My MoviePass days may be numbered. They were supposed to bill me last week but did not. Looking at my billing info on the site, it somehow got messed up, with my credit card’s expiration date wrong. I tried several times to correct it, but it would not take. But I can still log into the site and everything, so I’m not sure what’s going on. I sent their people a message, but they’ve been bad about getting back to me in the past.
The wife was billed okay earlier this month, and it’s the same credit card. And one time when I received a new credit card with a new expiration date, we forgot to change it on MP, and she received a notice that they were unable to bill. Then we changed it, and she was billed right away. No such notice was sent to me this time. (Yes, I checked the Junk folder.) So we’ll see what happens.
Meanwhile, I keep getting e-mails regarding MP specials for wine, flowers etc.
Okay, we have now officially had it with MoviePass and will cancel our accounts this week. I mentioned above that MP neglected to charge me on the normal billing date and that I had messaged them. The next time I logged on, I found two replies, one saying, “Are you still having that problem?” and the next one four hours later saying, “Since we did not hear from you again, we will assume the problem is resolved.” What the …? The “problem” is they didn’t charge me. So I messaged them again. Same two messages the next time I logged in, BUT … they finally did charge me.
So today, I see MP is offering On the Basis of Sex. Great. We went to the theater, we both logged in … and while my account showed it offered, on the wife’s account it said no more movies for that theater today. In my account, it showed four or five for a change, but the wife’s? Nada. So I booked my ticket, then the wife logged out on her phone and tried logging in on my phone, just to see. We got the usual warning that she’d have to use my phone for at least the next 30 days, we said okay, got into her account, and the same thing. No showings for today. So that’s it. We’re calling it quits. Thee uncertainty and frustration just is not worth it any longer.
I’m still signed up on their newsletter because I’m a little curious to see how long they can drag this out for and how desperate they get.
I’ve basically gotten the same ad e-mail from them once or twice a day for a few weeks. Are they trying to wear people down? “I know you didn’t subscribe when we gave you our first 17 e-mails about our plans (53% off!) but here are 2 more a few hours apart! That’ll convince you!”
I was hanging on because MP was honoring e-ticketing, which meant lots of Landmark Theaters locally were still on-the-board as options (a terrific cross-section of films overall). But since the new year started, I’ve been getting nowhere with these venues now. So I complained (MP has been very good in writing back to me in person on Twitter) and they wrote this:
My patience is growing short and if things don’t change soon, I’ll be canceling my account.
And today they took away the Landmark 57 West. That was the only thing keeping me subscribed. After I see my one remaining film this month, I’m cancelling.
Moviepass rolled on their new 3 tier plan (and if you’re on their e-mail list, you got about 9 e-mails in the last 2 days telling you this), but based on what people are saying on /r/moviepass they didn’t even make it work for a few days to trick people back into subscribing. Even on day 1 the movies weren’t actually available.
I canceled, and they said we could use our cards until the next billing cycle. But I think I figured out why the wife’s card was not showing movie selections while mine was. Like I said, they finally charged me after I complained twice. Well, I finally noticed they never actually charged for the wife’s card this last time either, although they’re still showing her billing period goes into next month. Hopeless. Good riddance.
Helios and Matheson (parent company of MoviePass filed with the SEC plans to spin off MoviePass. Also this article claims that 60% of the membership cancelled last year.
I thought MoviePass had died a quiet death. But then just yesterday, the lady in line behind me at the box office used hers. Any here still milking that cow? We gave ours up months ago.
How in the world are they still dragging along? They’ve been a scam on the customer for almost a year now (and a scam on investors for longer than that). I was sure they’d be dead any day a long time ago.
I looked around a bit and I guess Regal is opening their own A-list style movie subscription. I would totally get A-list if I had any AMC theaters near me. There’s only one regal one and it’s not my preferred one. I miss going to the movies more often, but I’m not willing to pay $13 a ticket more than once every couple of months.
Any unlimited service where the user only has to use it once per month to come out ahead is destined to fail, especially something as simple to do and popular as going to the movies. The owners had to have known this, and had to have accepted it as a loss leader, looking to make money elsewhere, but no idea what that would have been. Surely they didn’t think that movie studios were going to partner with them, as many have suggested?
Even water parks that are a hassle to go to price their season pass to where it needs to be used two or three times for the customer to come out ahead, and then they have food and drinks they can sell to pass holders, Moviepass got nothing from concession sales, and how could they- that’s pretty much the only way the actual theaters make money, I don’t see them sharing that with Moviepass.