Netflix Customer Opinions 

December 26, 2005

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Hi! There is one complaint I haven't seen here, yet. It may be that I haven't read long enough. Anyway, I signed up in March of 2005 because of an internet ad. It was great at first, but then, like other customers, I started getting unplayable movies. It got to be to much for my budget, so I wanted to cancel. Well, when I clicked on the cancel link, I was told to sign into my account. The more I tried to do this, the more crap I got! The password was never right, the user name didn't exist, and my personal favorite, cannot find server...The page cannot be displayed......check your internet settings......... Yeah, right! For two months?!! That was just wrong! I know what info I used; it seemed like I was just getting another example of their bad business. So, I wrote "cancel subscription" in big, bold letters on their envelopes and sent the last two movies back. I also sent a letter to them requesting cancellation. They then sent me an email saying my queue was empty and if I wanted more movies, I needed to visit their website and add more. Didn't they get my letters? Besides, I couldn't sign into my account! Nowhere on their page, could I find a contact number! Man! I wish I'd found your page months ago! It would have saved me plenty! (money and sanity!) I felt like I was alone in their scam, but now, I see I'm not crazy for thinking they have no problems deceiving people as long as they get paid.

After finding the number you provided, I called, was put on hold for a while, and, hopefully got rid of them. The guy I talked to was pretty nice and even promised a refund. But, we shall see. I asked if I'd be charged for anything else and was told that I wouldn't. Thank goodness for that! They have gotten enough of my money! As for referring a friend, NEVER!!!!

Thank you so much for posting this site and being out there to listen to our complaints! It is truly appreciated.

Candie
Augusta, GA

December 15, 2005

Netflix is going downhill fast and I've only been with them for two weeks... I signed up for their 2 weeks free trial membership. I'm at the last part of the 2nd week and a red piece of Netflix paper with my address on it shows up in a USPS clear envelope saying this was damaged and they are sorry. So I'm assuming the post office sent the rest of the envelope along with the movie back to Netflix? I've already reported it as missing to NF. Or will I be responsible for this lost DVD? It has now been one week since they sent me a dvd. Another problem with NF is they should be more honest in their ads and then they wouldn't have so many people upset with them. We all know it isn't unlimited...they allot you a certain amount each month and it would help if they just said that. I have the 9.99 plan and I suppose if they send me 4 dvd's each month that would equal what the grocery store charges me. I notice one of their plans is 4 dvd's each month for $11.99 so I doubt I'll get 4. This 11.99 is the only plan that has an exact amount that you'll receive. I'm a reliable person and if they are going to accuse me of losing dvd's and never sending me dvd's in a timely manner I'll cancel them for sure in the next month. One thing I do like about their site is they have some hard to find dvd's.

Signed disgusted,

Tammy, Spokane, WA

December 14, 2005

This is a copy of an e-mail I sent to Netflix Customer Service today 12/14/05:

On Thursday, Dec 9, I returned 2 movies, one of which was damaged. Then over the weekend I returned 3 more movies. On Monday Dec 12, I received a replacement for the damaged movie and an e-mail notification that you had received the other three, and my Queue listed three new movies with the appendage "shipping today". On Tuesday Dec 12, my Queue still said "shipping today". On Wednsday Dec 14, my Queue said all three movies had been shipped yesterday on Dec 13 and I would receive them today, Dec 14. When I went to get my mail this morning I found NO movies, which means I won't get them until Tomorrow, Thursday Dec 14. Going back to last week Thursday, that's a six day turn around. What ever happened to your false advertising of "SAME DAY SHIPPING"? I don't think so. My wife and I are retired and I am partially handicapped and are fully capable of watching 2 to 3 movies in one otherwise boring day. Sometimes we don't watch the same movie. I get my mail 9:30 a.m. and sometimes can return the movies to the Post Office before 4:30 p.m. the same day. I get the feeling that you may not like people like us, but then again, you shouldn't advertise "same day shipping", or that we can have 5 movies out because you have to send them first.

Eddie

December 4, 2005

I recently gave a gift subscription of one year ($200+) to my daughter. She told me that when she went to redeem the subscription they required her to supply a bank account number. WHY IN THE DEVIL DO THEY NEED HER BANK ACCOUNT NUMBER TO OPEN A GIFT SUBSCRIPTION THAT I HAVE PAID FOR? If they weren't an established business I would suspect them of "Phishing". In general, I have been pleased with MY service from them but this really leaves a bad taste.

November 25, 2005

My E-mail to NETFLIX:

You're taking way TOO LONG to ship a video after you receive my previously viewed video. For example, I get an e-mail notice from you indicating you received my last video on Wednesday 16 Nov. Then, you e-mail me and indicate that you're shipping the next video on Monday 21 Nov, and worse, inform me not to expect it until Friday 25 Nov. That's 5 days between your receipt of a video and delivery of the next video and a week and a half between your receipt of a video from me and my receipt of the next video from you. That's unacceptable.

Nothing takes 5 days to arrive in the mail in the lower 48. To prove this, your own e-mails indicate that you are receiving the videos I send back in two days. Therefore, I don't believe you're actually shipping the videos when you indicate. You're trying to hide your own slow processing behind slow mail delivery.

My friends and family have been asking me how Netflix is working out to see if they'd like to try it. With your slow turnaround time, I tell them, NETFLIX sounded good at first, but is NOT working in practice. YOU'RE TOO SLOW!

Thanks

Robert

November 17, 2005

I subscribed to Netflix late last spring. For the first 6 months it was great! I was on the "3-at-a-time" plan and if I mailed three discs back early in the week I would have three more by Thursday or Friday. Often I was enjoying 6 movies each week. My distribution center is in Santa Ana, Ca. which is about 30 miles from my home. Discs would be received in 1-2 days and the same when returning them. I guess I must have done something wrong because things started to change. In late September my first returned disc was not received in Santa Ana. I reported it missing after waiting 6 days. That sure holds up at least one movie in your queue for about 10 days, doesn't it? My problems may be unique in that since late September FIVE more movies, according to Netflix, never made it BACK to Santa Ana. And I mailed them all from the LAX airport post office inside/wall slot. I reported them all as "lost" and worried that "my account would be placed on hold". Here I am paying them $20 a month, doing nothing wrong, and here is their "threat" to me? And I noticed "long waits" for the most poular movies. For some titles I had to wait more than a month! Concurrently, discs Netflix sent would take longer to reach me. Two sent discs I reported missing and on both occasions arrived about 9 days later on the same day as their replacements. Was it the post office or Netflix? I emailed Netflix in late October reporting "shipping and receiving problems" and was told "how important my concerns were to them" in their standard email reply. I would have called but their customer service number dissapeared from their web site. My last two emails to Netflix Customer Service have gone unanswered. After reading the letters on your site it seems to me I may have cost Netflix too much money by returning my movies too soon. To be fair to Netflix sources in the L.A. Postal District have told me that theft of discs out of the mail "has become a problem".

November 15, 2005

I was a member with Netflix for years and recommended it to everyone I could. I did get my movies within a reasonable amount of time, and the few times I did get a scratched or problem DVD, they sent out a new one immediately. My problems with them started when I put the account on hold. I just got cable and started school, so I had no time to really watch movies, so I put the account on hold for three months and sent them the DVDs that I had already. Apparently they never received them, or checked them in because I was charged $21.20 for each DVD. I also never heard from them regarding any missing DVDs or indicating that they will be charging my checking account for those missing DVDs. I had just paid off a bunch of bills and my rent, so my checking account was low and because they just took the money without warning, I now have a $35.00 overdraft charge and two checks will be NSF, so I will have to cover whatever fees they incurred. I contacted them at the 800 number to get these fees reversed and so far they have only said "We'll get on it" but nothing about the fees I will now have to pay.

November 12, 2005

I work about 300 feet from the Netflix distribution center near the Spokane airport. The post office that Netflix uses for their PO address is the same post office that I use for work as well as returning my DVDs to Netflix. I am usually one of the first customers at the post office in the morning, handing my DVDs to the postal worker, who in turn, hand carries them over to the Netflix box. According to the government employees at this post office, Netflix picks their mail up at 9:30am each day (Monday through Friday). So you can see my surprise when Netflix claims it takes two to three days to receive one of my returned DVDs.

