Trying to cancel Odeon Limitless - not allowing a fair refund

ivoryandgold

I paid for a year-long contract for Odeon Limitless up front at the end of November last year, to co-incide with the lease on my flat.

Due to the pandemic, my Limitless membership has been extended. Problem is, I don't want or need it extended, as I'll be moving soon. On top of this, now the cinema has reopened, it is hardly open - they're not doing any daytime shows, theres substantially less screenings and there has only been a handful of new releases since they opened. The Limitless members who pay monthly are still not being charged, so Odeon must recognise that what they're offering isn't the full whack.

I asked for a refund but all I have been offered is 2 months refunded and my Limitless would run out today... just shy of 2 months before it is due to expire? I effectively was only able to use the membership for 4 out of 12 months so would expect 8 months back - but I would even take the 5 months in which it was closed if it means that my Limitless isn't extended. If they have the right to extend my contract automatically, why would I not have the right to cancel for a refund?

I'd love to support the cinema and have tried to wait it out and see what they were going to offer in the future, but it just isn't viable for me anymore. Can anyone point me in the right direction for any consumer law regarding this? Thanks in advance!

Jeremy535897

See https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cma-to-investigate-concerns-about-cancellation-policies-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic/the-coronavirus-covid-19-pandemic-consumer-contracts-cancellation-and-refunds

ivoryandgold

Thats really helpful, thankyou! I will use this when dealing with them.

Jeremy535897

No problem. The underlying legislation is here:
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2015/15/contents/enacted

poppy12345

ivoryandgold said:

 The Limitless members who pay monthly are still not being charged

Yes they are now because my daughter has the limitless card. Payments have decreased down to £15 per month, from £17.99. Although, i personally still don't think they should continue to be charged and agree with you that the full service is not being given.

bradders1983

Well it is, its hardly the fault of the cinemas that the major distributors are not releasing films at the moment is it?

ivoryandgold

poppy12345 said:

ivoryandgold said:

 The Limitless members who pay monthly are still not being charged

Yes they are now because my daughter has the limitless card. Payments have decreased down to £15 per month, from £17.99. Although, i personally still don't think they should continue to be charged and agree with you that the full service is not being given.

My fella pays monthly and still hasn't been charge! Wonder why this is? 

ivoryandgold

bradders1983 said:

Well it is, its hardly the fault of the cinemas that the major distributors are not releasing films at the moment is it?

In any other industry that would be a supply chain problem though - not one that would be passed on to the customer. If I signed up on Amazon to be delivered unlimited pasta for 12 months paying an upfront fee, they couldn't just say 'the pasta makers aren't sending us any pasta so you can't have, but you can continue paying the same'. What they offered in the first place has substantially changed. 

bradders1983

Not really, they are still showing films. Does the contract dictate a certain calibre of film must be shown?

poppy12345

ivoryandgold said:

poppy12345 said:

ivoryandgold said:

 The Limitless members who pay monthly are still not being charged

Yes they are now because my daughter has the limitless card. Payments have decreased down to £15 per month, from £17.99. Although, i personally still don't think they should continue to be charged and agree with you that the full service is not being given.

My fella pays monthly and still hasn't been charge! Wonder why this is? 

Are you sure about this? It's not the full amount, so they may have just missed it on their statement.  Or has their limitless just expired so no further payments are required?

josephine82

There seems to be a lot of inconsistency with limitless and the actions applied to different accounts. 

For example, I purchased 12 months upfront in May 2019. I obviously couldn’t use it for 6 months due to covid as my local cinema didn’t open until August. They extended my membership until the end of the year. Perfect and made total sense. 

My friend, with the same membership purchased on the same date, with same local cinema, her membership was only extended on 5th October. They couldn’t (or wouldn’t) explain why the two are different. 

So I’ve now lost my cinema buddy! My local cinema are showing old films and it’s actually a lovely experience which I’ve  been enjoying since they reopened. I just wish their membership advice was consistent.......,