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Is Netflix at it again ?

Old 02-01-07, 10:12 PM
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Is Netflix at it again ?

The last three movies I've returned to them took over a week before it showed in their system that they received them. And only after reporting this to them. The downside, of course, is holding up the next movie to be sent to me. One time I can overlook, but three times? I smell something fishy. Is anyone else having this problem?
Old 02-01-07, 11:17 PM
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Yes... these past 2-3 weeks have been horrible. Three DVDs back to them took a week, the first two I reported as missing and they "mysteriously" showed up as checked in within an hour. The ones being sent to me are just as bad, one never showed up and the replacement took twice as long as usual.
Old 02-01-07, 11:28 PM
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Originally Posted by nemein
Yes... these past 2-3 weeks have been horrible. Three DVDs back to them took a week, the first two I reported as missing and they "mysteriously" showed up as checked in within an hour. The ones being sent to me are just as bad, one never showed up and the replacement took twice as long as usual.

Didn't they get sued by at least one customer for "throttling"? Guess they didn't learn their lesson. I just e-mailed them one nasty note. If this shit continues, I'm cancelling my membership and going with Blockbuster. I've been with them for many many years. But enough is enough.
Old 02-01-07, 11:36 PM
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I've never really had problems with them, but I have also noticed that mine has been slower. It hasn't taken a week, but some of them have taken longer than "normal." The e-mail should get the job done. I have only had one problem with a disk before and then sent me another "free" DVD out (so I had four at once). It was still an inconvenience to me, but it showed that they were willing to fix a problem and apologetic. Now, my experience with Blockbuster (not online, but in-store) has been the opposite, so it would take a great deal of crap to peel me away from Netflix. I hope the e-mail works.
Old 02-02-07, 01:17 AM
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Originally Posted by Daytripper
Didn't they get sued by at least one customer for "throttling"? Guess they didn't learn their lesson. I just e-mailed them one nasty note. If this shit continues, I'm cancelling my membership and going with Blockbuster. I've been with them for many many years. But enough is enough.
Yes, there was a class-action lawsuit filed in 2004, which was "settled" in 2005. The "settlement" was challenged by the FTC but eventually approved by a San Francisco judge in early 2006, after cutting the requested attorney fees by nearly half.

Shortly after the suit was filed, Netflix changed their terms of use to disclose that they, in fact, engage in throttling (they call it "differentiated service") by giving "priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service." As further stated in their current TOS:

The type of differentiated service you may experience includes, without limitation, (i) the shipment of your next available DVD occurring at least one business day following return of your previously viewed movie, (ii) delivery taking longer, as the shipments may not be sent from your local distribution center and (iii) the movies you receive coming from lower in your queue more often than our other subscribers.


I generally cycle through 3 DVDs each week and 13 or so rentals for $19/month is still a bargain, so the throttling doesn't really upset me. However, I can understand how a new subscriber might feel as though a "bait and switch" was being perpetrated when the one-day turn-arounds of brand new releases eventually slows to a more throttled pace.
Old 02-02-07, 09:21 AM
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Ditto for me. Extremely slow service. I assumed they were throttling accounts on an individual basis. I just object to the fact that they advertise "rent all the movies you want" when in fact it's "rent all the movies we'll allow". It's still a pretty good deal though.
Old 02-02-07, 10:07 AM
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Throttle them back. Join for a few months, quit. They will beg you back in a few months, join again and then quit. Of course, I assume that you have enough DVDs to watch during those periods that are not with Netflix.
Old 02-02-07, 10:17 AM
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Originally Posted by ResIpsa
Yes, there was a class-action lawsuit filed in 2004, which was "settled" in 2005. The "settlement" was challenged by the FTC but eventually approved by a San Francisco judge in early 2006, after cutting the requested attorney fees by nearly half.
News to me. I signed up as a member of this "class" and never got a damn thing.
Old 02-02-07, 10:23 AM
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I used to work for them and what they taught us at the call center is that no, they don't throttle accounts. What I did learn, however, is that typically new customer experience amazing service for th efirst few months. Then, your movies will start coming from different HUBs.

If you live in Portland, OR your local HUB is in Salem, OR. After a few months, your movies will start to come from the East coast! You call them up and they'll tell you that it's because no local HUB had that movie so they had to go all the way over to NY to get it for you, since it was your number one choice. So.......no HUB in CA, WA, ID or even NV had my movie? Um, ok.