After putting up with delayed shipping for about a month I called Netflix to voice my concern. Their suggestion was to mail it from a different post office. I explained that I knew what time the local Netflix employee picked up the DVDs from the post office and to not even try to shift the blame to the US Postal Service. The guy on the phone said he would reduce my monthly fee by ½ for this month.

Now the movies they send are no longer from Spokane. Shipping times from Netflix have increased from three days to five or six. The return labels are no longer for the Spokane distribution center, but for other locations as far way as New York state. I hate being dicked around so I use my handy dandy marker to cross out the address and bar code and write in the address of my local Netflix distributor. Sounds like its time to make yet another call to Netflix.

November 10, 2005

Manuel,I wish I had known about your site before I joined.I joined NETFLIX 11-09-05 under the FREE 2 week rental agreement.I immediately changed to the 1 rental at a time.This morning I check my bank account and see a charge for $19.79 from NETFLIX.I went to thier site and spent 20 minutes trying to find a way to contact them.I did a search and found your site.Thanks to you I had a phone number to call.I was told it was to make sure my credit card was valid.There was nothing about this that I saw when I joined.I was told they would call my bank and take care of this...We'll see. THANKS for your site! I hope to get my $20 back but if not at least you saved me a BIG headache and maybe more $$$$ Thanks again K.Lane,Charlotte,N.C.

November 2, 2005

Hi from Pittsburgh, PA! Wow, another one bites the dust. i am only on two-at-a-time and experiencing the same thing, just recently (exactly one month tomorrow since i joined). i only rented 7 movies last month, so at the 14.99 price, i should still be making them money. But i guess not enough!! i have noticed my movies taking longer to be recieved and mysteriously my queue will go from saying "shipping today" to "shipping tomorrow" for no apparent reason. i also am getting movies from all kinds of different distribution centers. i've had them come to my apartment in Pittsburgh from San Jose, Las Vegas, and Chicago. Are they really going to tell me the nearest copy of "Mission to Mars" is in Las Vegas?? (That one was also "lost in the mail," by the way.) At first, i thought it was because i was watching a lot of rather obscure titles, but after reading through your site i am very suspicious. That's a bummer, because i was really happy with the service.

i believe it's still a good deal for me. Even at 6-7 movies a month, it's cheaper than renting at a video store, and i can get movies through them that i couldn't find in a 50-mile search radius of my home. But i'm disappointed and won't be recommending the company word-of-mouth anymore. i feel terrible!! - i got my mother to join! i'll also be looking for alternatives that suit my habits. Looking forward to Amazon "joining the fray."

October 20, 2005

Usually, I mail a movie on Monday morning, and receive an email from Netflix early the next day saying that the movie has been received. later that day (Tuesday) I get a second email, saying that the next disk has been shipped. And I get the disk on Wednesday. No complaint about that -- great service. BUT my daughter has been home from school for the past little while, so we have gone through a lot more movies than usual. On Monday, I mailed three movies. It's now Thursday, and guess what - Netflix claims they haven't yet received them !! We mail most of our stuff by leaving it in our mailbox, for the mailman to collect - so, just in case the mailman had dropped his bag somewhere, I checked with a different company to whom I had mailed a letter at the same time I mailed the netflix envelopes......that company got my letter the day after mailing (on Tuesday). This isn't the first time that this has happened when we've watched more movies than usual........I am pretty sure that Netflix received those 3 movies on Tuesday, as usual, but that their computers have put the turnaround on a delay.......

Lindsay, San Diego, CA

Manuel's Reply:  I experience the same thing:  Netflix says they received my rental in the morning and wait till the end of the day to ship out a replacement--just another form of throttling.

October 15, 2005

Dear Manuel,

Wow, I can't believe what I am reading on your website. Here I am 6 months into a Netflix subscription and I am scratching my head wondering what the hell is going on. I have had IDENTICAL experiences to many who have posted to your website. At first, Netflix was the best thing since sliced bread. I live 14 miles from a distribution center (Baton Rouge, LA) and initially my movies would be received the day after I mailed it and a new one would be shipped often the same day. Now it takes DAYS to for them to receive my shipments and at least 48 hours for them to send out a new one. Often I'll check my list and it will say shipping today, but they will push back the shipping a day or two or even THREE. Now I see I am not the only one.

Your website has been an eye opener...

Peter D. Gutierrez

October 11, 2005

I am totally disappointed at Netflix. For the past month or so, every new release is in a VERY LONG WAIT list and I am unable to view any of them as they are released, unless I go to a store to rent them. So what is the point of paying for their service?? Luckily I ran thru your page and found their C.S. number (because they do not have it in their website) my luck ran out when I tried to reach them, only an obnoxious automated system that finally led me to TOTAL SILENCE (of course at expense of my cel phone minutes). So I am just canceling the service in total disappointment. Same thing happened to me with Blockbuster so at this point I won't rely on this kind of service anymore.

Guillermo from Rancho Cucamonga, CA

October 8, 2005

Dear Manuel,

My husband and I are on the other end of the usage spectrum -- we're more sporadic viewers who have the 2-at-a-time unlimited service, and tend to rent movies that are almost certainly less in demand (older films, political and scientific documentaries, etc.) Our honeymoon with Netflix lasted about 3 weeks, during which we got 3-day door-to- door turnaround. No sooner did our billing kick in than this has turned into 6 to 7 days. Also, the return addresses on our shipping envelopes used to at least imply that the DVDs were returned to a distribution center in our own city. They're now addressed to Pittsburgh instead.

This isn't necessarily a bad deal with regard to our viewing habits, but it's definitely not the "unlimited" monthly service that was advertised. It's also impossible for us to plan to receive DVDs during the time we'd actually want to watch them, like on weekends. (I've just shipped back a DVD early in the week so that I'd get the next one before the weekend, and am still waiting on Saturday for confirmation of receipt!) I think this is a ploy to get new users to upgrade their service, thinking that if we move up to the 3-at-a-time service, we'll get a smoother flow of products. Well, I just wrote to a friend who's on the 3-at-a-time plan, and she has the same problem.

We're willing to give it a try for a while longer, but I wouldn't recommend the service to a friend without including the words "You will wait ... and wait ... and wait ...." It's kind of like an "all- you-can-eat" buffet where it's the management of the restaurant that tells you "That's all you can eat!"

-- Julie in Rochester, NY

October 8, 2005

Hi there!

I found your site after doing a Google search. Glad to have found ya!! Yup, I've been having a lousy time with Netflix myself recently. The first few months was great -- the turnaround was quick. If I sent a movie back to them on Monday, they had it Tuesday, and I'd have a new DVD on Wednesday. Great! Now I'm lucky to get a new DVD in four days! (I was also a frequent renter, usually returning the movie the same day or the day after receiving it. I guess they don't like that, huh?) Anyway, I'm about this close to canceling my service with these guys...and I plan to tell others thinking of signing up for Netflix NOT TO DO IT!!

Thanks for being out there for guys (and gals) like me. Nice having a place to vent!

Best, Jim Los Angeles, CA

October 7, 2005

i recently received an email from netflix alerting me to an upcoming shipment of a movie i had ordered when i clicked on the queue tab i got transferred to my friends account, all his ordering info and his private account information, including his visa card number THIS IS A MAJOR GLITCH IN THE SYSTEM I am trying to get them to respond to this has anyone else had this happen

ELIZABETH

Manuel's Reply:  This is disturbing however, I have never experienced anything like this or have heard of a similar incident.  Please report this to Netflix.

September 24, 2005

I've had been a long time on and off Netflix subscriber. In my last rejoining Netflix, the first returned shipment of DVDs took three business days to clear my queue. In the past they would only take one business day to clear my queue. I immediately tried to cancel my subscription only if I could get a full refund of my subscription fee. Netflix refused to give me a full refund and blamed the Post Office for the delay. The same thing happened to the next returned shipment. Clearly Netflix was delaying clearing shipment to slow the number of DVDs I could receive. I returned one DVD with a confirmation delivery notice which I paid for. The Post Office sent me a notice that it was delivered to the Netflix Post Office Box the next day. It took four business days to be removed from my queue. When I contacted Netflix Customer Service with the proof that it was Netflix's fault for the delay, they cancelled my subscription and gave me a full refund.

