Netflix Underground: Tell Your Netflix Story

3/11/2005

Tell Your Netflix Story

Has Netflix taken advantage of you? Tell your story here. Maybe your bad experience can serve as a warning to others.

68 comments:

Anonymous said...: I tried to take advantage of a 9.99 offer they were testing - when I accidentally did not hit the right radio button and tried to get them to change it - they flatly refused and now say that there is no way that they can switch me to theis other offer - even though i have it in front of me. plus i asked them to purge my customers data from their system and they also refused. i did not think that it was legal for them to kepe my data on file if I ask them to purge it.; 4/14/2005 6:47 PM
Anonymous said...: Love it. Won't leave it.

Most comments appear to be by people who must spend 24x watching dvds. Netflix saves me time wasted trekking too and fro from blockbuster.; 4/19/2005 12:21 PM
Anonymous said...: Hi. What a nightmare.

I joined Netflix last November...the 3 at a time plan. The first month was great, then they sent me a mislabeled disk. It was pt.1 of a two disk documentary, but in the pt.2 sleeve. I checked off the box on the sleeve, and reported the mistake online. I requested that the correct disk be sent. Yeh, right. They said it hadn't been returned...actually they never looked at the sleeve...and just said it was lost. Finally they took if off the "not returned" list, and we waited another 2-3 weeks for the disk. We missed about 6 rentals that month because of their screwup.

In December I bought my husband a 1 month gift for 3 at a time movies. On my activity page that info is correct, but they have the expiration date as 12/05, and were planning to charge me for 12 months. So far they have overcharged me on an Am.Ex. card for 3 months. I'll bet this is going to be a nightmare, again.

I'm afraid to cancel my rentals as I fear that will destroy any hope I may still have of having my overcharges returned to me.

And yes, the turn around is so slow that there is no possibility of coming close to 16 per month. Still, it would be worth it if they would just straighten the overcharges out and do a professional job.; 4/22/2005 2:52 AM
Anonymous said...: My conflict has been resolved. Within 24 hours of my complaint I received an ID#, and called Netflix. The 3 months of overcharge have been refunded to my cc. The rep was very polite and quickly took my info, so I am pleased.

I'll be more careful from now on. I thought I was alone with this type of problem, but this site is here. Thank you.; 4/22/2005 12:42 PM
Anonymous said...: so i was getting throttled hardcore, and now it seems like they have stopped, i wonder if this has anything to do with the new "cut out window" on the back of the return sleaves. If you but the movie in backwards and upside down the bardcore of the movie is showing. They may possibly putting the movies on a conveyer belt and it automatically is scanned. any ideas?; 5/06/2005 9:02 PM
Anonymous said...: In response to the guy that mentioned the cut out window on the netflix envelopes. I've been a netflix member for a little over a month now and I had always instinctively put the sleeves in the envelopes with the bar codes showing. On this last batch however, the envelopes had an illustration instructing on the proper way to put the sleeve back inside the envelope, which was the complete opposite from how I had been doing it...so I followed directions, not wanting to chance a delay. Well, it's been 2 days now since they should have received them back. Up until this point I had quick turnarounds, but it's probably just a coincidence. From what I read, this is about the time they penalize (aka give the shaft to) heavy users. That will teach me for renting more than my unlimited share. Of course, now that I have nothing to lose, I'll be sure to put the sleeves in with the bar codes showing from now on. I doubt it will speed things up, but at the very least I can inconvenience them for a change.; 6/24/2005 11:07 PM
Anonymous said...: Here's a trend I've noticed the last few weeks. NF seems to have stopped sending discs on Mondays, even when they receive discs from me. No matter how many. I used to send discs back on Friday or Saturday to free up a slot so I can get any new releases that week. Now they send nothing on Monday, and by Tuesday, new releases ore on long-wait status.; 8/11/2005 7:55 AM
Anonymous said...: I have been a member of NF for two months now. I noticed this month that the movies are coming at a slower rate then they did the first month and they did not go in the order of my Queue, they were skipping every other movie and all were available at the time it said. I have read the other comments and I always put the sleeve back in with the bar code facing out. It doesn't say anywhere on there which way to put it in. I really did love it at first but now I am thinking about leaving before my DVD's start disppearing in the mail as they claim can happen.; 10/03/2005 8:29 PM
Anonymous said...: I've been a customer of NF since February '05. I live in a very small community where we only have one video rental store, so NF seemed to be a Godsent. I recommended the NF service to several of my family members, friends and neighbors...thus giving NF a ton of (3-day) business from my zipcode.
I can usually watch 1 movie per weekday (I love indies and need to watch when my hubby and kids aren't home). My kids watch about 5 kid's titles per month and my husband watches the occassional sci-fi. NF fit the bill perfectly so we each always had something to watch when we had the time to watch it.
BUT NOW.....we're lucky if we can get 6 movies per month from NF. I've been keeping track through the past 2 months. I often send a movie back in Thursday's mail and don't get a response from NF until the following Monday (when I used to get them the next day)...then I go to see when the replacement is shipped. It's always at least 4 days out....and coming from a far away facility.
I got fed up with stupid, almost patronizing responses to my complaints so I unsubscribed from NF today. Then a friend sent me the link to this site (SIGH!)....wish I had seen this first.
I did delete all of the movies on my queue and made sure I currently had no neflix-owned movies in my possession before I quit. I just got an e-mail (several hours after I quit) that they sent me the last movie in my queue. Cross your fingers I don't get stuck with it charged to my card.; 10/13/2005 8:08 PM
Anonymous said...: > -----Original Message-----
> From: teri
> Sent: Wednesday, August 03, 2005 6:59:37 PM
> To: customerservice@netflix.com
> Subject: Shipping and Receiving DVDs
>
>
> Hi,
> I wrote last week concerning the time to ship increasing. This week, in
> addition to an extra day to ship all 3 movies, none of them arrived in
> one day.
>
> If the movies arrive tomorrow, this means that it will be 6 days from
> returning movies to receiving new ones. Service is definitely getting
> slower.
>
> I hope you will look into why the delays are increasing. If things don't
> improve, I may discontinue my membership.
>
> Thanks

At 04:44 PM 8/5/2005, you wrote:
Dear Teri,

Thanks for your inquiry.

