Netflix.ca what a bloody scam...

[pea_soup]

So yeah, Netflix.ca I joined in March to try it since we saw the Netflix.com site in Vegas and it was pretty sweet. We find out the Netflix.ca site and selection is horrible.

We wached maybe 4 or 5 movies total the first week. I cancelled the account.

They were billing a card we almost never use. We get a call saying hey your visa is overdue...

Reason, they clowns have been billing us for 8 months after we cancel.

I call them and they tell me the account was never cancelled but hey we'll do it for you and give you one month free. I told them one month of charges wasn't good, I wanted them all.

The girl says she can get her supervisor to call the next day.

Next day comes. No phone call. No nothing.

I wait 5 days and finally call back in.

Talk to another customer rep. She offers me 3 months refunded! I say still no good. She gets her apparent supervisor.

He offers 4 months and even admits that I hadn't used the account since the trial period.

I ask him again for all 8. He says 4 is the best he can do. It's apparently all done on a case by case basis on how they feel.

So it gets better.

I ask them where their office is located. Hmmmm. This gets better. He says Winnipeg!

I'm like great, your in Canada. Can you please provide me with your business number and gst registration number?

I love his answer. I don't know what a GST number is or if we have a business number but hey I'm sure we do. I'm like well uhmm, most business' normally have these things readily available and in fact they are required upon demand.

So the fun we are going to have. I'd like to see how many beyonders have been screwd by Netflix.

Basically it appears as though they are not charging PST, GST or HST on any of their netflix.ca products even though the office is located in Canada. I'd love to get some more billing stories and nightmares though.

I am submitting the complaint through my commercial merchant account with TD international. If I can get enough people to supply statements I can stick netflix with a fairly severe fine from Visa.

Please people post those netflix horror stories!

[Mibz]

Do you ever think that you're not as happy as you could be?

[Cos]

Originally posted by pea_soup


I'm like great, your in Canada. Can you please provide me with your business number and gst registration number?

I love his answer. I don't know what a GST number is or if we have a business number but hey I'm sure we do. I'm like well uhmm, most business' normally have these things readily available and in fact they are required upon demand.



uuuuuuhhhmmmm. My companies head office is in Edmonton and I dont have a fucking clue what our business number or GST number is. I highly doubt some mid-level call center employee is going to have that on demand. I would assume that Netflix is paying the tax it is supposed to.

Also where does it say you HAVE to provide it on demand that second. I am sure if you needed it for a valid reason they could produce it. All I have heard of is that it needs to be on invoices and you have to have a business license displayed on the premises.

[pea_soup]

Nope I'm happy! Just not when people rip me off of course.

[pea_soup]

Originally posted by Cos



uuuuuuhhhmmmm. My companies head office is in Edmonton and I dont have a fucking clue what our business number or GST number is. I highly doubt some mid-level call center employee is going to have that on demand. I would assume that Netflix is paying the tax it is supposed to.

Also where does it say you HAVE to provide it on demand that second. I am sure if you needed it for a valid reason they could produce it. All I have heard of is that it needs to be on invoices and you have to have a business license displayed on the premises.

That's the jolly part of it. For most companies the GST number and Business number provided are the same number. So when they can't provider you with either, it's a little odd.

Not to mention that our friends in Ontario get the same $7.99 monthly bill as we do in Alberta which is well very odd to say the least. Especially when they have the HST.

[RY213]

Not to defend them but you were probably calling a call center and the employees and supervisors wouldn't have those documents at hand. We have a Netflix account and it's ok. I agree the selection is pretty weak but I can usually find something to watch every once in a while.

[BensonTT]

i subscribe to Netflix and pay by Paypal.. Never had a problem... yet... lol

[JRSC00LUDE]

Was the "Ziggy" cartoon modelled after you by any chance? Life is like a lukewarm bowl of pea_soup, not very satisfying but it'll get you by....

[pea_soup]

yet....

[Cos]

Originally posted by pea_soup


Not to mention that our friends in Ontario get the same $7.99 monthly bill as we do in Alberta which is well very odd to say the least. Especially when they have the HST.

Maybe you are paying $7.59 + tax for your service and he is paying $6.95 + tax for the same service and they are taking the price into account with taxes. No where does it say your prices have to be + GST. In Eurpoe there is VAT and all prices include VAT. They just keep it separate here so that when you buy something for $1000 you dont realize you are buying it for $1130 in Ontario. It also keeps prices across the country the same, that way the price is price+gst not different prices for every district.

I think Mibz is right. You sound angry and the anger is clouding your judgement.