Ira Zimmerman

September 23, 2005

Disgusted With Netflix

I have had the worst experience with netflix, IM so glad to have found this site. My free trial went great no problems, then being a shut-in for the most part went to getting four at a time,then the trouble began,i i usually return my movies next day,so i can get more all the sudden my returns were showing up three days later when it had been one day before, then insult to injury they started to ship days late, it would say mail today and not Be mailed till the next or even two days. Also had moves that said long wait for months, i wrote them about all This and received nothing. The movies that i was receiving at first were fine, then we began getting Scratched and unplayable discs. Now i have canceled and sent back the movies and funny thing they all were sent on the same day, they have received all but One. The last i want to say is do not believe them when they say unlimited Its not true, they punish people that rent more in a week, for me it was four, anything over that in a week and your screwed.

Lisa from Vancouver, WA.

September 17, 2005

Just joined Netflix after concluding (from my "trial" experience) that this was a first class company with an emphasis on customer service and satisfaction.

Now after two rentals, a third has been "lost in the mail" for about a week and I've been unable to report this to Netflix until I've incurred this much lost time in service. Seems like an experience that I share with many others. 

While I read lots of "tough talk" and possible law suit action, isn't the easiest solution just to send a message by discontinuing service ??? Doesn't seem like that big a deal, and lost revenue will be noticed by Netflix faster than any other communication.

Manuel's Reply:  Yes, unsubscribing from Netflix cuts off their financial support.  However, spreading the word about Netflix's problems is more effective--that's what this page is all about.

September 13, 2005

Hi Manuel,

I've enjoyed your journal since I disoveredf it last year. I wrote you last year about my initial throttling experience. I just finished a throttling experiment. After being throttled late last year, I got out of the zone because I had a light rental period between January and March of this year. I think I rented about 10 movies total over that period. Over the past few weeks, I've been watching movies as quickly as possible to see how long it would take to get throttled again. Staring in July, I started to use Netflix more heavily, and in August, I went full out. I made sure I returned the DVD's the same day that I got them, unless it was Friday. For Friday rentals, I'd just make sure I'd return them to the local post office that has a pickup of 5pm on Saturday. For 3 weeks, I was averaging 8 rentals a week. I wasn't experiencing throttling, and Netflix was receiving my returns the next day (as long as I returned them to a post office before the last pickup: I know the pickup times for all the post offices in the surrounding towns). Netflix was also promptly mailing out my movies on the days they were received and I was getting my movies the next day after the DVD's were mailed.

Throttling finally started happening at the start of September. I believe I had about 28 movies listed in the 30 day return histroy. I'm heavily in the throttling zone now, even though I'm being limited by their old practices. Namely, they are waiting an extra day, or even two, to acknowledge returns, and they are waiting one or even two days to send out movies. The first few times, Netflix mailed DVD's from an out of state location, so I gave them the benefit of the doubt. I figured that my Star Trek movies might not be in stock locally. The last week, they've been waiting one or two days to ship even from the local center.

My conclusions are that throttling took a pretty long time since I had light rentals for a few months. The throttling happened faster when I originally started my account. I believe some people doubt that throttling occurs because they simply do not watch enough movies for it to happen to them. I really had to abuse Netflix to get back in the zone after the quarter year of low usage. What I'm worried about now, is that it'll take forever to get out of the throttling zone. Since I'm getting fewer movies as a result of throttling, I'm even more able to watch them and return them promptly as I go without movies for days now.

Current DVD rental numbers while heavily being throttled (on 3-at-a time plan):
30 days: 25
31-90 days: 42

From personal experience, and from following your site, I'm guessing that now that I'm in the zone, I won't experience the great service of the past ever again unless I have a few months of light rentals again.


Ted

P.S. I took your advice and have subscribed to Blockbuster instead of increasing my plan to 5 or 8 at a time. 

September 12, 2005

Wow.. Another customer who feels this is a bait and switch. Joined up in June and had really great service. Signed up for 3 at a time and typical use went like this. Returned Monday, Credited on Tuesday. Received on Wednesday. Had till Thursday 5.00pm to view and send back to receive movies for weekend. I am a heavy user and thought this was a great company. Raved about it to all. Now.. Movies sent back on Monday are not received until Wednesday.. What a deal! Their web site states that 90% of movies are turned around in one day...It sounds like fraud to me!

Gail
Manchester, NH

September 5, 2005

Hey Manuel,

I have been a Netflix customer for about 3.5 years now, and have up until just recently been a strong advocate of their service. As someone who always hated Blockbuster (for many reasons) and lives in Santa Cruz, CA which is located about 30 mins. from their main distribution center in San Jose AND is physically handicapped, Netflix seemed to be the new messiah for my entertainment needs. So what happened? As you may imagine being disabled makes watching movies a very satisfying and easy activity for me to engage in. Figuring I should get as much bang for my buck as possible (I do live on a fixed income) I recently upgraded my subscription service to 6 discs at a time. Yet instead of getting more movies every week I seem to now be getting less. Now that I've luckily done a google search for "Netflix problems" and found your site, I see that my problem is obviously not a "one time glich in the system" as I at first thought, and probably isn't the fault of my mail carrier as I'd also considered. So here's the specifics: At first I started getting the "no movies shipped on monday" routine, as another person from my area recently described on your site (8/1). At first I thought this was because I mainly had new releases at the top of my queue (which release on Tuesdays,) but if that was the case they should have been sending other older titles lower on my queue which were already released, but no. This delay significantly lowers the number of movies I can receive per week. Now something worse is starting to occur. About 2 weeks ago I ordered a title which had a fairly quick arrival date, but for some reason it just didn't arrive. After waiting about 1 week past the projected arrival date, I was about to report the title missing when I noticed it has mysteriously been "returned"! I began to wonder if someone else had accidentally received it and returned it for me? Or was my mail worker to blame? I figured it was a fluke, but the same thing happened last week. I had the new release of disc 1 & 2 of "Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 4" at the top of my queue last weekend. Sure enough, on monday they said "shipping tuesday." When things were working as they used to, I would have received both these discs on Wednesday like clockwork. On this occaisson, only disc 2 arrived on Friday (let's disregard what this implys for continuity alone for the time being,), and disc 1 has yet to arrive. 2 days ago (Sat.) I decided to report the disc as missing and requested a replacement, which is as of today (8/5) listed as "shipping tomorrow", although Labor Day must be taken into account. This is quite dissapointing after getting such great service for so long. I am obviously being targeted as a "heavy renter" and they are acting accordingly. I don't understand how they can offer "UNLIMITED" movies legally with this policy in effect. I plan to watch what happens carefully on my account for the next few weeks. I may go back to 5 or 4 at a time and see if that improves things, or I may cancel alltogether. In any case I will report my findings to the FTC & BBB. Should I even bothering contacting Netflix and complain I wonder? At any rate thanks for your site, I'm glad to know I'm not alone, yet dissapointed to realize yet another corporation has sacrificed service for revenue.

Regards,
J R in Santa Cruz

September 4, 2005

Was satisfied w/Netflix until I moved. Was relocating for the summer, so I cancelled my account on the day before it was to renew (since, I knew they did the 'immediate cancellation' thing, in which to screw people out of partial refunds). Got the note saying my account was cancelled, and then also got charged for the next month.

Disputed via AMEX (thank goodness I put it on AMEX!) and they took care of it.

Once I got settled again after summer, I once again tried to sign up. Everything went through, but when I went to check my account a few days later, it said "Account on Hold, Contact Customer Service." Which I did - and was told I needed to sign a release agreement (saying I was liable for any costs incurred in disputing a charge). I refused and requested they just cancel my account.

They agreed, but said they charged me regardless. I told them to refund the charge (since, I hadn't gotten anything at all - service hadn't even started!) but they said I needed to contact customer service. 