Also, if you read in their terms of use, they tell you:

We reserve the right to process orders and otherwise allocate and ship DVDs among our subscribers in any manner that we, in our sole and absolute discretion, determine. In addition, we will, in our sole and absolute discretion, determine the quantity of DVDs we purchase for any particular title, their location within our distribution network and the level of staffing and number of shipments to be processed at each distribution center. As a result of the operational practices described in this section, we may not always send you the top choices from your queue, ship out your next DVD on the same day that we receive one from you, or process orders from your local distribution center.

At present, our goal is to ship you the DVDs listed highest in your queue. We currently try to ship you DVDs from the distribution center closest to you so that you get movies quickly. Generally, on the same day that we receive a DVD from you, we will ship the next available DVD from your queue. In certain instances, your next available DVD will not ship until at least one business day following our receipt of your returned movie. This can occur, for example, when your top choices are not available to you from your closest distribution center or the number of shipments to be processed by the distribution center on that day has been exceeded. When one or both of these conditions exist, your DVD will likely ship on the next business day and may come from an alternate distribution center.
In determining priority for shipping and inventory allocation, we may utilize many different factors, including without limitation, the number and type of DVDs you rent through our service, the subscription plan you select, as well as other uses of our service by you. For example, if all other factors are the same, we give priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service. The type, number, mix and weighting of the various factors impacting shipping and inventory allocation will change from time to time and will be made in our sole and absolute discretion. As a result of your viewing habits and our operational practices, the actual number of DVDs you rent in any month may vary, and you may experience differentiated service during the course of your membership. Also, such service may be different from the service we provide to other members on the same membership plan. The type of differentiated service you may experience includes, without limitation, (i) the shipment of your next available DVD occurring at least one business day following return of your previously viewed movie, (ii) delivery taking longer, as the shipments may not be sent from your local distribution center and (iii) the movies you receive coming from lower in your queue more often than our other subscribers. These effects will not occur unless we are faced with limited inventory at your local distribution center or when the number of shipments to be processed by that distribution center on that day is exceeded. In our unlimited plans, we do not establish a monthly limit on the number of DVDs you can rent.

Other factors that may affect delivery times, include, but are not limited to, (i) the distance between the distribution center from which your DVD was shipped and your delivery address, (ii) the timing of your placement or adjustment of movies in your queue, (iii) circumstances impacting delivery by the U.S. Postal Service, and (iv) any unplanned downtime of our computer systems.

So they do tell you flat out that there could be delays in shipping your movies. Do they do it on purpose? Hmmmm....certainly could be but they told us that they don't and I'm sure such a fine and upstanding company wouldn't lie to an employee.
Old 02-02-07, 10:25 AM
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Originally Posted by ResIpsa
Yes, there was a class-action lawsuit filed in 2004, which was "settled" in 2005. The "settlement" was challenged by the FTC but eventually approved by a San Francisco judge in early 2006, after cutting the requested attorney fees by nearly half.

Shortly after the suit was filed, Netflix changed their terms of use to disclose that they, in fact, engage in throttling (they call it "differentiated service") by giving "priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service." As further stated in their current TOS:

The type of differentiated service you may experience includes, without limitation, (i) the shipment of your next available DVD occurring at least one business day following return of your previously viewed movie, (ii) delivery taking longer, as the shipments may not be sent from your local distribution center and (iii) the movies you receive coming from lower in your queue more often than our other subscribers.


I generally cycle through 3 DVDs each week and 13 or so rentals for $19/month is still a bargain, so the throttling doesn't really upset me. However, I can understand how a new subscriber might feel as though a "bait and switch" was being perpetrated when the one-day turn-arounds of brand new releases eventually slows to a more throttled pace.
The lawsuit is still in the CA court of appeals and hasn't been settled yet.
Old 02-02-07, 10:58 AM
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I just rejoined a couple of weeks ago (after dropping my membership for a while) and they are really shipping out & receiving quickly. I'm sure the present 'lightning speed' won't keep up indefinitely, but overall, I've had much better turnaround time
and 'available' discs from Netflix... even when looking at the last couple of years.
Old 02-02-07, 11:27 AM
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I've never had a problem with them and I've been a member for almost two years. I've had discs come from a center not close to me maybe three times.