Here is how we process and ship our DVDs:

We receive rental returns Monday through Friday, except holidays. We process nearly 100% of returns the same day we receive them. When we check-in a return, an e-mail is automatically and promptly sent to you to let you know that we have received your DVD.

Our goal is to ship you the DVDs listed highest in your Queue. We try to ship you DVDs from the distribution center closest to you so that you get movies quickly. Often, on the same day that we receive a DVD from you, we will ship the next available DVD from your Queue. In certain instances, your next available DVD will not ship until the next business day following our receipt of your returned movie. This can occur, for example, when your top choices are not available to you from your closest distribution center or the number of shipments to be processed by the distribution center on that day has been exceeded. When this happens, your DVD will ship on the next business day and may come from an alternate distribution center.

In determining priority for shipping and inventory allocation, we give priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service. As a result, those members who receive the most movies may experience next-day shipping and receive movies lower in their Queue more often than our other members. By prioritizing in this way, we help assure a balanced experience for all our members. Those that rent a lot of movies get a great value and those with lighter viewing habits are able to count on our service to meet their limited needs.

When we ship you another DVD we automatically and promptly send you an e-mail letting you know that it's on the way and telling you the estimated arrival date.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks,
Lisa,
Netflix Customer Service .

Date: Fri, 05 Aug 2005 17:48:11 -0400
To: "Netflix Customer Service"
From: Teri
Subject: Re: Shipping and Receiving DVDs NFLX ID: 873303

Thanks for your reply, I do understand your process. Is there any way to officially report the increase in turnaround time? I realize you already track shipping time, but it's the total turnaround time that affects my satisfaction. I can understand how an occaisional movie takes longer to ship, but it was 3 out of 3 this week. Pehaps the local warehouse is understaffed.

Thanks, Teri

At 04:01 PM 8/8/2005, you wrote:
Dear Teri,

Thank you for contacting Netflix.com customer support!

We have not been notified of delays in the Gaithersburg, MD shipping center. I have passed this information on to our shipping liaison for review.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks,
Patricia,
Netflix Customer Service .

Date: Mon, 08 Aug 2005 18:21:39 -0400
To: "Netflix Customer Service"
From: Teri
Subject: Re: Re: Shipping and Receiving DVDs NFLX ID: 882556

Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate you looking into it.

Date: Tue, 09 Aug 2005 08:52:43 -0400
To: "Netflix Customer Service"
From: Teri
Subject: Re: Re: Shipping and Receiving DVDs NFLX ID: 882556

Hi Patricia,
I'm not sure if our movies ship from the same facility we return them to, but our shipping label says Harrisburg, PA.

Your FAQ says that most movies ship out the same day as the previous movie is returned. In the last month, 4 of 13 shipped out the same day, and 9 of 13 shipped out the next day. This is far less than "most." I've attached a copy of the list I tracked them with, for your reference.

Thanks, Teri

At 05:30 PM 8/10/2005, you wrote:
Hi Teri,

Thanks for your inquiry.

Here is how we process and ship our DVDs:

We receive rental returns Monday through Friday, except holidays. We process nearly 100% of returns the same day we receive them. When we check-in a return, an e-mail is automatically and promptly sent to you to let you know that we have received your DVD.

Our goal is to ship you the DVDs listed highest in your Queue. We try to ship you DVDs from the distribution center closest to you so that you get movies quickly. Often, on the same day that we receive a DVD from you, we will ship the next available DVD from your Queue. In certain instances, your next available DVD will not ship until the next business day following our receipt of your returned movie. This can occur, for example, when your top choices are not available to you from your closest distribution center or the number of shipments to be processed by the distribution center on that day has been exceeded. When this happens, your DVD will ship on the next business day and may come from an alternate distribution center.

In determining priority for shipping and inventory allocation, we give priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service. As a result, those members who receive the most movies may experience next-day shipping and receive movies lower in their Queue more often than our other members. By prioritizing in this way, we help assure a balanced experience for all our members. Those that rent a lot of movies get a great value and those with lighter viewing habits are able to count on our service to meet their limited needs.

When we ship you another DVD we automatically and promptly send you an e-mail letting you know that it's on the way and telling you the estimated arrival date.

Most of our subscribers rent between 3-11 movies per month. The number of DVDs that you rent will vary based on a number of factors, including the chosen subscription plan.

Other factors that may affect delivery times, include, but are not limited to, the distance between the distribution center from which your DVD was shipped and your delivery address, the timing of your placement or adjustment of movies in your queue circumstances impacting delivery by the U.S. Postal Service. Please note, we do not guarantee our delivery times.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks,
Christina,
Netflix Customer Service .

Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005 18:34:16 -0400
To: "Netflix Customer Service"
From: Teri
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Shipping and Receiving DVDs NFLX ID: 882556

Christina,
I have already received this information. I want to discuss the specific level of service in time to ship. 10 out of the last 14 dvds took an additional day to ship. This is far different than "most ship the same day" as you state in your FAQs.

I am trying to provide you with enough information so that you can investigate why the service level is dropping. Sending me pre-canned responses just makes me less satisfied.
Teri

At 03:48 PM 8/11/2005, you wrote:
Dear Teri,

Thanks for your inquiry.

We appreciate you taking the time to provide your feedback and comments regarding our shipping process. By prioritizing in this way, we help assure a balanced experience for all our members. Those that rent a lot of movies get a great value and those with lighter viewing habits are able to count on our service to meet their limited needs.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us.

Thanks,
Kristina D.,
Netflix Customer Service .

Dear Teri,

Per your request, your Netflix membership has been cancelled, effective 08/25/2005.

We hope you enjoyed the service and will consider returning some day.

-Your Friends at Netflix; 10/31/2005 10:28 PM
Anonymous said...: This is commentary about the presentatation chart, 'Product Leadership Means Lower Churn' from the Netflix Pacific Growth Equities Presentation.

The chart is in error regarding how the height of each bar relates to the churn percents. As created by Netflix, the chart creates a sense that they are quickly going to see churn drop to near 0%.

