  I find it easy to see this customer's experience as a fluke, because all in all I've found Netflix to be a great company.  In this day and age it seems like a lot of companies are trying to squeeze their customers for all they can get; by contrast Netflix provides a simple service that works quite well (even better now than when we first signed up a year ago or so; the return process is faster) and is priced quite reasonably.

Your complainant strikes me as quite a cynic.  Anybody can make a mistake, and he himself says they apologized rather than trying to accuse him of backing off a commitment or some such.

And everybody ought to check their credit card bill every month anyway; why would anybody NOT do so?  I check mine once every week or ten days, online.  The issue that tells you a company's character isn't whether they make a mistake, but how they deal with it afterward.

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Netflix is great[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#6)
by jsjohnson1 on Mon Sep 08, 2003 at 07:17:46 PM PDT

Hi, I'm sorry to hear about your problems with netflix. I have been using them since fall of 1999 and absolutely love them. The nice thing about them compared to the other online renters is that they have warehouses all around the country for processing the orders. I can send a dvd back on monday and have a new one in my hands by Tuesday or wednesday.
! !
[ Reply to This ]


I was wrongly charged too[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#7)
by Anonymous User on Fri Jan 23, 2004 at 01:32:33 AM PDT

Someone here said this person is being cynical. Perhaps this is the case and perhaps netflix charging him inadvertantly was a one-time fluke. Also it may be the case that netflix is overall quite a good company. Nonetheless i feel obligated to add my experience: a month after my free trial which I had cancelled in time, I saw that I was charged on the day that I cancelled. They have apologized and credited my account. I became curious about this so I searched the internet and found this "gripe" page. This does not prove that netflix is trying to pull one over on certain customers. Still I feel obligated to let consumers know of my negative experience.

[ Reply to This ]


To heck with Netflix![ Parent | Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#8)
by Anonymous User on Sat May 08, 2004 at 06:43:23 AM PDT

I've been using a rental service called GreenCine ever since I heard of it at an anime convention and its absolutely blows Netflix away! The selection of foreign films and arthouse titles is second to none and they carry just about every anime series out there. The staff is very friendly and their customer support is not only fast but friendly and helpful.

[ Parent | Reply to This ]


Unplayableflix[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#9)
by thebeardedlady on Tue Oct 03, 2006 at 03:11:26 PM PDT

My gripe with Netflix is that at least once a week I get a broken or unplayable DVD. I pay the same fee per month if I get three playable DVDs per week as I do if I get three unplayable DVDs. Because the customer and the business rely on the post office and because my membership is coincidentally called "unlimited," I'm not compensated in any way for my trouble. Usually the DVDs come when they say, but sometimes they don't and it makes for inconvenient viewing if you make plans around "movie night" or something like that. I like to rent obscure and indie flicks, so Netflix is basically the only access to otherwise unknown gems. The local video store isn't going to stock films if there is lack of interest. But for convenience and just to patronize businesses I might miss in the future, I still rent at the local video stores. I want the local video store to be around if all I get is broken and unplayable DVDs...

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Very Few problems[ Reply to This ] (none / 0) (#10)
by Anonymous User on Wed Sep 05, 2007 at 03:40:15 AM PDT

I have had Netflix for over 3 years now, and have only had issues with them twice.

Once was a scratched disc that wouldn't play, the other was a movie that i returned that they never received (Most likley a post office issue rather than Netflix).

Both issues were resolved almost immediatley. I went online and reported the issue, and immediatley for case 1 the scratched movie was sent out, and for case 2 they sent the next movie in my queue no hard feelings.

All in all it is an awesome service. I even tried blockbuster for a while, but canceled because at the time you couldn't return the moveis that you had received online to the store.

I don't think any service that you sign up for is going to be flawless, but you have to give it to netflix for taking care of business immediatley.

[ Reply to This ]


Netflix "Free" Trial | 10 comments (10 topical) | Post A Comment
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