Sometimes I go through 15 discs a month, sometimes 5.
Old 02-02-07, 01:16 PM
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In the past all my DVDs took 2 days to get back to Netflix. Sometimes 3 but pretty consistantly 2 days. However, it the past month it's varied from 1 day (which almost never normally happens) up to a full week.

One factor is that the discs have been sent from more shipping centers (Dayton/Indianapolis/Bowling Green/Louisville vs. just Louisville before), but I haven't been able to pinpoint any of those as being particularly slower or faster than the others. I guess it's just up to the whim of the USPS.
Old 02-02-07, 01:31 PM
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I guess I have been really lucky because I've gotten 2-3 new releases every week for the last 3 months.

I try to make sure they get my discs on Monday & they usually mail me 2-3 new releases, which I receive on Tuesday. I mail them back out on Wed. and they get them on Thursday. They mail me 3 more discs on Thursday, usually older titles, which I receive on Friday. I mail them back on Saturday to start the cycle over again.

Obviously their are times when a disc doesn't arrive over night and it throws off my system a little but then again their aren't always 2-3 new releases that I am waiting for.

Bob
Old 02-02-07, 02:23 PM
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I've had not had any problems. But I'm on the 1 out plan and I'm lucky to get through a movie a week these days so they have no reason to throttle me.
Old 02-02-07, 05:20 PM
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Originally Posted by Easy
News to me. I signed up as a member of this "class" and never got a damn thing.
Same here, but I understand that the settlement was put on hold and so it's not a done deal yet. I just noticed that the www.netflix.com/Settlement site is down permanently.

As kittydreamer pointed out, the case is on appeal, presumably a class member objected, and the Court of Appeal website indicates little real activity to date. So it's going to be a while before we get our free month or two of service....
Old 02-02-07, 08:55 PM
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I'm currently on the 5-out plan and have yet to experience any problems. My turn-around time is pretty quick and there no issues getting the titles at the top of my queue.
Old 02-02-07, 11:12 PM
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there was a settlement for sommethting about a year ago.
i had a notice from them that due to a settlement i could upgrade
my acct for 1 month to 1 more dvd.
but i would have to fix the settings on my acct back to normal or i would be charged the extra dvd price.

anyway, i've never been throttled.

during the summer for 28 days i sent every dvd back as soon as i got it just to see how many i could get in 28 days.

i got 21 dvds in 28 days.
in fact i got 7 the last 7 days so no slowdown, no titles changing to long wait.
the only oddity was "now" kimba dvds being skipped over several times.
Old 02-02-07, 11:17 PM
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i just found the email for that settlement.

This settlement arises from a class action lawsuit entitled Chavez v. Netflix, Inc. that was filed in San Francisco Superior Court (case number CGC-04-434884) on September 23, 2004. The lawsuit alleges that Netflix failed to provide "unlimited" DVD rentals and "one day delivery" as promised in its marketing materials. Netflix has denied any wrongdoing or liability. The parties have reached, and the Court has approved, a settlement that they believe is in the best interests of the Class Members. Under the terms of the amended settlement, Netflix will provide eligible subscribers with the benefit described below.

* Current Netflix Members: If you enrolled in a paid membership before January 15, 2005 and were a member as of October 19, 2005, you are eligible to receive a free one-month upgrade in service level. For example, if you are on the 3 DVDs at-a-time program, you will be upgraded to the 4 DVDs at-a-time program for one month. There will be no price increase during the upgraded month. The upgrade in service level will automatically end after one month and your subscription will return to the previous service level, unless you choose to continue at the higher service level and pay the regular subscription rate for that level after the upgraded month.


* Former Netflix Members: If you enrolled in a paid membership before January 15, 2005 but were not a member as of October 19, 2005, you are eligible to receive a free one-month Netflix membership on your choice of the 1, 2 or 3 DVDs at-a-time unlimited program. Your subscription will automatically end after one month, unless you choose to continue your membership and pay the regular subscription rate after the free month. If you do not choose to continue the service, you must return all rented DVDs within 7 days following the expiration of the free month or be subject to charge for the outstanding DVDs under Netflix's standard policy (currently, $20 per DVD).