In the list of data below, the churn %'s are in the 2nd column. The bar heights are in the 4th column.

I painstakingly measured each of the bars in inches. In the 3rd column, I compared each churn % to the March '02 %. In the 5th column, I compared each bar height to the March '02 bar height. The last column shows how good the changes in the heights of the bars are in relation to the changes in the churn percents.

Look at Sep '05. The bar is ridiculosly small compared to the relative amount of churn. If you create the chart in Excel, you will be stunned at how much it looks like this was no mistake on their part. The profile is unmistakably much flatter than the image that NFLX created.

02-Mar 7.20% 100% 1.50000 100% 100%
02-Jun 6.70% 93% 1.28125 85% 92%
02-Sep 7.20% 100% 1.50000 100% 100%
02-Dec 6.30% 88% 1.06250 71% 81%
03-Mar 5.80% 81% 1.34375 90% 111%
03-Jun 5.60% 78% 0.75000 50% 64%
03-Sep 5.20% 72% 0.56250 38% 52%
03-Dec 4.80% 67% 0.37500 25% 38%
04-Mar 4.70% 65% 0.31250 21% 32%
04-Jun 5.60% 78% 0.75000 50% 64%
04-Sep 5.60% 78% 0.75000 50% 64%
04-Dec 4.40% 61% 0.15625 10% 17%
05-Mar 5.00% 69% 0.56250 38% 54%
05-Jun 4.70% 65% 0.31250 21% 32%
05-Sep 4.30% 60% 0.12500 8% 14%; 11/22/2005 12:05 PM
Anonymous said...: Since you would not publish what I sent to you , I sent it to the New York Times and to the Wall Street Journal.; 11/23/2005 1:46 PM
Editor said...: Dear Rick H,

Your original comment was backlogged due to a problem with the Comments feature on this site. This problem has now been fixed.

Thank you for your comment. Sorry it took several days to appear on the site.; 11/29/2005 4:17 AM
Anonymous said...: I signed on with Netflix in September '05 for 1 movie at a time. Movies were arriving with amazing speed--a 3-day turnaround, which gave me 2 movies/week. Recently. I got a feedback form from Netflix--one of those "how are we doing with getting your movies to you in a timely manner?" things. Ever since I returned it with my glowing feedback, my service has changed--5 days for them to acknowledge receiving a movie, and 5 days until my next one arrives. I've been raving about their service to everybody, and now I'll be raving about their BAD service to everybody and cancelling my membership--just before the date it began, so I don't get charged for a month without any movies. I feel duped, and I don't like it.; 1/07/2006 1:09 AM
Anonymous said...: as soon as i started getting more and more movies per month, i started having the same delay problems. the day they get the dvd's is the day they ship right? next thing you know the shipping date is like 2 days later. go figure. im hoping the blockbuter rumor is true. the rumor is they will make a system to let you bring the rentals back to the store if you please and get more immediately.; 1/14/2006 1:58 AM
Anonymous said...: Hey Everyone!
Has this ever happend to anybody?
I've been renting movies through nf for a while now and things have been great... until now!
I got this email saying you returned the wrong dvd/cd and that they will return what I sent them. I said oh great and looked everywhere for it...I have a toddler and i thought the dvd got mixed up with sesame street or somthing. I double check now because its happed before.
Well, I got the returned dvd today from netflix and it's a burned version of the same movie they say I never returned! WTF!! Is it possible for somone to pull a fast one like that? Has this ever happened to anybody?; 7/03/2006 10:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Netflix appears to be rather dishonest and does not live up to its "unlimited" advertisements. Customer service is awful. Series dvds are sent out of order so you have to hold them to view them in order, so you get even less for your money. My account was put "on hold" when I reported dvds had not arrived as promised. They never notified me of this problem until a called them at a number not found on their website. Each day all scheduled dvds said "shipping today" and then later in the day would change to the next day. This went on for a week!; 7/17/2006 9:55 PM
Anonymous said...: Blockbuster is a great option if you live near a shipping center. (I don't) The in store coupons are a great bonus if you live near a Blockbuster store, (I Don't)

I decided to try Intelliflix and signed up for their annual plan at the rate of $177. They double billed me! I used a debit card, so that could have caused checks to bounce. It didn't, but it is still pretty careless and irresponsible

Netflix throttles, but their website is the best and easiest to use.

The concept is great, but there doesn't seem to be a company out there that has it all together yet.; 7/17/2006 10:13 PM
Anonymous said...: So it finally happened for me, after 6 months, looks like I'm being throttled.

The real tell-tale is that I've been renting, essentially at random, all the titles from the Doctor Who range (about 50 + in total). On the same day that they started to drag their feet checking my returned discs in, they mailed a Dr Who disc from a remote location. First time they'd done this after 40 or so rentals from this range - what are the odds?

All the other signs are there to, the 'shipping today' which turns to 'shipping tommorow' etc etc.

Customer service assured me that I am *not* being throttled. The only thing I can think to do is to call back, and record the conversation. If they tell me that they're not purposefully limiting my returns then I have some legal 'in' at least.; 8/15/2006 3:10 PM
Anonymous said...: I have had the same experience as these other users. I live in Chicago where we are fortunate enough to have major Netflix distribution center. When I was on the trial membership on the 5 out at a time plan, my experience was that the dvd's arrived the very next day. On one occasion when I dropped off the dvds in the mailbox at 7am, I had my next 5 in that afternoon's mail! As my membership has gone on (at 2 months now) it is taking about 4 days from when they say they estimate arrival to get my dvd's. My most recent tranche was supposedly shipped on Monday for Tuesday and I got 4 of them on Friday and the 5th on Saturday. Frankly, I wouldn't be as angry if they were just honest about shipping and arrival dates. Heck, I would even pay a little more if they would live up to their advertising. It makes me furious that they promise the dvd's on one day only to have them arrive 2-4 days later. The velocity at which they are shipped in the "free trial period" only adds insult to injury because you know what they are actually capable of if they wanted to. I am going to start keeping a diary of when I mail, when they report received, when they report shipped, and when I actually receive. If a few thousand other users would do this as well, perhaps we could form another class action lawsuit with some money-hungry attorneys. I know already my log will show that they receive the dvd's next day from when I mail, but it's going to be double that for them to get me my new ones. Anybody want to join me in keeping a log? I don't want any money from Netflix, I just want honest and fair dealing. Why is that so much to ask?; 10/14/2006 9:08 PM
Anonymous said...: My son bought me a two months subscription to Netflix as a Christmas gift. When I signed on to the Netflix site I entered the gift subscription number but was also asked for a credit card number, I hesitated but after reading that my credit card would not be charged I went ahead and gave my information. It took Netflix less than 24 hours to charge my card $10.99. How many people are Netflix doing this to? And now that they have my bank card number am I also going to have to pay additional for stop payments? The public really need to know about this and the CEO who sat on nationwide tv and promised that it would be easier to contact customer service and that a phone number would be published on the Netflix site LIED!!!!!!!!!!; 12/28/2006 8:33 PM
Anonymous said...: After cancelling my subscription, Netflix kept my personal information, including my credit card number.