Contacted customer service, who said "I can't do anything - dispute it with your credit card..." Going to send a note to our state AG.

Chapel Hill, NC

August 30, 2005

Lewis

August 30, 2005

I started using Netflix in June 2005. After I had my share of scratched (“non-playable”) DVD’s, I finally complained to Netflix: “when I subscribed to 3-at-the time I was expecting more fluency in the process and now I am paying for a service that falls short of "#1 in Customer Satisfaction". 

They gave me 50% off my next month but the problems continued. They know their scam works, and that’s a very good reason not to have a customer service phone number, which is frustrating for us. However, there’s one piece of consolation: they no longer carry the slogan of "#1 in Customer Satisfaction".

August 28, 2005

Please identify me as "Craig"

I live about 20 miles from a distribution center in Harrisburg. During the trial periods, movies would arrive the next day as advertised. But after two months of my subscription arrival time went from 2 days to 1.5 weeks! At one point, I returned two movies at the post office at the same time, and they received them a week apart. I feel bad for blaming the post office. They shipped my final movie from KENTUCKY two days AFTER my account was cancelled and now expect me to pay full price for the movie because I didn't return it in their 8-day grace period. They gave me one day to mail it from Harrisburg to Louisville! Unbelievable! Be sure to let the BBB know how you feel. There is clearly false advertising in their stated 1-day mailing average.

August 28, 2005

I recently signed up to the Netflix “trial-membership” and received my first lot of movies with no problem. Everything seemed fine until the trial ran out and it was time to renew. Upon entering my info for renewal I was told that the email address was already in the system so I had to enter another. Big mistake, they started billing me for two accounts one of which was the “premium” which was not what I had ordered in the first place. This cost me some overdraft fees and a lot of frustration. It was difficult to contact Netflix as they do not really have any real customer service on their website. I had to go elsewhere to get an 800 number. Their operator was very short and condescending and tried to make it sound like it was my fault. I can usually resolve problems with companies and continue to do business with them but Netflix has caused me too much grief and I could never be a customer of theirs ever again.

August 27, 2005

I'm very dissatisfied with netflix I cancelled on july 31st and mailed all of the three movies back to you via us postal in front of the post office and you peaple sent me e-mails saying you hadn't recieved the movies which couldn't be ,something had to be wrong. you added to my account three charges of 21.00 and one for 18.89.on july 16th that is only 2 week because i cancelled on july 31. this is very unfair. I want the prices taken off of my credit card . just because i cancelled, you'r trying to screw me . plus you made my credit card over my limit , which cost me 29.00. so I would think it would be at you best intrest to take these charges away. or i am going to dispute the bill with my credit card , they said i had to e-mail you first . before i dipute it., please e-mail me about this problem .don' t even tell me you didn't recieve these movies. I am a business owner and know alot of people, who i will tell everyone about the way you do business., I mailed them before july 31st susan t. Jennings

Manuel's Reply:  You should have sent the rentals back certified mail.  Now you have no proof the rentals were returned.

August 18, 2005

Hi Manuel,

I have some insight about the throttling that Netfilx imposes:

I returned two videos on recent Friday, and the following Monday, they were listed as returned, and that I would receive two new vids in two days (Wednesday). That Monday, I sent back three more disks, and the following day, my account showed they were returned and that I would receive three more disks on Thursday of that week. 

Wednesday came, and no disks. Thursday, Friday, Saturday: same thing, nothing. On Monday of the following week, I received five disks. 

I wondered, "WTF?" Netflix has been great up to this point, since I have a local warehouse here in St. Louis. Usually there is a two-day turnaround time.

I sent one disk back on the Tuesday after I had gotten the five-disk shipment, and lo and behold, Netflix sent my next queued movie two days later (today, Thursday). On Wed. of this week, I sent back two more disks, and I'm supposed to get them by this Saturday. We'll see what happens.

I think that maybe when Netflix gets a large send-back, like five at a time, they may be more inclined to throttle than when they get one or two at a time.

I'll keep you updated.

So far, I have gotten perfectly playable disks, and have had no trouble.

However, I am dismayed at the Netflix website, and the inability to get help, other than reporting a disk missing. Maybe they should consider real-time, online help?

Mike in St. Louis

Manuel's Reply:  Personally, I think you exceeded your quota for a given period.  Netflix held on to your rentals until that period passed.  I had the same experience using the 8-at-a-time plan.  This is throttling twofold--they withhold your rentals then slam you with all of them at once knowing you can't watch 8 DVDs in one day.

August 8, 2005

Don't know if you have noticed this yet...

When a DVD is cracked, Netflix allows the customer to ask if they want a replacement. When saying yes to this, you are imformed that Netflix will ship available copy of the DVD. So, what happens when the next available DVD is not available? The customer is out one less DVD from the number that they are paying to receive. Thus, Netlifx defrauds the customer here by giving them less service than they are actually paying for.

-David
Richardson, TX

Manuel's Reply:  The customer loses anytime they receive a non-playable or incorrect rental.  Both Netflix and the USPS deny any responsibility when they deliver a non-playable Netflix rental.  When you receive a broken or incorrect rental from Netflix your only option is to add it back to your queue.  This is like your local video store telling you to pay again if you want a replacement for a non-playable rental.  For Netflix to truly compensate for a non-playable rental they should send out an extra rental.  For example, if you have a 3-at-a-time membership, Netflix should send out a 4th rental to replace a non-playable DVD. 

August 2, 2005

Came across your site and you are quite correct on many issues. I live in Michigan and noticed that a DVD I sent back had not arrived after four days to what I thought was Lansing. I thought the USPS had lost it as a few in the mail have disappeared after a year of being with Netflix. Usually they arrive the next day. I later noticed that the envelopes I was getting from Netflix were going to California, Florida, etc not Lansing. I have learned to cross out the bar code and address and print the address of the Lansing center. They arrive the next day again.

This combined with the holding of movies in the queue for a day after receiving a returned DVD does irritate me. I belong to Blockbuster for a month now as I am comparing them and they both have pros and cons. Netflix use to never have many long waits for the status of the DVD but they seem to be increasing for recent released DVD's. They obviously are cutting down on their inventory. 

Blockbuster is now faster in turnaround but they have web/software problems. I have a movie, Tron, at the top of my queue and it has been bypassed three times for a lower rated movie though both were available. Also when adding to my Blockbuster queue the position I select is often inaccurately placed.

I still have not decided which one I will stay with. I like Netflix's site much better but the recent decisions they have made have made me think twice.

Good luck.

Sean

Manuel's Reply:  Don't forget you can double up your rentals in one envelope--it's easier than altering your envelope.  Here's an example of changing your envelope's address.  I haven't had any problems doing so.  Realize, Netflix can still throttle regardless of changing the address.  I printed the barcode using MS Word--it gets sorted faster with a barcode.

August 1, 2005

Hi Manuel:

I thought I was the only one with a recent loss of service by Netflix until I Googled for "Netflix Problems" and found out that I'm far from alone in this. I live very close to the Los Gatos center, and know that the Post Office gets any shipments back and forth in 1 day (I've been a member for a number of years).

The current tactic employed seems to be never shipping any disks to me on Monday. Now they are received on Monday, but always listed as shipping on Tuesday (and sometimes re-listed as shipping even later). 
Often disks received later that week are shipped the same day, but, as the song goes, "Never on a Monday".

This limits the number of disks I can get during the week quite effectively, and yet when I've called to question them, their phone support people swear that no delaying tactics are being used ("We would never do that to our customers") and they claim that it's simply that the disks I've ordered have to come from another warehouse....week after week. 
I might believe this if I had ever had an instance of a disk not shipping the same day they received it in the past, but this has only started happening in the last 8 months or so. This problem began pretty much after they were forced to repeal their subscription rate increase when Blockbuster started their internet service...they had just recently raised their rates several dollars per month, and then brought them back to the original price at that point.

It's clear that I have become unprofitable to them and that I should not expect to get the same level of service I had in the past. 
I'm sure that there'll be no improvement until someone can give them some decent competition (maybe Amazon?). 

