In January there were some movies that they said that they sent to me but I never receieved them. At first I used their website to let them know that the movies haven`t arrived for over 5 days since being listed as “sent”. They don`t have any phone number listed on their website. So, after that, I tried to send them e-mails. Someone replied back to me after a lot of e-mails apologizing for the problems and asked me to move my billing date by 15 days. So far so good. I was happy that I will get extra 15 days to recover from the lost 15 days when I hadn’t received their movies. But since then I noticed that 3 more movies had the same issue. They are listed as being sent on Feb 9th and Feb 10th. I never received these either. I reported the issue to them on Feb 14th, Feb 16th, Feb 23rd and again on March 1st. Noone responded to my e-mails. With no phone number to contact them at the only way to contact them is via the e-mail. Their website doesn’t let you report issues with the same DVD after you have reported the issue once. So, since Feb 9th they haven’t sent me the DVDs that they claim to have sent and they don’t respond to my e-mails.

Today morning I received an e-mail that my account has been de-activated and I have to return all the DVDs that they believe I have (including the 3 that they never sent to me). I suspect foul play here. I have read on other forums and realize that according to their terms and policies they can charge me for missed DVDs. I am suspecting that they are doing this on purpose so that they can charge me for the lost DVDs or worse – keep charging me a monthly charge without sending me any DVD at all (something that’s quite common for StarFlix – another online Canadian DVD provider).

I have written several mails to DVDFlix asking them the reason why my account was suspended, and why are they expecting me to send the 3 DVDs back that I have been reporting as missing since Feb 14th. No response till now. It’s like talking to a wall. So, the 15 extra days that they gave me for messing up earlier is all gone now that my account is suspended. This is what I get for being a loyal customer for over 4 years. I report a problem and they try to defraud me.

Is there anything I can do about this? Should I launch a criminal investigation/go through a small claims court if they charge my credit card for the DVDs that they never sent to me? Has anyone else been through this kind of experience?

The argument for “you could have invested that money” died a long time ago. It’s rude, judgment imposing and kind of moot, so we don’t do that here.

To support the argument, Blu-Ray already makes up 8% of the home video market. Analyst expectations have 25% of households with Blu-Ray players by 2011.

I don’t even own a Blu-Ray player or a high-def TV, but I would question membership that didn’t offer such service. I mean, would you sign up for a cable provider that had zero HD channels and didn’t plan to offer any? What if you were a sports fanatic? (HD sports are very different from regular TV) If you have 5 movies on the go with DVDFlix, you’re definitely a movie fanatic.

Even without owning the HD TV, it’s nice to know that the provider has thought ahead and is offering the type of stuff you’d want in the future.

Telly: I agree. I was a Netflix subscriber in the US from 2004 – 2006, and their service and selection is much better than Zip (which I have been using since Summer 2006). The major problem with Zip is that they are not very good about honoring your priorities, esp for recently released movies, though even for titles that you would not think would be in high demand. I almost never get shipped the disk that is at the top of my queue. That being said, the services had been “good enough” and is certainly better than brick-and-mortar options if you watch enough movies to justify the cost. One point in Zip’s favor though is that they have never shipped me a damaged or incorrect disc, which happened once or twice with Netflix.

I am actually considering a new scheme though: buy movies from Amazon.ca, and then sell them after watching using the Amazon marketplace. I suspect the overall monthly cost would be competitive, and there would be no waiting in queues for titles.

Haven’t had any issue with them so far, far most important navigation on their site is much easier in comparison 2 other companies I’ve subscribed earlier.

For std format movies :

1. Check library (order online, are free, often 7 days before late fees apply)

For HD (and SD):

2. Apple TV (note hi Def movies can only be ordered via the Apple TV, not itunes on your PC). They are 5.99 in Canada. Downside is still limited selection. And as noted – it can take a frustratingly long time to download HD to the ATV (6-10 hours on my DSL!). So plan ahead. Quality is amazing. Also a very good selection of HD video podcasts are coming online.

3. Rental store – the last resort….

Now we’ve halved our costs and all we have to do is drop it in the mail! Yee Haa! I’m happy so far!

The main drawbacks to downloading films are 1) time (it takes a couple of hours even with DSL or cable) and 2) many ISPs have bandwidth limits and if you’re not aware of them you can get saddled with extra fees. I have an unlimited bandwidth plan, but the big internet providers are trying to switch people over to bandwidth-limited plans by enticing them with cheaper monthly rates.

Also, zip recently came up with a feature that allows you to suspend your account:
“We are pleased to inform you we have added a feature that will allow you to suspend and automatically reactivate your rental account after an extended period of time (minimum 3 months to a maximum of 7 months). ”

(I should really make use of that during the school year….)

I am not ashamed in saying that I like to collect DVDs, especially action ones which is my favorite genre. I only have about 30 so far but it’s growing. I can watch them again when I have company or I can bring them while I travel with my laptop. It’s personal preferences, some people like to drink, I don’t and I use some disposable income for my movies and books. It’s all relative.

Then again, maybe I’ve just got very bad taste in movies…

I used to subscribe to netflix. I had the movies delivered to my work in the US. I was a big fan. I admit, I might have made a copy of one or two movies for my own use after returning the movie unwatched. It makes for a quick turnaround.

When our campus expanded and mail delivery took an extra day or two, we switched to zip.ca, delivered to our house. I was really, really disappointed. If I rented about 10 movies through zip, not a single one I received was 1st in my queue. Instead, I’d usually get one around #6-10. With Netflix, I probably rented 40+ movies and only once received the 2nd on my queue, all the others were 1st.

So I guess I’m saying, unless a lot has changed in the past year or two, Canadian online DVD rentals have a lot of catching up to do to come close to the service provided by netflix. I wouldn’t recommend the two I tried but you’re not locked in so try it yourself and see. With growth, it should improve.