I called their customer support on this matter, requesting them to delete the credit card info, but the represenative refused to do anything about it, and could not even tell if his refusal was due to Netflix policy or some other excuse. At this point I asked where to file a written complaint but, alas, he could not answer that question either.; 1/10/2007 11:33 PM
Anonymous said...: I swapped fron Blockbuster to Netflix because Blockbuster started throttling. After 1.5 months, Netflix is throttling. The most movies I've rented is 15. Netflix started throttling me after I rented 9 movies in two weeks. Unfortunately, a class action lawsuit is no longer feasible since they reworded their shipping policy.
I also think they should be required to get rid of the unlimited since this is false advertising. Go to something like 15 movies per month for $20.00 + tax or $1.00 per movie. Just be honest.; 1/14/2007 11:02 PM
Anonymous said...: I swapped fron Blockbuster to Netflix because Blockbuster started throttling. After 1.5 months, Netflix is throttling. The most movies I've rented is 15. Netflix started throttling me after I rented 9 movies in two weeks. Unfortunately, a class action lawsuit is no longer feasible since they reworded their shipping policy.
I also think they should be required to get rid of the unlimited since this is false advertising. Go to something like 15 movies per month for $20.00 + tax or $1.00 per movie. Just be honest.; 1/14/2007 11:03 PM
Anonymous said...: I made a complaint with the Mississippi BBB. They said it was out of their jurisdiction area and referred it to Silicon Valley BBB. I checked their site (www.bbbsilicon.org) and found Netflix has had 782 complaints filed with the BBB in the last 36 months: 75 for advertising (25 consumer accepted Netflix solution, 45 consumer did not acknowledge accept to BBB, 5 BBB closed as Netflix mad reasonable offer); 159 for delivery issues ( 50 consumer accepted, 108 consumer did not acknowledge accept, 1 BBB closed); 108 for customer service issues ( 36 consumer accepted, 70 consumer did not acknowledge acceptance, 2 BBB closed). Of the 782 complaints 452 were closed in 2006. The BBB does not think that Netflix has an unusual volume of complaints. Based on BBB files, netflix has a satisfactory record with the BBB meaning Netflix has properly addressed matters referred by the BBB. The BBB states that the nature of the complaints and a firm's responses to them are often more important than the number of complaints. the BBB also states that Netflix does not have an unusual volume of complaints. Of course, you can't read any of the complaints so you really don't know what anyone complained about. From what I read, filing a complaint with the BBB will accomplish nothing to stop Netflix from throttling. It will definitely take a class action lawsuit for false advertising. I think I am going to give up on all movie rental companies since even Blockbuster throttles.; 1/14/2007 11:05 PM
Anonymous said...: I received my answer from the BBB and Netflix today. Netflix gave the same old spill about their policy but they did admit that they did delay shipments for heavy users. I pointed this out in my reason for not accepting their response. "Unlimited" means without limit; therefore, limiting by delaying shipping is imposing limits. This is false advertising. Remove "unlimited" or quit limiting rentals on all members.; 1/17/2007 11:39 AM
Anonymous said...: I made a stupid mistake and sent Netflix a Hollywood Video DVD. I still have Netflixs. I have emailed, emailed and emailed. I have written letters to no avail. The company simply has no customer service and could care less. When my membership runs out this month I'm through with them.; 1/18/2007 5:13 AM
Anonymous said...: I received my final offer today from Netflix on my complaint to the BBB. Same old canned response about refer to their policy and they don't have a fixed number of DVD rentals and would I please call them and talk to them about my problems. I listed all sorts of problems I have been having including some that started after I refused their offer to my complaint.
I have tied them up for over two weeks with the BBB though. If every member that is having trouble with delayed shipments for heavy viewing habits would file a compliant with the BBB, the BBB might actually have to do something
about Netflix's "unlimited" policy. If anyone wants to look at my complaint, go to http://www.sanjose.bbb.org/complaint/view/261313/c/za3s4b; 1/24/2007 3:29 PM
Anonymous said...: The solution is so easy!I was getting throttled big time when I switched to 8 at a time, then I got an idea; it's worked better than I'd anticipated, far better.

I dropped back to 4 at a time, and started up an account with Blockbuster for their max, 3 at a time. When I've watched the Blockbuster movies, I take them back to the store and receive three free movies in their place. The day after my return, the online division has been notified I took the movies back, and they send me out three more. Those arrive before I'm finished watching the ones from the store that were free. All the while Netflix movies are arriving! Win, Win!; 2/28/2007 7:02 PM
Anonymous said...: I joined the 4.99 plan and was charged 15.24 on my CC. I have emailed them but have not heard back yet. I will probably cancel my account over this.; 3/11/2007 2:00 PM
Editor said...: Contact Netflix at (800) 279-5688 and ask them to fix this. If that does not work, call your credit card company.; 3/12/2007 12:45 PM
Anonymous said...: Does any have any complaints regarding the netflix lost dvd policy? In particular, has anyone been charged for the occasional lost DVD?; 12/03/2007 3:05 PM
Anonymous said...: I have had a movie on the top of my queue and over a month Netflix has skipped it and moved down 5 movies of my list to send only an older movie. The most frustrating thing is some of the movies they skipped were listed as available "now." And don't even waste time trying to talk to customer service cause it is becoming obvious they are retarded.; 2/09/2008 12:00 PM
Anonymous said...: Netflix's recent move to provide 'unlimited' online viewing would have been the coolest thing ever---if it weren't a lie and a rip off.