Thanks for a great and informative site!

July 29, 2005 [bookmark]

Hello Manuel,

I just recently quit Netflix after 2 years of membership. The shipping time sucked even though I live a short distance from the Dallas, Texas processing facility. You could almost palpably feel that they were limiting the number of movies I received each month to what they thought was financially "fair" on their end, even though I mailed those movies back with lightening speed. Anyway, I cancelled, called them to cancel, and they debited my bank account anyway. I got that resolved, they refunded my money, now today they have debited my account again on a closed Netflix account. I had to scour the net on Google to get their phone number again today....Guess why everyone has such problems with that? If you are an active member of Netflix, the number is listed (hidden VERY deeply) within their contact pages. However, once you cancel your account, that number is unaccessible to you! It just flat out disappears, and you are left with a generic email as your only action of contact. Not only that, Netflix does not list their phone number in any public directory! What crap is that? As I write, I have been on hold now for over 30 minutes trying to get the bastards to refund my bank account the money they swiped from it. Oops, I just got through to them. They are claiming that before I cancelled, the last movie I shipped back to them never arrived. They charged me for the movie. Nuff said about Netflix, they are dogs.

Manuel's Reply:  I'm sure you've offended a great number of dogs.  Here's some Netflix phone numbers to assist you in the future:

Hope this helps :)

July 25, 2005

I signed up for Netflix for the 3rd time on May 29, after Wal-Mart stopped renting (the Wal-Mart service had been excellent). The previous two times I quit because of long delays in getting movies after a couple of months of good service. I have always turned movies around at a fast rate (usually the day after I receive them). They have opened a distribution center in Honolulu, where I live, which I thought would make the turnaround satisfactory. And it did - it was fantastic at first - movies received at Netflix one day after mailing, new movie mailed that same day, received by me the next or following day. This allowed me to get 6 movies between May 20 and May 31. The month of June I managed to get 28 movies. From July 1st to July 14 I got 11 movies (I have the 4 out at a time plan). Suddenly, last week, the last four movies I sent back on July 16 did not show up as received. Since I had been having one day turnaround, I reported them as missing. Finally, on July 25 they showed up as received. Obviously I have again become one of the undesirables - people who manage to view too many of the "unlimited rentals". I will be canceling Netflix after my last four movies are returned. All this after me sending an e-mail to them telling them how great the service was this time. If you can't have unlimited rentals, then the limit should be stated somewhere in the agreement. Of course right now, they tend to blame it all on the postal service and deny they purposely slow down shipping to high volume users. If you watch a lot of movies and send them back fast, Netflix is not for you. 

July 22, 2005

Hi,

Just thought I would share my Netflix experience and I wish that I had found your site before joining them. My problems have started right as soon as I started paying they didn't even give me a month before the slow downs started. I got suspicious right away, after I shipped 3 dvds back to them, all on the same day, and 2 was acknowledge as being received, by Netflix, within 2 days from them being mailed. The third one took 6 days for them to get back and that only happened after I reported it missing. Within an hour it mysteriously showed up at their center. 

As of today they received 2 of my returns, so I was expecting them to ship 2 of my queued movies today. Well one is being shipped today and the other is going to be shipped on Monday. What kind of crap is that? So I sent in a complaint, which by the way I found courtesy of your web site. This is the response that I was sent:

I would think with the technology that is available that this would not be a problem, especially with the biggest DVD online rental company. It shouldn't take much to contact the other center and have them ship it out today, so I realize this is a bunch of BS! So now I am stuck with one movie for the weekend, that's if it shows up tomorrow.

Needless to say, I will be cancelling my membership with them, as soon as it get's close to expiring. I am also going to be a smarta## and send the last few dvd's I get from them back Priority Mail so I have a tracking number and can confirm that they received them. I don't want to take any risks in them saying that I didn't send the movies back.

Thank you, for this great informative site and please keep us posted if you hear anything about Amazon's DVD rental program. I am very interested in this, since I have received nothing but great service from Amazon!

A Soon to be Former Netflix Member,

Lisa DiMaio

P.S. You may post my name with this.

July 22, 2005

Hi Manuel,

Yesterday, at 8:00AM I took three DVDs back to the SOUTHEASTERN, PA. regional POST OFFICE which is where NETFLIX has its PO BOX. I figured there would be no way they wouldn't get it today since that makes it local mail. It appears that is exactly what happened. I cancelled my account once already and opened up a new account under a different name because of the severe throttling. I have noticed over the last three weeks that my delivery time seems to have changed from one to two days as well as 1 DVD out of three being delayed a day in shipping. I guess the throttling has begun again and I will have to cancel my account and open up a new one under a different name.

Thanks

July 21, 2005

Manuel, here is a email Netflix sent me, I complain about them not sending out my DVD's. Which I had to wait more than a week to get one back from them. They first emailed me explaining they process almost 100% of the DVD's in the day they came in. After, getting that email I asked them to be honest and this is what they wrote (see below). 

July 18, 2005

This is my complaint. (email to Netflix) and by the way they do not have a direct type email. You have to email under suggestions how to improve their site and service. Then you get an automated email back saying they have so many emails they can't answer all of them. Anyway, here is my letter to them, which may not get answered I will let you know if it does.

Sheryl Handlin

North Carolina

Netflix ship to us from Greensboro which is next day service.

Manuel's Reply:  This isn't an e-mail but a form for contacting them directly....  It's very well hidden but is somewhere on their web site.

July 16, 2005

After waiting many months for the documentary "Jenin, Jenin", which had been in the #1 slot in my browser, it became available on May 29. I had to request five discs before receiving one that had not been badly damaged , slashed through the disc and one actually in two pieces. This also happened to the "Gaza Strip" documentary that I had requested, although the second disc received was playable. I sent the first damaged disc back to the warehouse, but the next ones I returned to the office of Reed Hastings, stating that this was strange since they were brand new and appeared that someone might be attempting to control what I could watch, due to the particular type of damage which I had not seen in any discs before. Three discs were sent certified mail with return receipt requested, so that I know they were received. I have followed up with three letters and have had absolutely no response. The only result is that since the return department was not notified as I requested, I am no longer receiving three discs.

These documentaries were about the situation in the Mid-East, and what has happened here could be indicative of a serious situation at Netflix, so that I am absolutely amazed that, after six weeks, I have had no response from Reed Hastings' office, not even an acknowledgement that the discs have been received.

My e-mail response from the web site was it must be the handling at the post office or inferior material! 

Paul

July 15, 2005

From Chicago, IL. Subscription cancelled 7/15/05 

We (wife and two kids) had a Netflix subscription for about 8 months, with a few problems (one DVD didn’t arrive, one arrived in 2 pieces, a few had scratches and about 1 in 3 needed serious cleaning). We cancelled our subscription because of the following:

About mid-May, 2005, one of our requested videos reached the top of our queue. I noticed its availability was listed as “Now”, but it didn’t ship. Long story short, 2 months and about 20 rentals later and the same DVD was still at the top of the queue / had never shipped. I had been checking its availability a few times a week, and it would routinely toggle between “Now” and “Long Wait”. Pretty obvious that there was one copy in circulation. After about 7 weeks of this, I tried contacting Customer Service through the Netflix web site. Over a period of two weeks, I sent emails ranging from simply reporting the problem to asking for a way to contact customer service by phone to threatening to cancel my subscription. All I received by way of email responses from Netflix were variations of the same email, explaining how the queue works and what the “availability” status means. Giving up on the email approach, I decided I wanted to speak to a human being. After an exhaustive search I was never able to find a Customer Service phone number anywhere on the Netflix web site; I had to do a google search to find one.

After longish holds, I finally spoke to an actual person (Richard). His responses were practically verbatim the responses I got from Netflix via email. When I suggested perhaps Netflix needed to purchase another copy of this title, he stated that it was probably the case that the title was no longer available from the studio. (I pointed out that the title was available new on Amazon for about the same price as one month’s subscription and shipped immediately. Richard didn’t believe the company had the ability to purchase titles except from the studios.) I felt my problem was special enough to warrant speaking to his supervisor. After more holding, I spoke with Kim. Kim had the gall to tell me that 2 months was not necessarily a long wait, and that some titles have waits of up to four months. Finding little sympathy from Kim, I asked to speak with HER supervisor and was told someone would call back within 24-48 hours. No one ever did. Needless to say, I cancelled my subscription.

