Cancelled Netflix Tonight

Published 4 years, 4 months ago in life stories

The wife and I were watching Frida, which is quite a good movie, when we decided to cancel our Netflix subscription.

We’ve been subscribers of Netflix since December of 1999. We bought our first DVD player then when we were living in Dupont, Washington. It was a Sony (still have it and it works great btw) and it included a little Netflix promo card in the box along with the manuals.

We signed up then, and we were paying $15.95 for 4 movies out at any time. We watched a lot of movies back then — generally one a night, because it was all so new…

And the quality of the service was fantastic. We’d watch a movie, mail it back, and get a new one within 3 days. We’d watch it that night and mail it back that morning.

In 2001, we moved back to Texas, and service was sort of crappy at first. It took 8 or 9 days to get replacement DVDs when we first moved back to Texas, because of the speed of the US Mail, but then, Netflix opened up a distribution center in Texas, and we were back to our 3 day turn around, and all was well.

At some point, Netflix changed their service levels such that our price went up from $15.95 to $19.95. We were happy with the service, and the ‘no late fees’ peace of mind.

Then, they changed their service to only allow 3 movies out at one time, but they grand-fathered us in, so that we kept our 4 movies out at a time service level for $19.95.

We got in the habit of sometimes watching a lot of movies, and sometimes not watching any for months on end.

Then yesterday, I got an email saying the price was going up to $21.95 for the same service level. I applaud their ability to offer me 4 movies out at a time for $22/month, with a 3 day turn-around. I was happy enough to stay a customer, and then…

We watched a movie last night that was so scratched up that it skipped chapters, and we missed out on a chapter or two and the whole experience was ruined. Eh… no biggy, it’s happened before… and I was prepared to write off that one bad disk as a once every six months issue…

But then tonight, Frida skipped a couple of chapters too. Ruined the experience again. And what a good movie too…

So, I logged into my Netflix account and cancelled the service.

C’est la vie, eh?

[followup: Netflix Bluffs: A Price Increase from Kuro5hin]

9 Responses to “Cancelled Netflix Tonight”

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1 Walt D in LV May 21st, 2004 at 11:10 am

To cancel Netflix based on a couple scratched discs?? AND you had the 4 out at a time plan?! No. I think the benefits of Netflix far outweighs the bad disc once in awhile. Especially when you consider that you can go to their website, tell ‘em you had a bad disc and they’ll mail you another one out right away!
2 Rose Mcfadden Aug 4th, 2004 at 3:41 pm

I HAVE ALREADY MAILED A LETTER STATED THAT I WANT MY ACCOUNT CANCELLED. I NO LONGER HAVE A COMPUTER SO I CAN’T DO ANY CANCELLATION ON THE COMPUTER, I AM BORROWING SOMEONES COMPUTER RIGHT NOW. MY ACCOUNT SHOULD ALREADY BE CANCELLED, AND YOU SHOULD NOT TRY AND WITHDRAW FROM MY ACCOUNT. THANK YOU FOR UNDERSTANDING.

ROSE
3 manuel Nov 14th, 2004 at 5:01 am

I think you made the right decision. The difference between Netflix and your local video rental is if you rent a damaged disc at the latter you can return to the store and have it replaced at no cost or get a refund. Netflix won’t reimburse you for a damaged disc. Can you imagine returning a damaged disc at your local video rental and them saying, “We won’t give you a refund or a replacement but your more than welcome to pay to rent it again.” That in essence is Netflix.

Walt can write all he wants but he’s not paying your subscription fees.
4 Walt D in LV Nov 19th, 2004 at 1:41 am

Manuel made a point that I do not entirely understand. When you receive a damaged disc from Netflix, you are NOT required to pay for it, at ALL. You notify them and they immediately send out a replacement. Better than 80% of their customers receive next day shipments. Yes, an inconvenience, to be sure, but so is having to drive back to your local video store (assuming they’re still open that night).

I’ve been using Netflix for four years now(!) And I really am so happy. I go through about 60 movies a month on their 8-at-a-time plan.

I highly recommend it over any other service, mostly because of their fast shipments and large selection, but also because of their ratings and recommendation system which is beyond compare.

Walt D in LV

Rose made a comment that she no longer has a computer. If you do not have a computer, then it is true, Netflix is of no use to you. Everything of Netflix is online.
5 Double-oh Steven Sep 9th, 2005 at 11:05 am

Ah, but soon Netflix will be a download service, which means NO damaged discs, and, heck, no more mailing or shipping either! True downloads will take a couple hours, but that beats a couple DAYS via the mail, don’t you think? Soon everything will be digital, not just Netflix.
6 Judy Mar 17th, 2006 at 3:15 pm

Is it possible to cancel netflix? I’ve been trying to do this for several months now. It is the worse kind of service ever! They do not respond ever to any form of contact. What a mistake it was to sign up with them to begin with. Theirs is one horrible way to do business!
7 Diane Jan 11th, 2008 at 2:46 pm

I’ve been a great fan of Netflix for a long time and watch movies all the time. I’m also close to canceling, as is everyone I know who uses Netflix…I’d say one out of three discs are now arriving damaged in some way. I’ve emailed them suggesting they hire people to watch their movies every so often, checking for damage, but no answer. The only movies that ever arrive intact are very recent/new movies.