Also just to note. I had Netflix twice and cancelled it both times. I received cancellation emails both times and both times the charges stopped/were refunded very quickly. I dont think the company is bad I think you didnt follow up like you should have.

[TomcoPDR]

Op, have you checked you monthly statement for their gst number??

[Weapon_R]

I've never had a problem disabling or cancelling either Netflix U.S. or Canada. For $8, it's worth it to me even if I only watch 2 movies that month. Having it handy for when kids come around so we can put cartoons on demand is awesome.

[foreverchina]

I remember about a year ago the same situation happened to me. I cancelled because of horrible selections and after 2 months of cancellation, I realized that Netflix had still been charging me. Called them, and got my 2 months refund back. I find it's easier and better to just stream off icefilms.

[pea_soup]

Yeah its not on the visa bills. visa states they dont have the information from them either. there is an ongoing debate on whether netflix has been abusing some gst loophole or something by saying its digital content or some kind of crap.

[JRSC00LUDE]

He likely meant the monthly statement from Netflix.....

[pea_soup]

thats just it. i never got one single email from them with this supposed bill. i did just receive an email saying thanks for cancelling a week after they cancelled it for me.

[ZeeZee]

A general tip, set up text/email alerts for purchases made on credit cards that you do not use.

[2Legit2Quit]

Netflix saved me from being raped by an angry mob of escaped sexual predators. I owe Netflix my life.

[codetrap]

Originally posted by TomcoPDR
Op, have you checked you monthly statement for their gst number??

Of course he hasn't. If he had, he would have realized that netflix was still billing him after the first month he cancelled, and we wouldn't be reading this little diatribe.

The real lesson here? BE FUCKING RESPONSIBLE for your own finances. OPEN YOUR MAIL dumbass.

I have absolutely no sympathy for someone that willingly sticks their head in the sand. What would you be doing if your card had been compromised and you had 5k in charges that were 8 months old on an active card. Complained about that too 7 months after your window has closed? Seriously, who the fuck is stupid enough to NOT open their credit card statements every month in this day and age? My wife works at a Credit Enforcement company that does the forced sale of all your assets etc to pay off debts, and she hears stories like this all the time... "Oh, I didn't know I was supposed to keep track of my own finances.. now you're forcing sale on my house?"

:nut:

[ercchry]

Originally posted by pea_soup
Yeah its not on the visa bills. visa states they dont have the information from them either. there is an ongoing debate on whether netflix has been abusing some gst loophole or something by saying its digital content or some kind of crap.

no shit its not on your visa bill :nut: is any other charge on your visa broken out for you? no!

if they have some how came across a loophole why are you complaining? if you are going to "bust" them and they they start charging you gst (even though im pretty damn sure they still do) then they are just going to pass the charge along to the customer which means more money from subscribers

[pea_soup]

Most often they won't send you a bill unless you hit that minimum payment amount. Hence no bill.

Either way. They admit hey you didn't use the service and then no we can't give you the money back. It's really something.

Visa is in the process of getting all the payments back. So I'm not at all worried. Really quite something.

[403Gemini]

Do you not internet bank? I mean I log into my bank account almost once a day to check balances etc... pretty sure if i had a credit card that I "hardly used" was on there and I saw it had a balanced, I'd click on it and find out just wtf is going on and catch it right away.

[Chandler_Racing]

I'm not sure Netflix is the bad guy here....

Sure there offerings leave a bit to be desired, but having a GST / Business # is NOT common knowledge. Surely people don't memorize it like their phone numbers - especially call center employees.

Also, why do you not check you statements monthly? Not sure how it's their fault you're not on top of your finances or charges being made to your accounts.

[Team_Mclaren]

Theres no loophole, Netflix is a huge company. Dont you think that the government would know if they are not charging GST?

GST number is like your SIN, not everyone knows it by heart. Just because you dont know the number off hand does that make you a mexican?:rofl: (jokes)

[Agent_Oorange]

You'll be lucky if you get all 8 months back, chargebacks are only valid for claims 6 months old - most of the time. That doesn't mean you can't try and get lucky for the other 2 months of course.

I'm sure Netflix is just calculating and remitting GST/HST after the sale and charging everyone in Canada the same price - I do it all the time - sure it means profits are slightly different on a person to person (province to province) basis but on $8/month it's not a big deal.

[DeeK]

Netflix is the reason ISP companies started charging for bandwidth. Now it costs me WAY more to look at beyond.

Rage.

[takkyu]

Originally posted by DeeK
Netflix is the reason ISP companies started charging for bandwidth. Now it costs me WAY more to look at beyond.

Rage. :bullshit:

[Kavy]

I know your trying to go off of principles here but seriously

32 bucks, you have easily spent way more time worrying about this and trying to fight the system then the $32 bucks is worth.