BOTTOM LINE: Under normal circumstances, Netflix provides average service at best. You may be attracted to Netflix by the availability of some more obscure titles – but be wary. The fact that Netflix lists a title as available, or even available now, can mean nothing. And God help you if you have a problem that is in any way out of their pre-defined list of questions. I found Netflix to be a very cold and rigid organization that invests next to nothing on customer satisfaction.

July 14, 2005

Netflix customer for Netflix for over three years calls it quits

Amazing, the day I found this site is the same day that Netflix has apparently opened a distribution center right in my own town of Omaha. Even more amazing is it used to take 2 days for movies to ship/arrive from the Kansas City center, but now seems to take a whopping 3+ days from my own back yard. How's that for customer service!

I have already decided to quit NF because of the slower and slower and slooooower shipping they've been doing. The fastest service I've had in the past few months is when I was gone on vacation for two weeks. I guess if you're on vacation and not watching movies, then you're a so-called priority customer.

So, I've made the decision to quit NF. My question is when and where do I go next. I noticed on their cancel service page, they have a rule that if movies aren't received in 7 days, after canceling, then they will charge you for them. Considering it's taking as long as 8 days for them to recognize they've received movies (I've been reporting them lost after 6 days), I bet this is their scam to steal money from my account. Should I cancel maybe a day or two after mailing the movies I have, or should I taken them all to the post office, and send them certified mail with return receipt so I have proof that they've received the movies. Has anyone else here had trouble canceling membership with NF?

Next, if I want to continue renting online, does that leave me with Blockbuster as my own mainstream choice? I really hesitate to go back to BB. I used to rent from their stores but got tired of having to pay full late fees even if I dropped off the movies five minutes late. I am very weary of doing any business with them again. I'd like to see what Amazon has to offer, but don't know how soon they will be up and running. Any ideas?

Thanks,
BC

July 13, 2005

Dog & Pony Show

Manuel, 

You can put this under Customer Opinions. 

I've subscribed for over 2 years and I have all the usual experiences of other renters. Nothing special there. The usual "Netflix 2-step" delay 1 or 2 days upon reciept. Well, starting about 3 weeks ago I noticed a new way that Netflix is slowing down the Que. Here is the new game. Before I would mail back all 5 on Friday. Of course Netflix (10 miles away) gets them on Monday at the worst. I always receive dvd's from them in 1 day. Always. OK, they get them Monday, but que still shows nothing. Tuesday que still shows nothing, late tuesday que shows shipping wednesday. On wednesday they ship and I would get new batch Thursday. That is old game plan. Here is new gameplan. Return Friday. Netflix disavows Monday and Tuesday. States received Wednesday. States shipped wednesday. I should have them Thursday right? NOPE!! Wednesday (or so they say!) shipments arrive Friday. This has happened 3 weeks in a row now. Netflix states they ship on a wednesday, yet they do not ship them out till Thursday and I receive them on Friday. This is all from a service center 10 miles away. Or they find some reason to send me movies from the New York center and I am in California. And the return envelope wants me to return the movies to New York!! Please post for other consumers so they can comment on the new Netflix double 2-step slowdown technique.

Mike W. Newport Beach, CA. 

June 30, 2005

My son bought me a one month gift certificate as part of my xmas gift. What a gift! This company has created more headaches than I could have imagined. I had to provide my credit card number to receive the gift. I only wanted to use the gift and not continue the service since we would be traveling most of the following month. That is where the problems come in. I emailed them asking for the date and instructions for canceling. In 6 emails I sent, no one ever would directly answer the questions I asked. On three occasions, I asked for a phone number to call and speak to a person. No one ever responded to my request. I finally received an email saying that , per my request, my service had been cancelled. I did not request that they cancel my service before the month was up, but that is what they did! I only wanted to know what I should do to be sure I was not billed for a second month. After they cancelled service that had already been paid for, they told me there was nothing they could do. I finally found there telephone number on another complaint website. I called and waited on hold for 5-10 minutes. I would never recommend Netflix to anyone! They make it easy to sign up, but difficult to cancel. It is especially outrageous when someone pays for a gift certificate and then they make it so unpleasant for the recipient.

Paul

June 28, 2005

I've just found your website, and I read through some of other Netflix customers' e-mails. I also have the same problems that most of them does (the first few weeks being a great service but changing after a while; discs being lost; etc.). But Netflix did something today that really pissed me off.

I signed up for Netflix in March and had been a subscriber for 3 months. My account got temporarily suspended on May 29th because there was a problem with my credit card. I had another credit card that I could use but I was hesitant to sign up again because of the above mentioned problems. But yesterday I finally decided to give Netflix another try, and I typed in my new credit card. Today I was charged $25.97 (4-at-a-time program), but when I looked up the Billing Activity section, the description read 05/30/05 - 06/29/05..! Which does not make any sense because I didn't receive any DVDs during that time period due to my account being suspended from May 29th until yesterday (06/28). So that means I was charged a month worth amount of fee for only 2 days of service. I'll be charged again 2 days, this time $47.99 plus tax because I changed my membership term while I was suspended..

This is outrageuos, I sent an e-mail to customer service a while ago and I'm waiting for their response. If they don't refund the money or change the day of the next billing date, I don't know what I'm gonna do.

(Update 7/2/05) Manuel, I just wanted to tell you that I got a refund.

June 24, 2005

I tried Netflix again this month after experiencing all of the problems you have outlined, thinking they must have cleaned up their act by now. They are now even worse than I experienced last year. The amusing thing is, they've obviously been watching the complaints very closely because they now have canned responses to any issue you may have. I received my first 3 discs virtually 2nd day. When I returned them, it took 6 days for them to acknowlege the first 2 returns and 12 days for the 3rd return. All of which were handed to a postal worker that works at an official (not contractor)satellite USPS facility in the building where I work. When I contacted netflix to tell them I had cancelled my membership once again due to poor service, this is the response I received:

Washington State has an active and agressive attorney generals office that takes consumer complaints seriously. I have had complete satisfaction with issues referred to them regarding Qwest and ATT wireless. I urge all of you with similar experiences with Netflix to contact your attorney generals office in your state. 

June 22, 2005

I have been a customer for little over a month and during that time I have received four cracked DVDs. Very frustrating see only a half of the movie. They need better quality control. Probably don't have any. Going to cancel my subscription.

Philip E. Maggart

May 30, 2005

I have had a very similar experience with Netflix to what you describe.

I started on the 3 at a time plan. For the first couple of months things went well. Turn around times seemed really quick. Two day turn around generally. I told everyone I knew they should get on Netflix. 

Then, I started noticing the slow down. At first I thought I should just switch to the 4 at a time plan, which I did. It's only gotten worse since then.

I mailed one dvd last Thursday. Today is Monday. They currently don't even show it as having been received. That's a bunch of crap. They actually receive them the next day. I am pretty sick of Netflix right now and I wouldn't really recommend their service to anyone. They say unlimited but they don't actually mean it. Class action anyone?

May 23, 2005

Hi.

I thought I was the only one until I came across your site. I joined netflix back in February and then cancelled after a month because they started getting too slow. I was on the 3/17.99 plan. I rejoined because they said they made improvements and they have a $10.00 plan. I re-signed with the $10.00 plan and the first couple weeks were great. After my 3rd DVD, they started to use their delay tactics. I live about 90 miles from the nearest distribution center. I sent in my DVD on Thursday and I just got an email from them today (Monday morning) which says they received it. Nobody gets mail at 7:00am. Which means they received it Friday and did not bother to send me another one until now. I was hoping for a DVD for Saturday.

