A commenter on this blog has started a Web site called The Netflix Settlement Sucks, in which he gives you exerpts from the long form containing instructions for how to opt-out of the class, or object to the terms. His major reason for objecting is that the plaintiff's lawyers seem to be getting the lion's share of the cash, whereas the subscribers, supposedly the injured party, are getting a "token" one month of free service, which he alleges is really a way to bait customers into upgrading their service.
I have read the entire settlement, and I can find nothing stating the total value of the settlement offer, so it is impossible to determine what percentage of the settlement is going to the lawyers and what is the value of the benefit to subscribers. However, it does say that "There are approximately six million persons who were paying members of Netflix's service prior to January 15, 2005." If the benefit of an extral rental per month were worth just $1.00, that would cost the company six million dollars, which would make the attorneys' share about 43%. I think that the benefit is costing Netflix more than that. If the attorneys' fees and costs are merely 25% of the total cost of the settlement, that would make the total settlement worth over ten million dollars. What I conclude is that we do not have enough information at this time to determine if attorney's fees and costs are excessive in proportion to the value of the benefit to the class members. If you plan to remain a class member and object to the settlement, I suggest making one of your objections this lack of information regarding the total value of the settlement.
As to whether Netflix stands to profit from offering customers a free one month upgrade to their service, that is up to the subscribers. I believe Netflix has the right to assume that subscribers have enough sense to cancel the upgrade before being charged. They also have a right to profit from their subscribers' laziness, if they have made a reasonable effort to inform the subscribers of the costs.
Another reason you may wish to object to the terms of the settlement is that it punishes Netflix too harshly for what is essentially a failure on the part of the consumer to understand the reasonable limits of an "unlimited" service. Neither have I found anything in writing where Netflix "promised" anyone one-day delivery. This is an unjust settlement. I suggest you remain in the class, do not opt out, and object to the terms of the settlement on the grounds that it is excessive, unnecessarily punitive, and not representative of your wishes as a class member.
"They also have a right to profit from their subscribers' laziness, if they have made a reasonable effort to inform the subscribers of the costs."
ReplyDeleteI have to disagree a bit on this statement--if the point of this lawsuit is to punish Netflix for misleading consumers*, surely a bait-and-switch "FREE UPGRADE, but oh, we'll be charging you next month unless you actively cancel the upgrade" is an adherence to the letter of the law while ignoring its spirit?
* and I should add that I don't think the original advertising that led to this lawsuit really WAS misleading--I think the whole lawsuit's a bit silly, really, but I'm disappointed that Netflix isn't being a bit more stand-up about its resolution.
Give us your definition of unlimited.
ReplyDeleteI for one will not take the petty upgrade and will hold out for future litigation. Let me define your idea of "fantasy."
ReplyDeleteAccording to Netflix Terms of Use:
In determining priority for shipping and inventory allocation, we give priority to those members who receive the fewest DVDs through our service. As a result, those subscribers who receive the most movies may experience that (i) the shipment of their next available DVD occurs at least one business day following return of their previously viewed movie (ii) delivery takes longer, as the shipments may not be processed from their local distribution center and (iii) they receive movies lower in their queue more often than our other subscribers. 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 and (iii) circumstances impacting delivery by the U.S. Postal Service.
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Now define unlimited.
I urge Netflix customers to opt-out of this settlement and hold out for more cash. See details
ReplyDeleteI've used GreenCine for a year now and am pleased with the service. Still, Netflix has a quicker turnaround than GreenCine, at least in my experience. It has to do with the fact GreenCine having one distribution center 2,000 miles away from my home. GreenCine does not throttle. I recently compared turnaround times of GreenCine and Netflix and discovered GreenCine throttles 0-6% as opposed to Netflix which throttles 38-43% of my deliveries. GreenCine and Netflix have comparable selection with similar wait times although Netflix's wait time is slightly better. I've never received a broken, unplayable or incorrect rental from GreenCine while Netflix has sent me 24 broken, 1 unplayable, and 4 incorrect rentals.
ReplyDeleteIf you're looking for reliable service, GreenCine is the way to go. If you're interested in turnaround time Netflix has the advantage although their customer service and quality are sadly lacking.
i'm stunned by how some people micro-manage their queues... anticipating when this disc or that will be shipped... or calculating the best rental-to-fee ratio to know when they should return a movie.
ReplyDeleteis there no wiggle room here?
i think everyone understands that the us-mail system is not an exact science, and that packages will be late sometimes.
i've been a netflix user for about 3 years now (i think?), and i've been totally satisfied. in that time span i've received about 3 broken discs and i can't ever remember a disc disappearing. there have been no broken discs in recent memory, i should add.
in those years, service has only become better, as netflix warehouses were built in my area. i now receive some movies in a day.
i have never had to contact customer service, except to report those 3 broken discs.
the bottom line is that i use netflix because it's convenient & cheap. if it's not convenient & cheap for you, then don't use it. nothing is perfect. for example, i've been in a movie theater when a storm has knocked the power out, and i've paid ridiculous late fees at stores. just like my few problems with netflix, these were unpleasant but uncommon situations. should i then sue the theater?
netflix is being held to an unfair standard.
note: i no longer own netflix stock.