Take the 4 months rebate and walk away, instead use the 12+ hours you will spend trying to figure this out on picking up an extra shift at work and signing up for charge notification for your credit cards.

[K3RMiTdot]

Originally posted by pea_soup
thats just it. i never got one single email from them with this supposed bill. i did just receive an email saying thanks for cancelling a week after they cancelled it for me.

hmmphh, maybe you can show netflix that email to prove you indeed did cancel, that way they refund the money?? not sure if u tried that already

[DeeK]

Originally posted by takkyu
:bullshit:

Okay, lemme rephrase. ISP's claim that they have to charge for bandwidth now that servies such as netflix are around.

http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2010/10/netflix-instant-accounts-for-20-percent-of-peak-u-s-bandwith-use/

http://tech.blorge.com/Structure:%20/2010/12/01/netflix-blamed-for-high-bandwidth-costs-consumers-may-end-up-paying/


Again. I'm not saying netflix is completely to blame, just one of the major reasons ISP's are claiming for putting bandwidth caps/charges in place.

It's all over the net. google it.

[pea_soup]

Well they did give me the 4 months which is great. Now visa is going after them for every single charge as it was apparent the account was cancelled just not cancelled in their billing system.

The customer reps were confused why I wasn't getting emailed their monthly invoice that tells you are being billed. So it appears the account was not cancelled but cancelled.

It's pretty obvious when you haven't used it for 8 months though and only used it for 5 days after the signing up.

I may end up getting 12 charges back from because Visa can't just go after certain charges, but they can go after all of them. Normally they can only go back 90 days on single charges, however when they are multiple charges from the same merchant they can be a little more proactive.

Either way, it is scammy.

[OCDP]

I've been using Netflix for a while now and I never receive monthly invoices. I just know to check my Visa statements for that $8 a month ...

I've also cancelled and re-actived my subscription multiple times without a hitch, it was actually extremely simple.

Also, I do notice the selection is getting a trillion times better than say to 6 months ago. They've stepped up their game.. breaking bad, the walking dead, etc.. movies as well.. They've definitely made my $8 a month worth while at this point.

[ClearBluewater]

http://www.danlew.com/wp-content/uploads/bitch.gif

[Isaiah]

OP: your arguments are illogical. Do you seriously expect a call centre rep to know the company's GST number? That alone discredits the rest of your post.

[Mitsu3000gt]

Get rid of your Neflix and do one of two things:

1) Get USA Netflix

2) Get a $10/mo newsgroup service that can max out your internet connection

You will likely be a lot happier, and the selection is far bigger.

[rage2]

Originally posted by Mitsu3000gt
Get rid of your Neflix and do one of two things:

1) Get USA Netflix

2) Get a $10/mo newsgroup service that can max out your internet connection

You will likely be a lot happier, and the selection is far bigger.
I have both US and Canada Netflix, and selection varies month to month. This month, there's way more on Canadian Netflix than US.

[pea_soup]

And they just refunded me :)

[johnboy27]

Originally posted by rage2

I have both US and Canada Netflix, and selection varies month to month. This month, there's way more on Canadian Netflix than US.
This is true. I have unblock us installed and it seems Canadian netflix is much better this month.
As for the OP, you should try keeping track of your expenses better.

[ekguy]

Originally posted by Mibz
Do you ever think that you're not as happy as you could be?

I have no idea why...but this made me laugh so much, completely made my night. well not really but you made me laugh in any case.

I don't know why people get netflix. it sucks. My buddy has is and by the time we get a movie going the food is either cold, gone or been sitting too long and then the quality is shit when you finally get it going.

Rent or download...

[ClearBluewater]

Originally posted by ekguy


I have no idea why...but this made me laugh so much, completely made my night. well not really but you made me laugh in any case.

I don't know why people get netflix. it sucks. My buddy has is and by the time we get a movie going the food is either cold, gone or been sitting too long and then the quality is shit when you finally get it going.

Rent or download...

Tell your buddy dial up doesn't cut it anymore. Takes a whole 10 seconds to start a movie for me...

[takkyu]

Originally posted by ClearBluewater


Tell your buddy dial up doesn't cut it anymore. Takes a whole 10 seconds to start a movie for me...

+1

He must have a really hurtin' internet connection, or his router needs to get replaced.

[lowryder99]

Originally posted by ClearBluewater


Tell your buddy dial up doesn't cut it anymore. Takes a whole 10 seconds to start a movie for me...

Haha no doubt, I have never had a movie or tv show take more than 10 seconds or so to load up.

\