Abe
Rome, GA

May 16, 2005

This last week ( Friday) after getting fed up with the "throttling" I emailed netflix once a day for three days, complaining about my service. In an effort I guess to try and smooth me out, they "stacked" my releases, telling me that they got everything back on Monday the 9th, and that my next selections would be sent out the 10th, the 11th, and the 13th. Well, I got two releases on the 11th, and the release that was supposed to be on arriving on the 13th, it arrived on the 12th, but I received TWO copies of the same release! I sent back the 11th releases on the day of the 12th, they checked in one, and sent a new release out on the 13th, which I got on the 14th!

As of today however, they have only checked in two ( I'm assuming the checked in BOTH copies of the same title, as it was checked in today), And yet all my rental are returned.

Boy, I wish somebody would buy GreenCine, and boost its delivery centers!

Terry

Manuel Replies:  I wouldn't mind GreenCine expanding as long as they kept the same degree of customer service.

May 12, 2005

Just wanted to let you know that I made a complaint to the IFCC, and suddenly my movies started to come on time again. May not be related at all, but timing is suspicious.

Sharon
New York 

May 11, 2005

Up until the past two months I had been very happy with my Netflix service. I have been using the service for nearly 4 years, with about a 6 month hiatus due to financial concerns. But about 2 months ago I started noticing a disturbing trend. Used to be that when Netflix received a movie a replacement would ship out the same day. Now they are purposely WAITING till the next day to ship out the replacement. I have even noticed longer receive times, which is now making me wonder if they are holding returned movies an extra day. Since there is a distribution center within 15 miles from my home, I used to get a movie 2 days after sending back a movie - if I send a movie back on Monday, Netflix would get the movie on Tuesday, send out another movie from my queue and I would get the replacement on Wednesday. NOW it is taking me nearly a week to get replacements. If I send a movie on Monday, they get it Wednesday, HOLD sending out the replacement till Thursday, and I would get it Saturday. Since it only takes 1 day to send/receive, I am also thinking that they hold sending out the replacement till LATE Thursday. It's sad that a company has to screw over it's customers. I have tried sending Customer NO-Support a complaint but all I get back is apparently a scripted response. Netflix USED to be so good and now that they have competition you would think they would try and make their service better. Truly sad. 

- Curt

May 6, 2005

Hello, since everyone was adding there two sense I figured I add mine.. Ive been a Netflix customer for over a year. Just like everyone else, It started out good, then they werent getting movies that i returned. Just today, They charged my Bank Card $80 for 4 movies that I have. I had to find your Web site just to get a customer service number to reach them. They finally answered the line after 35 minutes. (If you can believe that!). The lady said that she would credit the funds back to my account, but it would take 7-10 days! Im pissed off! I shouldve canceled my account when I got it. Thank you for listening.. Will keep you updated on my Money being returned.

May 4, 2005

Aha! I suspected a site like yours would turn up eventually. My love affair with Netflix has just ended in heartbreak, and I want to second everything you've said.

I am currently disabled. The only thing I can do is lie in bed or on the couch and watch movies. When I found out about Netflix, I was thrilled. Movies that would come to my house in UNLIMITED numbers. Fantastic! To be perfectly honest, I am a movie freak, and have always watched at least two or three movies a week. So this was a marriage made in heaven, right?

Not so fast. I had been a member since September of last year. I was waiting for a new release when I found out that my sister, who had just joined, had already received it. First hint.

Then, as long as I was on the three-at-a-time plan, my movies turned around in one day. I was getting six a week. Great. (And I didn't have the problems with broken or scratched movies more than a few times. I was more afraid that they were going to penalize or charge me than I was angry at not getting the movie I paid for.)

But then I changed to the 5-at-a-time plan, and instantly, they started holding my movies for a day before shipping. I e-mailed customer service (which is very hard to find on the site). What I got back were very dismissive and misleading answers. Some were just plain lies. I kept at it, and finally got someone who was willing to point out to me that disclaimer in the terms. The one that says if you actually use the service that you are paying for to your advantage, we will put you on the low priority list, and you'll get fewer movies. I also contacted a lawyer and got no response. This surprises me, because I've worked for a class action attorney, and I believe that even though there is a disclaimer in the terms, it is contradicted by the offer of an UNLIMITED number of movies when you sign on or change your plan. It seems to me that it is sufficiently misleading as to constitute a fraud.

Perhaps not, but if enough people get this information, and enough people complain about it, and eventually, enough people just terminate the service, they will have to pay attention. By the way, if you think their terms and disclaimers are complicated, take a look at Blockbuster's. You'd have to be a lawyer just to understand what you are agreeing to.

I had intended to contact the corporate offices, but I can see from your site that that will do me no good at all. So I guess I have a decision to make. I don't like being ripped off, but I have to measure that against the convenience and the selection. Why are consumers always put in this position? Because corporations rule the world.

Sharon O'Shea

Manuel's Reply:  I was able to contact Netflix's corporate office.  Of course, this involved sending a letter certified mail and making a complaint to Silicon Valley's Better Business Bureau.  It took a month before they replied.  

May 3, 2005

I thought I was the only one having these problems with Netflix. ... Netflix at one time was a great service and I recommended and got others to join. But, I recently cancelled because of their practice of placing higher volume renters at the bottom of their priority mailing list and I had a letter from customer service actually stating that fact. 

I wrote several emails after to "Customer Service" complaining to them and telling them of the slow down in the turn around of my DVD's. 

But I constantly got a prefabricated email back from Customer service, explaining that the slow down was due to the weekends and holidays and of course they blamed the Postal Service. It was very odd that a DVD shipped out of the Netflix facility got to me the next day, but it took 2 days for the same Post office to deliver my DVD to Netflix's facility... I think somebody is telling a lie here, don't you...? By the way, the Netflix facility is exactly 12 miles from my current location in Richmond Virginia.. 

At one time, I could mail my DVD and it be received the next day. It was "checked in" and the replacement on it's way the same day. The Post Office would deliver it to my apartment the very next afternoon. If you are keeping track that is a 2 day turnaround. 

As soon as the price dropped, the service plummeted along with it. I experienced DVD's not being received until 2 days after I mailed them (so they claim) and then DVD after DVD being shipped out after a 36 hour delay(5-6 day turnaround). So much for the next day shipping. I went from 8 DVD's a week to barely able to getting 3. 

Of course I complained, and complained, but the same old prefabricated emails came to me even after I explained that I was referring to regular weekdays and non holidays. But I got the same old excuses blaming everyone and everything else expect for their own incompetence to deliver service like they claim in all their ads. They also claimed that because I was ordering "lesser known titles' that they were being forced to ship them from out of state facilities.. I didn't realize that "Finding Nemo", Spiderman 2 and a whole list of 2004 Mega movies were considered "Lesser Known" especially just weeks after their DVD release.. . 

They are more worried about becoming the biggest, rather than the best. They like giving press releases about how fast they are growing. I am waiting for a press release stating, "Millions of Unsatisfied Customers Leave Netflix." and I believe that is going to happen if they don't wake up and see what is going on.... 

After about 15 emails, they finally admitted that they were holding up my DVD's because I was a higher volume renter and they were giving priority to the lower volume renters.. Well, this enraged me. I guess my $20 is not as good as their $20. 

Think about this, Why would you give priority to a lower volume customer that doesn't watch as many movies..?. Chances are, if they are truly lower volume renters they would never notice a delay, because THEY ARE LOWER VOLUME RENTERS.... So, that excuse makes absolutely no sense what so ever. 

The only reason is because Netflix is trying to hold the DVD's to make their bottom line look better.

I had recommended and got four other people to join Netflix. I went to each and every one of them and apologized for my poor recommendation and each one has since left.

Thank you for allowing me to voice my complaint. 

You are welcomed to use my name.

Roger Whittaker

April 30, 2005

Dear Netflix Employee: 

The overall quality of Netflix service has declined to the point I can no longer tolerate it. Again........I live right over the hill in the Santa Cruz area so it is a one day ship to my house and from me to you. I shipped you 3 movies Saturday, you received Monday, today. In the past everytime I shipped you Movies on Friday or Saturday they were marked received by 7 a.m. on Monday. And ALWAYS!!! the next movies in my queue would have been shipped on Monday, except for the movies that had to come from another "hub"...Now everytime the movies I send on Friday or Saturday to you are marked received about noon or later, still well in time for them to go out in Monday's mail, since the Postal Service takes mail until 6 p.m everyday. I guess you guys think you have an excuse not to ship the movies from the "hub" right over the hill from me in San Jose until Tuesday. This is now your standard procedure every week, and is quite obviously "A RIP OFF" compared to the standard procedure before. Since your "price reduction" it is apparent your service has severely been reduced in quality and all your "Customer Service Reps" do is tell me another lie and another and another and another. 