That's right. After you watch your 17 hours of seamless streaming movies, it starts crashing your browser for you. So some folks are not actually GETTING the unlimited hours; false advertisement.

Officially, they're getting unlimited, technically however, Netflix actually takes measures to prevent it.

I have tracked this since the unlimited thing BEGAN.

Consistently, and every month, after 17 hrs of watching seamlessly... it won't allow any more watching---it crashes browsers to actively prevent users from the promised 'Unlimited'.

People should be outraged. Netflix was fine before this, after this, I can't trust them anymore.; 3/20/2008 8:08 AM
Anonymous said...: all of you are nuts. i had nothing but stellar service with netflix. if anything i ripped them off. in the end with everything going blue ray i decided to end my membership and get my movies another way. after ending the membership i was mistakenly charged for an additional month. so, i called this number (1-800-279-5688), they fixed everything up for me and credited my account, and now i'm moving on. netflix and i had a 4 year long relationship and if they offered films in the format i am looking for it would be an ongoing relationship.; 5/13/2008 9:44 AM
Anonymous said...: my netflix account was canceled by the staff.
i called to asked why i was getting no dvds for a full week after remailing my last viewed. i received contradiction information on my netflix home page and through e-mails.
ms elena mukhin, hillsboro OR custonmer escalation center writes: though you are unhappy with the way our service works (throttling, broken and incorrect discs)"...we will not be changing the way that our service works..."
and though they canceled at the beginning of my billing cycle "...any charges collected on an account will not be refunded.".
btw average movies watched on the "unlimited" contract? 14/month....unlimited?
harass them with a lot of phone calls but be careful of complaining too loudly or they will cancel.; 6/13/2008 4:55 PM
Anonymous said...: Netflix has been alright for me so far... I do have to say the seem kind of calculating in when they choose to slow down service... this past month i was able to rent 35 DVDs(5 at a time plan) so right now its good im scamming them big time but ill notice from time to time them taking an extra day to ship or "shipping today" changes to "shipping tmw" idk about shit like that but if i can keep scamming em at 30+ dvds a month I'll stay happy.; 7/09/2008 8:06 PM
Anonymous said...: My daughters bought my husband a one year gift certificate for Christmas. Everything seemed great. In July we paid off our credit cards and cancelled them. on 8/1 I recieved one of those Houston we have a problem e mails.I called the customer service and was told they need a card on file and they told me to get a prepaid. I did this entered the info and everything seemed fine.next day same message. I called and was told it was the wrong kind of prepaid ie not reloadable.I have been fighting this battle all month no movies 5 months left on the plan and NF finds lots of solutions but all things I need to do not what they will do for the customer.I asked them to just charge us for the 3 mvies they are worried about like a security deposit......nope that won't work. I asked them to just check the card each month and charge the $1.15 when it builds up I will purchase a dvd.........nope won't work. I asked them to refund the 5 months of service............you know they wouldn't do that. They explained that they need to be protected if I damage or lose their property.God forbid netflix be out a penny. But it is ok for my daughters to be ripped off for lmost $100. By the way if you check netflix financials nflx you will see that Reed Hastings has an option to buy stocks for $1.50 and then he selld the next day for market price now around $30. Not illegal but frustrating to a customer who can't get them to budge on this. Oh well thanx for listening.; 8/22/2008 8:10 PM
Anonymous said...: My complaint is not as bad as some, but I'm surprised to find that I can't return a gift subscription. I bought my Dad a year of two-per-month, but it turned out he'd already joined NF himself. Now I see on the web site that there are no refunds on gift subscriptions. This is absurd. They can easily verify that the subscription was never redeemed, and surely this situation must happen fairly frequently. I suppose I can cancel my subscription and redeem the gift myself. I'll just have to lose my rental history.; 1/06/2009 5:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Following up the previous comment: NetFlix allowed me to redeem the coupon myself, so now I just don't need to make a monthly payment for a year. That's an adequate solution, assuming all other aspects of their service remain satisfactory. But I'm pretty much committed to them for a year now. I don't plan to buy any more Netflix gift subscriptions.; 1/15/2009 4:06 PM
Num_yummy said...: This is the second time Netflix has done this to me.

I recently joined to take advantage of the 14 day free trail. The same night I cancelled my account. I got confirmation that my account was cancelled. But a day or two after, my account was charged 9.99.
This is the second time they've done this.
Im so glad I found this site because I cold not find any real contact information on the website.
Why are they still around?; 2/01/2009 10:08 PM
Anonymous said...: NETFLIX owes me over $300.00 and won't pay!

I had an account for 7 years and my wife decided to open her own account but changed her mind. She was unaware that she the canceling of her account didn't go through. In spite of the fact that she never logged on and never rented a thing, they still charged her. We found out about the account 2 years and 4 months later after Netflix sent an email bringing the mistake to our attention. When I called they agreed to give me back 3 months of fess. Not my 2 years and four months totaling over $300. I told them I was leaving after 7 years and they couldn't care less. It is apparently their policy to wait till they have hundreds of your dollars before a obvious mistake is brought to your attention.; 2/04/2009 9:16 AM
Dave said...: I really just wanted to send an email with a minor complaint and a suggestion to improve your service. Unfortunately you don't have an email address for that. So instead I had to call Customer Service and was given canned responses and it was very clear that no one would even consider a customer suggestion or in all likelihood even write it down. A day later I now have 3 films at the top of my list that say VERY LONG WAIT, and have crossed over from annoyed to pissed off. Bravo on handling this situation, I will no longer be recommending Netflix to anyone. In fact, since I've now been searching the net to see if anyone else has had similiar problems my impotent nerd ire has risen and I'm going to post this on every netflix related forum I can find.

Here is my original email see how much nicer and more naive I was two days ago:

I’ve been a subscriber since 2004 and have recommended your service to many people over the years. I’ve actually never really had a complaint and for the most part thought your service has gotten better and better. That might be why my current issue seems so out of place.

