Real-life MMD: Should I stop using my ex-housemate's Netflix account?

iclayt

Valor wrote: »

It may be "victimless" but it's still fraud / theft as far as I can see. I'm surprised that so many don't have a problem with casual crime.

It's about as criminal as using someone else's console to set up the account in the first place... can you be prosecuted for being a bit cheeky?

There's an account logged in on YOUR device. More fool your ex-housemate for not sorting out all his accounts etc. You're not costing him any extra money. If he notices and is bothered enough, he'll change the password. Not your responsibility.

Brian_Steele

If Netflix was logged in on your Xbox, presumably you had the benefit of using it when you still shared a house. The fact that he left it logged in does not give you the right to continue to use it, any more than you would have the right to read his emails if he had left himself logged in on your PC.

I also imagine there is a clause in the Netflix agreement that does not allow you to be logged in at more than one address, otherwise you could just get one account for all your mates and all watch at home. Thus for you to watch knowing he has his own use elsewhere is a breach of the user agreement, which is in turn a breach of copyright and akin to illegally downloading. Think how big the fines are when those US companies come after you.

Valor

iclayt wrote: »

It's about as criminal as using someone else's console to set up the account in the first place... can you be prosecuted for being a bit cheeky?

There's an account logged in on YOUR device. More fool your ex-housemate for not sorting out all his accounts etc. You're not costing him any extra money. If he notices and is bothered enough, he'll change the password. Not your responsibility.

As fruitmachine points out above the crime is in accessing Netflix's content without paying for it.

A business computer analogy might work: You leave your work computer logged in and walk away from your desk without locking it. Hacker walks up and accesses your company network without permission. You broke company policy and will probably get a reprimand, maybe even fired. The hacker broke the law and may go to jail.

I don't think a defence of "but he made it so easy Guv'" is going to cut it.

Sorry if that makes me appear "holier than thou" as commented above =(

If it wasn't illegal (or at least against terms of use?) then the whole world could use one Netflix, one Amazon Kindle etc account and we'd all have access to everything... Interesting idea, but a poor business model

iclayt

Sorry Valor, while I do sort of see where you (and some others) are coming from, I just don't think this is a comparable situation to somebody hacking into sensitive information on someone else's work PC.

Person X sets up a Netflix account via the Xbox of person Y. Presumably, X is aware Y might access this at some point, what with it being their Xbox. Person X doesn't choose to log out to prevent this.

If Y logged into their own console while X was still living at the flat, and saw content was available to view, what is to stop them from doing so?

"the crime is in accessing Netflix's content without paying for it"

It HAS been paid for. He hasn't found his ex-housemate's password written down in a notebook left behind and repeatedly logged in as him to view content - the ex-housemate has left himself logged in for all and sundry to view if they use the Xbox.

If the Xbox gets sold or stolen, who is responsible for any 'unauthorised' viewing on the account then? STILL the account holder, for not logging out in the first place!

Noghar

This is not a tortuous moral dilemma and is hardly going to keep anyone awake at night. The disappeared flatmate is paying the subs. The only one making a loss is him, and he clearly hasn't noticed anything yet. If the OP was really scrupulous he would contact his old flatmate and let him know - but there's no point in stopping watching the movies till then - they've already been paid for! The nearest equivalent as far as I can see is, imagine the flatmate had set up a standing order to have a pizza delivered every Friday. The OP can eat it or you can throw it out. Seems daft to throw it out... the bottom line is, contact the xfm and let him know. And if you can't contact him... get the popcorn in!

What I find amazing about this thread is the number of people who think the police/FBI/FACT are going to kick the OP's door down, fine him his life savings and extradite him to a US prison where he'll make all sorts of interesting friends. Get a grip, people! The OP isn't one of these internet pirates hosting torrent sites full of Hollywood content! British (and foreign) cops have bigger fish to fry these days, and not enough fish-friers to go round, if you know what I mean...

alittlemadam

if it leaves him out of pocket then yes you need to him out otherwise it is fraud, despite the fact him leaving his account logged on because you have knowing watched a film or films using his credentials.

and yes it is his own fault for leaving his account logged in unless your just saying that and know the account details.

It I were you I would either log it out or approach him and see if he minds.

System

No matter which way you put it, two wrongs never make a right. .Tell him that he has left it logged on and ask if it is ok for you to watch it? If he says no, don't do it. Then tell him he should not have used your Xbox without asking. He may change his mind.

philman

It is technically illegal to do this, otherwise what would be stopping 10 friends in 10 different households all 'owning' one netflix account and paying 50p each a month for it or something.

Then again, I'm sure you aren't the only one in this situation (I can attest to using my girlfriend's lovefilm account when she has left it logged in after using it at my house). Small usage I'm sure is morally ok, but using it all the time is a bit much. The most honest answer would be to stop using it, and tell your friend about it.

Krissy306

Tbh I'd keep watching it, it's not your fault he hasn't deactivated it, he moved out not you. Do you live with anyone else who knows him? What do they think about it? If you feel bad log out yourself and just stop watching it but the fact that he's still a customer means he may well still use it himself from another device I.e laptop, ps3 etc.

DiscountDan

I can't see anything wrong in keeping it personally.

A similar thing happened to me:
I bought a second hand xbox 360 off of a guy on ebay, replaced the hard disk in it with the one from my old, broken xbox.
When I turned it on and installed Netflix, it automatically signed in as the previous owner "Terry".
I've tried uninstalling the app and re-installing and it keeps signing in as the old owner - I can't sign is as anyone else (ie. me!)
I did feel a pang of guilt after a while and emailed Netflix but seeing as I can't see any of the account details, they told me there wasn't much they could do and it would be a case of waiting until the person who's account it was realised another device was attached to his account and deleted it from their profile - this was over a year ago and I still have access to "free" Netflix.
I no longer feel guilty - it's the former owners own fault for not resetting their hardware before selling it!