I think I may have been caught out by Screenselect

crube

Update - I wrote to them explaining I was unhappy about the cancellation thing, but I like their service etc. I said in my opinion they had completely mislead me, and I was forced into suscribing. I also said I had told my friends about it, who before were considering signing up. I sorta hinted I could be 'persuaded' into continuing my subscription if they offered me some money off or maybe a free month. Here's their response:-

Thank you for your email.

We can confirm that you attempted to cancel your account on the 22/02/06, however you have not completed the cancellation process, as there was about four/five pages that you needed to go through.

We can confirm that your account is still active and that your next billing date will be on the 27/03/06.

Should you have any more queries, please feel free to contact us again.

Kind regards,

:rolleyes: :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

Recognise it? Yep, they have simply copied and pasted their FIRST E-Mail to me. They are trying my patience now. I'm gonna keep on them though, and it may develop from E-Mail to phone.

Ticklemouse

I too have been caught out by them - 5 free rentals or 21 days. Everything was logged in my diary. However, they debited my CC whilst I still had my 5th dvd and a week before my 21 days was up. I sent the 5th dvd back and emailled them stating I intended to cancel but before I did, I wanted to make sure I got my £9.99 back. However, they cleverly sent my 6th dvd out after I contacted them - thus I had gone over the trial number. I've just got the 'sorry, you exceeded your limit' e-mails

I made sure I went onto the cheapest scheme in case this happened, so that I would only be £10 a month out of pocket. However, they are running a 'get £20 per fereral' scheme - so my mum may have to join. I'll at least get 2 months worth free. Whoops - she doesn't have a dvd -ah well. Just better make sure she cancels after No 3!!

Sweet_Pea_2

I had exactly the same problem with screenselect. Despite numerous e-mails back and forth, all of which were getting more and more sarcastic, I eventually gave up,(which is not something I do very often!) theres no way I was going to get any money back out of them. I think their customer service absolutely stinks. I think their free trial period is a complete scam and theres no way I'd touch their company again with a bargepole after the sarcastic e-mails they sent to me. (Despite the spam e-mails I still keep getting) In fact I came to the conclusion that I would stop using free DVD trials altogether, I'd either join and pay the money legitimately or not pay the money and forego the DVD's as I found it a hassle for not much return.
My mum has a saying "you dont get anything for nowt" and in the case of screenselect I think this is true.

crube

Definetely sounds like they make a habit of this, and it's common practice for them. They really shouldn't be allowed to get away with it. :mad:

xycom1

Martin should get onto this and give them so major embarassment.

GeoThermal

I sent my disks back the day the trial ended and got charged for the second month. I said it was a 21 day trial and as such I should be given 21 days to try out the service but they would not budge. I got my money's worth out of the 2nd month and cancelled in good time. They have since sent a 3 month free trial but I was so disgusted with them I haven't used it.

crube

Got an E-Mail from them today, offering a 33% discount if I pay upfront. If I pay for 3 months up front, I get the equivalent of 1 month free. It's tempting but I can't help but think their service level will drop if they have my money upfront for 3 months, or any period of time. It's really frustrating this whole thing, apart from the cancellation thing and their appalling customer service they have been absoloutely outstanding in terms of sending discs out, and like I said before I think their website is outstanding. If they sorted out their downfalls they could be far and away the best online DVD rental service. Doubt they will though. Yeah, it'd definetely be interesting if Martin got onto them.

mousegreatest388

I had problems with lovefilm charging me.
Contacted my credit card company, filled out a form and got my £14.99 back quickly from credit card company.

Should be able to do the same with the bank with a direct debit.

These companies are dodgy on cancellations and refunds. Lovefilm never give refunds even when it is an open and shut case.

Another tip if you realise you are late is to put the account on suspension for two or four weeks, depending if they charge.

quidsinquentin

crube wrote:

OK so I did the 4-week free-trial, and my end date was today, the 27th. I cancelled last Wednesday, when I had ALL 3 discs. I sent them off on Saturday, hoping they'd get back by today. Seems they did, because they've sent me 3 more :rolleyes: Surely if they get back on the date your trial ends AFTER you've cancelled they shouldn't (re?)activate your account. I'm thinking there must be some kind of loophole where your DVD's have to be back BEFORE the exact end date, rather than ON it. Maybe I'm paying the price for sending them back right at the last minute. I've E-Mailed them to see what they say. Meanwhile, it seems likely they have took £15 off my credit card. :rolleyes:

If I may...it seems to me that the dvd rental companies are probably wise to the mse site by now, and the dvd tarting (it wouldn't surprise me if they keep an eye on mse). I've been waiting for this type of thing to happen, as I felt it was only a matter of time. There must be a lot of people doing the free tarting rental thing by now, and the companies will be losing money. I've seen other sites mention this. Its probably time to stop using the dvd tarting.

obsessive_2

I had the same sort of problem with Screenselect. Had a one month's free trial, cancelled at the end, yet they said they didn't receive the final dvds back until the day after the trial should have ended, and would therefore be charging us another month.

Fortunately, the credit card we had signed up with had, in the meantime, been destroyed and replaced with one bearing a new number, so they were unable to take any money for the further month they claimed we now had to pay (our 7 year old daughter decided to hide my partner's purse, making her think she'd lost it and forcing her to cancel all our cards - kids, don't you just love them!).

They have said we still must pay, but the ball is in their court now to try to get the money off me, rather than me trying to recover it from them. I think they may have already decided not to press the matter, since their CS seems to have gone quiet on me, but I intend to keep on at them - there's a point of principle here if this is as widespread a practice as it seems to be, judging from the messages here.

Obsessive