I’ve had two films on the top of my list since before they were both released 2 months ago. I still haven’t gotten either. I understand the need to prioritize popular titles to people who rent fewer films (for the last two years I average about 2 a week), but at a certain point it starts to get frustrating. I’ve had this happen in the past and will usually use Redbox to get a new release title unfortunately they don’t carry either any longer (I should have looked sooner). I’d probably also have been fine for another month, but today I checked to see if I was going to get the film in my list, and instead two films below it were sent out. This happened even though that movie currently says Available NOW. That’s probably some sort of glitch in the reporting system, but it starts to feel personal.

I suggest a new feature that will let me HOLD a spot in my queue for a title I really want. You can still prioritize to other customers but users like myself won’t have the problem aggravated by maybe missing the short window a popular title remains in a shipping center. I would not mind being on 2 at a time for a few weeks if it meant not waiting two plus months for a title I really want to see.

I’m not going to make idle threats because unless this problem happens much more frequently I wouldn’t even consider leaving. That said, for friends who don’t require the huge library you have on offer little problems like this make it easier to recommend a service like Redbox.; 4/01/2009 7:15 PM
Anonymous said...: Netflix sent an email this morning to let me know that my son has paid for a 3 monthe gift subscription as a Mother's Day gift. As I started to fill in the requested info I found that they wanted my credit card inf. and I would have to agree to their terms that would allow them to charged my card and extend my subscription. I called the phone # and was told I had to give my credit card info and if I didn't I could not order any films. I said I didn't want to do this and I was told my son could not get his money back. What a scam!!!; 5/06/2009 4:14 PM
Anonymous said...: I do not have Netflix but wanted to make the readers of this blog aware that the CEO of Netflix, Reed Hastings, has publicly stated that Netflix will not put captions for the deaf and hard of hearing (and hearing people who benefit from captions) on their online streamed video anytime soon. The details can be read in this blog: http://willworkforjustice.blogspot.com/2009/05/netflixs-annual-shareholder-meeting.html.; 5/31/2009 7:21 AM
Anonymous said...: NUISANCE NETFLIX POPUPS!! I'm not a Netflix user/subscriber, but I'm seriously affected by Netflix's ruthless popup advertising campaign. I suspect I'm not the only one who feels these relentless popup or popunder ads are an annoyance and a nuisance. Please visit my webpage here:

http://www.netflixsux.com

Thank You!!; 6/13/2009 8:15 PM
Anonymous said...: I joined Netflix in November of '08 thanks to a free trial offer. I had intended to cancel after that time, but I was hooked. Since then, I have had a great relationship with the service. They always send things promptly and in the proper sleeves. I have had two that didn't work, but it was quickly resolved both times. Up until a few months ago, I had no complaints. That's when they decided to quit accepting American express prepaid cards. I was annoyed, as I had a couple stored up just for Netflix, but at least they had the decency to tell me beforehand about the change. I just switched to Visa prepaids and everything worked. Today, I go in to switch to a new card after the old one ran out. A little message comes up that they no longer accept ANY prepaid cards. It would have been nice if they would have bothered to send me an email so I didn't run out and buy another card. Not only that, but I cant even find it mentioned in the help section. Now I have $100 visa with absolutely no use for it at all. I don't shop online or use any other online service, so I will have to use it in person, making it just basically cash with a service charge. Apparently, you can only use netflix if you want to risk having you identity stolen. I would rather drive to Blockbuster. Thanks netflix.; 6/14/2009 10:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Netflix is a great company, but You netflix users need to grow a life, there are more important things to worry about then your silly movies, I've worked for netflix and i cant believe how many annoying cry baby's called in i mean people that keep complaining to the BBB what the hell do you want are you jealous because you did not think of this great idea of a company first, i mean can you create a company that's even remotely as good as this one? no i don't think so

Person who says that netflix owes you $300 take some responsibility in your own hands and look through your statements more carefully netflix is not your bank, you signed up for a monthly membership and pay a monthly membership fee if you don't cancel properly you will get charged each month. Also check your emails if you or your wife would have cancelled properly you would have received an email confirming your cancellation. I would be embarrassed calling the company to get money back you should be ashamed of yourself. This is what I'm talking about people these movies are making you less smart everyday. There's a great place called the library or a website Bookswim.com (America needs to read more).; 7/03/2009 5:37 AM
Totally P.O.'d said...: Of course that jerk who works for netflix would say that.

And what about this 'we no longer take prepaid credit cards' thing going on. Yeah, because of my job, I have no choice BUT to use a prepaid credit card. And before you even say I do have a choice, shut the hell up...because I can promise you and BET you 1 billion dollars that I in fact DO NOT have a choice. So gag it!

Netflix has made an enemy out of me, a 'used to be long standing member' of netflix. Well, now blockbuster has my business, and I've been telling all of the blockbuster employees all about your wonderful NETFLIX and how you've treated your customers. And in my next move, you'll probably be getting more calls from the media, as I totally intend to make this so publicized that Netflix will be wishing they've not done what they have. Just because of a few bad apples, you treat every-one with prepaid cards like dirt, smear them in the ground, and piss on them like a urinal.

I also, in fact, spoke to a netflix rep on the phone, and he in fact did not like what's going on with it. He also stated that he had some 'verbs' to use, but he can't because he works for netflix. TAKE THAT NETFLIX! You're OWN people are disgruntled!

Sad really, you went from a piece of crap company back in 2005 to a real nice and decent one in 2008, but right back in that crap hole in 2009.

I laugh at you NETFLIX, I laugh at you!; 8/14/2009 4:03 AM
Anonymous said...: Hate Netflix.

I was enrolled in a 3 month DVDs. Work fine for a while.

I stopped receiving two DVDs for a month. Reported problem and call Netflix customer service.