The settlement was approved by the Court on April 28, 2006. These benefits will be provided after the Effective Date. As described in the Amended Settlement Agreement, the Effective Date depends on such factors as the pendency of any appeals and is therefore difficult to predict. Your eligibility for the benefits is based on your membership status as of October 19, 2005. Pursuant to the terms of the settlement, in addition to providing the benefit described above, Netflix will modify portions of its Terms of Use. Class Members are subject to the revised Terms of Use, available at www.netflix.com/TermsOfUse. Netflix also will refer to its Terms of Use in certain advertisements. Netflix has also agreed to pay up to $2,528,000, and the Court has awarded $1,387,138, in attorneys' fees and costs to counsel for members of the Settlement Class, including Class Counsel and counsel for all objectors, intervenors, and proposed intervenors, with an express reservation that an additional and enhanced fee may be awarded upon the final showing of the number of Class Members who timely and accurately complete the Claim Form Process. The Amended Settlement Agreement is available for review at www.netflix.com/settlement.

You have three options to respond to the amended settlement. You have until June 26, 2006 to make your decision.

Option 1. Sign Up For One Month of Free Membership or Free Upgraded Service As Part Of The Settlement
To receive the benefit, you must complete the online registration process no later than June 26, 2006, at www.netflix.com/settlement. By signing up for the benefit, you waive your right to bring a separate lawsuit against Netflix concerning the Claims Released By The Class (as defined in the Settlement Agreement found at www.netflix.com/settlement)..

Option 2. Do Nothing
If you do not wish to receive the benefit, do nothing. You will not receive the benefit but will remain a Class Member. You therefore waive your right to bring a separate lawsuit against Netflix concerning the Claims Released By The Class.

Option 3. Exclude Yourself From the Class
To exclude yourself from the class, you must mail a letter by June 26, 2006.. See Section VII.B. of the Amended Long Form Notice at www.netflix.com/settlement for information about the required contents of the letter and the mailing address. By excluding yourself, you preserve your right to bring a lawsuit against Netflix concerning the Claims Released By The Class. However, you will not get the benefit described above.

To receive your benefit, you must register by June 26, 2006 as described above in Option 1. You will not receive any other reminders to register for the benefit. If you have registered for the benefit and your eligibility is confirmed, then you will be provided additional information by email following the Effective Date as defined in the Amended Settlement Agreement.

To get more information about the settlement and procedures, and to take options 1 or 3, visit www.netflix.com/settlement.
Old 02-09-07, 09:25 PM
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I hadn't had any problems with Netflix at all as long as I've been a member until this week. I received a dvd that I couldn't play so I reported it as damaged. Since then, I've had an entire day pass with no movies being shipped. When they finally shipped today, two of them are coming from distribution centers just far enough away to stretch the estimated delivery date until Tuesday.

No problems with my account. I report 1 movie as damaged and now this shipping issue happens. Coincidence?
Old 02-12-07, 02:07 PM
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I've been a member since 2000 and can't really complain about their service. I'm on the 4 out program and today they're sending The Departed, The Butcher Boy, 13 Tzameti,and Half Nelson. I love it!
Old 02-14-07, 06:36 AM
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I've noticed the last few weeks that all shipped titles are coming from distant locations with 3-4 days shipping. I'll get a shipping confirmation on tues that reads "For Sat", etc. I'm suspicious they are shipping titles from the furthest available distribution center.
Old 02-17-07, 01:02 PM
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No issues for me. They now have a center in my city and I get a new movie sent to me the next day every time and I am a high volume renter. Love the new watch now feature that allows you to watch movies online.

Last edited by Ketamine; 02-17-07 at 01:06 PM.
Old 02-19-07, 10:11 AM
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Last week was one of the worst for me w/Netflix. Their shipping hub is less than 2 hours away and I usually ALWAYS get my dvds the day after shipment. Last week five dvds were sent on 02/12/07. By Friday, I had only received 2 of the 5. On Thursday I reported the 3 missing and by Saturday I had only received 1 of the 3. Do I blame Netflix or the postal service for this crappy service?
Old 02-19-07, 12:36 PM
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I bailed on them when BB went to in-store trade ins. Netflix definitely throttled my account, and it was annoying. You can't sign up for the settlement now, since it is under appeal. I'm 95% sure I did already (when it was active), but it won't tell me if I did or not.

-p

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