I have never received a satisfactory answer to any of the questions I've asked about Netflix's deteriorated level of service or problem's that were definitely not the level of service you promise in your advertisements and on your website. All I've ever gotten was one of your standardized "replies" to my complaints or inquiries that are obviously preformatted and don’t come from a real human being with any ability to respond to the issues I raise with an autonomous answer; just more repetition of standardized responses ordered by a higher up at the company. Nothing I ask is ever responded to on a legitimate level. And more than half the time I get no response at all from anything I ask or point out doesn't live up to the level of service you promise. No one answers the emails via your standardized email format at least half the time. What kind of level of customer service is that?? It's crap, that's what it is. 

Personally, I hope you are forced out of business for being Liars and Thieves. I used to get 34 or so movies a month, now that's down to less than 20 a month (58 in the last 90 days according to your own records). That's about a 50% decline and that's clearly a ripoff that you guys have perpetuated on my account and no doubt to the rest of unsuspecting public you have duped with advertisements and what you claim to provide on your website. 

Your "holding time" before you ship has become ridiculous and often the dvd's are taking much longer than you even declare in your "should arrive" date in the queue and emails you send about when something should arrive. 

I smell something stinky here in your level of service and the lies your employees routinely tell. 

Netflix is a dishonest business and I know I can do little about that except to post all over the internet what liars and thieves you have become. I will be closing my account before the next “pay for crap” service cycle comes. And I will pass on to everyone I know who has a Netflix account how you are duping people intentionally by claiming a level of service and ability to “ship immediately” that you do not actually carry out, I will also post on the internet at places like Craigslist; across the country, the lies and crappy service I have received from Netflix and no doubt others are receiving too. Which could and should be seen as what it is, It’s fraud against the public. 

sincerely, Darryl Taylor April 18, 2005 

April 24, 2005

Dear Manuel;

I agree completely with your opinion of Netflix. I live ‘way out in the country so there is no neighborhood video store to rent from. I have been a Netflix customer for over 2 years and the first year I was delighted with their service. Then things started slowing down. I was happy to pay the $22 bucks or so because I had figured out that I was paying about $1.49 per rental. No more. I ship three movies back all at once, and they only get 2, I report the third missing as soon as Netflix will let me, then the third movie mysteriously shows up at Netflix a week later. They say they ship the movies and it takes 4 or 5 days to get them…..From Oklahoma City, where mail service should be three days at most. A friend who lives in Denton (Texas) and whose distribution center is in Coppell has a similar story. Mail service between Denton and Coppell should be one day, and she doesn’t get movies any faster than I do. 

I figure the 3 at a time unlimited rentals used to mean 12 movies per month (three per week) and that was o.k. by me, but now I’m lucky to get 6 movies per month. I am canceling my service and subscribing to Showtime.

April 14, 2005

Netflix: slick marketing, weak execution.

I started with Netflix and found the turnaround to be lightning fast. I could get 2 sets of 3 movies per week. I started noticing that a good portion of the discs (about a third) were damaged. The Sopranos series was damaged over half the time, sometimes sending the same dmamged disk as a replacement!

I would complain to them and they would give me one extra disk (one time per damaged disk request) to correct the problem. Given the number of times I have had to make the request, this has grown tiresome.

Netflix should: -1- retire disks after a certain number of rentals, or a certain number of complaints
-2- when someone complains about a damaged disk, they should get one credit for free, without having to whine or beg. -3-not set expectations high in the beginning, then actively seek to 
throttle back service.

I have complained to them in businesslike, but very specific terms. Their response has been oblique- 'we make every effort to provide the best possible service..' blah blah blah.. Now they have started throttling me back, taking twice as long to turn movies around.

Blockbuster is supposed to have poor customer service, so I am not sure if trying them is the solution. Perhaps it is worth investigating the Walmart plan. In any cas though, the more people know about Netflix's practices, the less likely they will be to let poor service slide.'

Thank you,
G

Manuel's Reply:  It may seem that the replacement disc was the same as the first but I doubt it.  I've marked discs with magic markers to see if this is the case and it hasn't occurred.  I believe Netflix and Blockbuster buy DVDs on the cheap from disreputable sources as evidenced by my journal entries: April 22, 2004 and November 28, 2004.

April 12, 2005

Hi Manuel...

Well, I just got off the phone with Netflix and they basically confirmed that I am a high-volume user and that they are using delaying tactics to slow down my receipt of movies from them.

I joined Netflix in late December, just a little over 3 months ago. Like all your other writers, the initial service was fantastic. I had heard about your site, and read the comments and wondered if the throttling would happen to me.

Well, Jan, Feb and part of March are months where we do spend much time indoors and watch a lot of movies. April - December are much different for us, so I had thought long and hard about joining a service that we would use heavily for 3 months, but not much for the remaining 9 months. But my husband liked the concept, so we thought we'd give it a try.

So everything is going along just fine, until the 3rd week of March when I noticed that movies that would normally ship out the same day one was received was delayed a day. OK, that was one, and one does not make a pattern. But every one since March 22 was delayed ship by one day. Then just last week, a movie sent in was not received the next day (every movie I sent in up until then had always been received the next Netflix working day). Now the 3 movies I just sent in have all been delayed receipt by a day.

I had emailed Netflix last week and got the standard canned response, so I called them today. The person I spoke to would not acknowledge any delayed receipts, but was informative on some other information.

He gave me the standard spiel about lighter users take precedence over high volume users and so I asked him if I was identified as a high volume user and then what exactly was a high volume user. He said the system identifies high-volume users, not anyone doing it on a individual basis. HUH ??? What difference does that make..

He did acknowledge that all my movies were being shipped the day after one was received, and said there were 2 potential reasons for this. One being that the maximum # of disks processed/facility occurred, or #2, disk was shipped from a different location. I asked him to verify if any of my movies were shipped from a different location (main location is Minneapolis, MN), in the timeframe I am questioning. He checked and said, NO, that none of my movies were shipped from a different location.

Then I said while I understood their maximum # processed, why were all of mine (not just some) being delayed. Then he said, it could be that I have been identified as high volume user. I again asked what the definition of a high volume user was. He said again that the system defines it. I again said there must be something in my usage that could help identify me so I could better understand what is happening.

He then said he reviewed my rental history and I averaged 14 movies per month (3 out plan) and yes, that is a high-volume user. I said 14 movies a month (I got 12 in the last 30 days) is high volume and I am being treated as such ?? He responded, well you are getting next day delayed shipments aren't you? so yes, I'm a high volume user.

OK --- well, he admitted to me that I was being delayed. I basically said to him, what does unlimited mean when you are manipulating the amount of movies I get. Then he must have realized what he had said, and started the same old spiel up that I was getting a good value. Whatever... I thanked him for his time (he could tell I wasn't buying much of this), and hung up since there is nothing they would do about it.

I know this is long so I'll finish up. Anyway, I was going to continue my membership with Netflix and they would have probably shipped me out 2 movies or so a month for the next few months, probably increasing to 3 by the time Nov & Dec came along. That's how little we would have used the service from late April - late Dec. 

Oh well, instead, I will be cancelling Netflix (didn't tell them yet) at the end of this month's cycle. Too bad, 'cuz the concept is GREAT. Too bad they feel the need to manipulate people. 

To sum up --- an avg of 14 movies/month cost them $10.36 to ship, plus they have other costs, but they did make a small profit maybe on the last 3 months, but they would have made their profit on the next 9 months from us 2-3 movies a month -- I would have said they would have made $15/month ...

Too bad.

Thanks for the forum --- feel free to cut/paste if you need.

sign me ---

so long netflix

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