Customer service guy stated it was "not their fault" and "... is customer's problem for not reporting the issue faster.." They offered to send out movies tomorrow. This was the best they would offer and would felt that this was suitable. I spoke with a manager to escalte the problem. It took 15 minutes to transfer me. Same answer...Transfer to another manager. This manager was very rude on the phone and would not resolve issue of time and fees.; 10/10/2009 12:28 AM
Anonymous said...: Here's what's happened the last two weeks in a row. If I mail my DVDs monday, tuesday, wednesday or friday, they get to netflix the next day. If I mail them thursday though, netflix says they don't get until the following monday! That kees me from having movies on the weekend and really cuts the number of movies I can watch in a month which is what I believe they want. Next thursday when I mail a dvd, I'm actually going to pay to put delivery confirmation on it. Then I'll know if they're really not getting them when they say they are!; 3/27/2010 12:13 PM
Anonymous said...: well i wanted to clear the air about turnover time... as a netflix employee i can promise that we always process and ship the same day fast as we can, that said we are overworked,underpaid, and the bottom ten percent of performers are fired weekly, i.e people boss doesnt like....we work 17 hour days to get the shipping done on time, dont get breaks and get fired if we get injured..man fxxx that place oh yea and u would think as much profit as that company is making they could at least offer a benefit, they dont even hire us we are temps with a hiring freeze, been there three years 9.75 an hour; 5/21/2010 1:41 AM
Anonymous said...: I recently returned two DVD's to Netflix in the SAME envelope and they only received one. I had to mark the other as "lost in the mail". Grr! I've always suspected they "lost" DVD's on purpose but this just flat out proves it.

This next story really takes the cake. I had an account with Netflix years ago. I had unlimited 3 out at a time and DVD's were frequently "lost" in the mail. This was right around the time there was some class action settlement and I was supposed to receive a month of free service. I returned 3 DVD's at the same time and they were ALL "lost" in the mail. They ended up suspending my account because of this. I never got my month of free service and had to sign up again using a different name. I have no doubt this was done intentionally just to rob me of the one month of free service.; 8/04/2010 4:10 PM
Anonymous said...: I've had Netflix for years. Same great service (2-day turnaround on next DVD each time) and increasing library and ever more titles online. What's more--- same price for years. That's a great deal. Sorry some of you had some bad experiences, but there are a lot of good ones. If the average story were as bad as your exceptional stories, they wouldn't be in business.; 10/13/2010 4:56 PM
Andrew said...: I am new to Netflix having it just started here in Canada. I haa almost been one full month since I signed up for the free trial and I have to say that I am liking it.

I have watched programs, both documentaries and reality type programs that I did not know existed since they never appeared in the torrent site I use to download TV shows.

There are two things I dislike, not having access to popular TV shows like HOUSE, Survivor, etc... plus not being able to watch Netflix native in Linux. Luckily my machine is powerful enough to have XP run in a virtual machine so I don't have to dual boot.

I hope I won't have to wait long to get access to my favourite shows but I wouldn't be surprised if the CRTC has some involvement since they are always trying to dictate what Canadians can and cannot watch.; 10/31/2010 8:54 AM
Anonymous said...: Content USA v Canada

This isn't a complaint on service as such. In our house we prefer the streaming and don't really have interest in the physical DVD.

The content available on the USA site is superior to what is provided on the Canadian site. I understand there can be/are licence issues but still the new and classic content is lacking. Far to many "Not Available" on the Canadian Site.; 11/20/2010 10:34 AM
steve said...: I just discovered that my switch to include more streaming by adding the $7.99 account was axed by some bean counter that decided that having five kids that access Netflix on different medium (apple tv, itouch, iPhone) means that four streams is too much. The one plan fits all is not effective any longer. I am voting with my dollar. I am canceling both my DVD/Blu ray account and my stream account. My kids will be disappointed. I just hope enough people grow tired of high handed treatment like changing your plan in the middle of the day! What do I tell my 2 yr old who wants to watch Dora? Is she more important than my son who wants to watch spiderman? Is the resolution? Only if Netflix cares about it's customers.; 1/21/2011 3:36 AM
Greg said...: I'm having problems with streaming. Not able to watch movies without rebuffering 4-5 times. Every time I call Netflix, they tell me it's my internet. What's going on. The Silverlight doesn't have any control buttons.; 3/03/2011 6:59 PM
Unknown said...: Please help by signing the Petition - https://www.change.org/petitions/require-netflix-to-provide-closed-captioning-on-all-streaming-movies

Require Netflix to help the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing.

Since 2009 Netflix has been promising either Subtitles or Closed Captioning for their Streaming Movies, yet, they haven't kept their promises.

In April 2010, Neil Hurt proudly announced, "As I promised last year, I'm pleased to report that today we have enabled closed captioning for some TV episodes and movies that you can watch instantly on your PC or Mac. Although it's a limited library of content with subtitles available - about 100 titles - we now have released the technology and we will be working to fill in the library over time."

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a Federal civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in everyday activities, ... going to the movies, ..., the law established requirements for businesses of all sizes. These requirements went into effect on January 26, 1992. Businesses that serve the public must modify policies and practices that discriminate against people with disabilities; ...; and provide auxiliary aids and services when needed to ensure effective communication with people who have hearing, vision, or speech impairments.

In Sec.36.303 Auxiliary aids and services. (a) General. A public accommodation shall take those steps that may be necessary to ensure that no individual with a disability is excluded, denied services, ..., open and closed captioning, ...; (3) Acquisition or modification of equipment or devices; and (4) Other similar services and actions.

Reed Hastings and Neil Hurt may claim, and have done so, that they cannot provide Subtitles or Closed Captioning because of the cost for such alterations. If Reed Hastings can double his salary to $5.5 Million in 2010, and with Netflix Corporate Filings showing over $47 Million in Revenue, then there is no explanation for Netflix not to provide Closed Captioning or Subtitles for ALL of their Streaming Movies and DVD's.; 4/23/2011 10:29 AM
Editor said...: Dear Sebastian St.Troy:

Thank you for your comment. Yes, Netflix absolutely should be doing more to accommodate the deaf and hearing impaired. In response to your comment, there is a new story on Netflix Underground. Please click here to read it and share your thoughts on this topic.; 4/25/2011 5:54 PM
Taylor said...: Gotta love Netflix and its ever-increasing collection of streaming movies and TV shows!

