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Netflix - "Free" Trials

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Michael of Oceanside CA (2/13/05):
Got stung for the free trial "month." Charged $19.99 because in fact it was a trial 14-day "period" which ended 2/11. To learn that fact beforehand it was necessary to click on the "terms" link which appeared in 7.5 point font at the bottom of their Welcome email. It was a while ago, I don't remember if the Netflix homepage at the time said free month trial or free 14-day trial. But I keep a journal and wrote down the date 1/29/05 and the note, "cancel in one month."

I made my way through the site to the customer support email form, wrote a complaint and requested the charge be reversed on the day it happened. The next day I got a canned reply saying "no." It's not the money as much as the feeling of being cheated. If it had been 14 days, I would not have tried it. Because, given the time it takes to get movies through the mail, I would have assumed that getting and returning a batch could not be done in that time.

It's a really old trick. They were very, very good at it. Substituting the term "period" for "14-day" trial. Not giving an advance warning email that it's about to expire (they go to the trouble of sending you notices about every other phase of your business relationship, when titles ship etc.). Effectively it means that to try out Netflix plan to pay for a month that includes 14 extra days. Make certain not to have a huge queue, and cancel several days early so there is no "in-transit" excuse for charging a second month.

Cary of Richmond VA (6/14/04):
I was charged for the "trial" peiod offered. Now, they are showing that I have an unreturned disc. I returned everything. I just received notice of their new price policy, completely different than the offer orginally made. I was able to cancel service through the netflix site. I am now going to back up everything in writing (a real pain and waste of time, which is why I joined.) so that I will have documentary evidence to show the credit card company in the event of future disputes.

Tyra of Mobile AL (6/3/04):
I was charged for a free memebership, which made my account overdrawn and then I cancelled the memebership and was still charged. My account was over drawn and I was responsible for the nsf fees, $120.00 total

Reuven of Miami (6/2/04):
I signed up for a try-out of the movies they rent for one month free -- after that they charged my credit card account for the free trial. They kept on charging my credit card account every month. How do I stop this nonsense? I only wanted to try their services for one month and according to them was FREE.

John of Fort Lauderdale (5/28/04):
Misleading billing policies. I cancelled my account and still got charged 2 months after. Poor customer service and no responses to my billing inquiries.

Damage Resulting: $64.00 in charges for 5 movie rentals.

Janet of Saint Charles MO (5/3/04):
I joined Netflix to try the two-week trial, but when I tried to cancel, they show no telephone number to call, and no person to email. I sent an email to someone's name I finally found after searching the site over and over, and to explain the problem. However, I am not sure it was received, or if I sent it to the correct person or not.

With no phone number there is no way to trace whether or not they received it. What is wrong with a place that supposedly offers you something as a free trial, then makes it impossible to cancel it before the date. I should add, they also took $21.11 out of my bank account before the trial was over.

Mary Lou of Roswell NM (4/15/04):
I applied for a 2-week free trial membership on 4/13/04. Once I saw the list of the movies they offered, I canceled immediately. They debited my bank account for $21.95 and they have no customer service number that I can contact them to credit the account. I received a confirmation of the cancellation.

Damage Resulting: I paid for something that I did not receive as this account was never used.

Laurie of Lake Oswego OR (4/6/04):
I signed up for the three-week trial, and returned the DVD within the 3 weeks, and cancelled via email. They've been charging me for the last 4 months and will not respond to any emails I've sent to their customer service.

Alicia of Ballston Spa NY (3/18/04):
I signed up for a free trial membership, and in doing so provided my credit card number as required by Netflix. However, I changed my mind after looking around the site, and canceled the membership the same day. Imagine my surprise when I saw their monthly membership charge on my credit card statement the following month. I'd have been happy to speak with someone there, but there is absolutely no way to get in touch with customer service, e-mail, or phone, or mailing address.

James of Nashville TN (6/20/02):
I was enticed by their ad that said "Free Trial - Rent all the DVDs you want". Lies all. They charged me for a "lost disc" after I canceled my account. Then they cut off all access to my online account information so I could even see which disc was "lost". I tried joining them again on another credit card and EXACTLY the same thing happened. They are charging those who cancel before their trial period is over by claiming the customer lost a disc.

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