-Taylor from http://www.NetflixStreaming.blogspot.com/; 5/03/2011 4:25 PM
mrsmerty said...: All right Netflix. You raised the price, Ok but every DVD I order I have to clean.... And most are now unplayable. NO big deal, you get another one right? After I reported one, I waited almost a week, and Got the replacement and Guess what It won't play either. So I wanted to email, as I just cant stand to talk on the phone, There is none. You gotta call, and when I did. I am so sorry would you like another one.... NO I DON'T. I am cancelling my membership, NETFILX SUX; 7/23/2011 6:43 PM
Julia said...: We have been Netflix subscribers since 2003. We watch mostly foreign movies, many of which are not available for instant watching (only 31 of 92 titles in our current queue). Also, we prefer to watch with CC or subtitles even when the movie is in English, as our ears are not as sharp as they once were. But, we have no idea as to how initiate this option with instant watching. Aside from these two rather important hindrances, instant watching works for us.; 9/19/2011 10:46 PM
suzyyun said...: I have had a Netflix account since 2006.
I loved Netflix so much that in 2009, I purchased a 6 month gift subscription for my elderly parents who do not get out much.
I only just found out yesterday that the 6 month gift subscription that I thought ended after the time I agreed to pay for, has been charging my credit card every month for over 2 years.

As my parents are in their 70s and not that web savvy, I set up their account for them. I've only just come to find out that it is up to the recipient of the subscripton to cancel what was supposed to be a GIFT. I called the customer service line to correct this situation. It's so clear that we honestly thought that the 6 month gift subscription ends in 6 months. Not so.

The person on the phone would not provide me with any other means of contacting Netflix and told me that this line of communication ends with him.
I felt completely taken advantage of and helpless. I have been such a supporter of Netflix and a loyal customer for over 5 years.
It's a shame that this relationship has to end now because Netflix could not see that this was an honest situation and do the right thing. I find it very shady that Netflix would have a GIFT subscription with a clear, finite amount of time stated when you purchase it, go on and charge you every month unless the recipient cancels it. My parents are old and do not really participate in the internet or use email and any notification I received, I thought it was for my own personal account.

I was so disappointed that I cancelled my own account as well. This practice is not right and i feel taken advantage of. I can't believe that a company as big as Netflix would rather keep, what is a trivial amount of money to them, than do the right thing and lose a loyal customer. I am so disappointed and shocked that after 5 years of loyalty as a customer that this is how it ends. I suppose they figure they have 25 million subscribers, so who cares if they lose one.; 11/12/2011 1:16 PM
Anonymous said...: Oh yes...Netflix is a total rip off! I purchased a gift subscription for some friends last Christmas. Netflix was pushing this is a great gift and I feel for their tricks. What Netflix doesn't wnat you to know is that MANY internet connections, including DirecTV/Hughes is not FAST enough to run their streming videos. And when you ask that customer service return your money, based on this fact, they will do nothing for you. Not even the CEO's office will help you. BTW, don't let Netflix customer service tell you that they don't have an escalation department. They do..but you must call their corporate office and try to deal with the bit^hes there!; 12/06/2011 11:39 PM
Anonymous said...: Check out what just happened to me.! After being a long time (since 2004) customer of Netflix, they apparently got upset with me and canned me as a customer! What gives? I mailed them back the 6 discs I had about a week ago. Netflix never received them, so I reported them as missing. I never heard anything back from Netflix. Then, I tried to log in to my account. I got a message telling me that my request could not be completed. So, I phoned the customer service number. I told the customer service rep what was happening, so he put me on hold. He returned to the phone a few minutes later and informed me that as of today, I was no longer a customer of Netflix. I was just stunned to say the least. The motherfucker then went on to tell me that the decision had been made by the company, not me. The reason for their decision was that I had lost too many of their discs. I didn't lose ANYTHING, I sent them back like I was SUPPOSED to do. The f'n post office lost them. They said they understood, but once a customer reports too many as lost, then it raises flags, or some kind of crap, and they have to take action. So, they "fired" me as a customer. OH FUCK NETFLIX!!! This shit is so fucking personal now!! I want to fuck them up!! Blaming me instead of looking into the post office, which is the party responsible for losing the discs. Not to mention, the insinuation that I am a thief! I mean, WHAT THE *&%%!!!! I'm so angry right now, I can't see straight. After 7 and a half years of loyal service, these jerks terminate my account. What type of company just up and terminates a loyal customer's account?; 12/14/2011 2:42 PM
Anonymous said...: Net flix is a scam company! Was on the DVD plan. Great for the first month. After that it got worse. They DO throttle accounts. They moved me from a close shipping wherhouse to one far far away, so my turn around time would take many more days. They refused to change it back. I cancelled and kept all return confirmations and cancellation receipts. What I dislike most is their dishonesty! Quit them in Nov of last year and never again. There's too many other media services to bother with a dishonest company like Netflix.; 9/05/2013 10:16 AM
Disgruntled Alex said...: To Whom it May Concern:

All of the Marvel oriented cancellations has rendered me as less than thrilled, by the entire Netflix/Disney debacle. I regard them both now as I do Warner Brother's DC Movie Universe; as total BULLSHITE!

Netflix's half-arse praise of each cancelled Marvel oriented series; sickens me beyond any measure!! And I suspect that the remaining Marvel series shall suffer the same unfortunate fate as the others. So, I am reckoning if I should even bother wasting my time watching them; or Netflx overall! I know for damn certain, that I shall never subscribe to the proposed DISNEY STREAMING SERVICE!!!

I do not give a monkey's what Netflix...nor Disney and their off-kilter agendas shall bring forth. And they can both go to blazes!!

Disgruntled Alex; 12/02/2018 5:40 AM

The Dark Side of Netflix

3/11/2005

Tell Your Netflix Story

68 comments:

Search Netflix Underground

Popular Posts

Sponsorship

Key Topics

Blog Archive

Links

Labels

Disclaimer

The Dark Side of Netflix

3/11/2005

Tell Your Netflix Story

68 comments:

Search Netflix Underground

Subscribe To

Popular Posts

Sponsorship

Key Topics

Blog Archive

Links

Labels

Disclaimer