RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise)

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RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 24/4/2006 10:28:12 PM

Megalo-who?

Posts: 1687
Joined: 30/9/2005

I don't have a problem with text, but the bastards seemed to have stopped sending me new releases. Also, I was furious they haven't stocked the recent release of The Mosquito Coast as I really want to see it. Maybe I should send an email requesting they stock it.

(in reply to jackassfan)

Post #: 61

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 24/4/2006 10:53:03 PM

jackassfan

Posts: 2751
Joined: 1/10/2005

quote:

ORIGINAL: Megalo-who?

I don't have a problem with text, but the bastards seemed to have stopped sending me new releases. Also, I was furious they haven't stocked the recent release of The Mosquito Coast as I really want to see it. Maybe I should send an email requesting they stock it.

It must just be me then, the text in my selection box is so small that the films i have selected are unreadable yet the priority selection next to it is normal and the text is also normal in the films listed in the previously rented bit

I also really wanted to see The Mosquito Coast and like you i am annoyed that they havent stocked, and before its release it said it would be out on april 10th but the day of its release it was changed to not available

(in reply to Megalo-who?)

Post #: 62

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 26/4/2006 10:55:07 AM

davidjthomson

Posts: 417
Joined: 7/10/2005

if anyone is looking for something a bit more high brow rather than the usual blockbuster rubbish, try cinemaparadiso.co.uk - they've got an excellent range of foreign and art house films

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Post #: 63

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 1/5/2006 8:48:18 AM

Chopper

Posts: 369
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: UK

FYI Joined Screen Select yesterday!

Found out my sistser uses it, she's happy, in fact, i put few on her list for me. Thanks all. Please continue to post your comments!

(in reply to davidjthomson)

Post #: 64

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 4/5/2006 12:58:22 PM

Megalo-who?

Posts: 1687
Joined: 30/9/2005

Well they only thing 'new' that I have been sent recently is Family Guy Season 4. I'm getting quite annoyed with them, having had films such as Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Where the truth Lies and Serenity on my high priority for weeks now.

Sent them an email last week, and that didn't do much either. Gits.

(in reply to Chopper)

Post #: 65

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 5/5/2006 12:04:52 PM

Nezzley

Posts: 632
Joined: 19/1/2006

I've been using Sainsburys for about 2 months, everything was ok until about 2 weeks ago when they started sending me dvds in no particular order and now straight from the bottom of the queue. I've sent 2 e-mails but the've sent me back the exact same response both times "we're sorry for the inconvenience, we're probably running low on stock right now and we'll always try to send out the next available title as soon as possible etc". I find this hard to believe when i have films like Dark City and Dead Again on higher priority than what the've sent today (Ran disc 1 and Buffy S5 Disc4), i'm considering switching to Screenselect before tomoroow because if you enter a code you get a �20 voucher to use on the site, the problem is i can't remember where i found the promotional code and from reading this thread it's very hard to decide which would be the best provider. Sainsburys were fine during the trial but now it's becoming tedious trying to rent more than 2 dvds a week, either they won't send them because i don't have over 20 dvds in my queue (which i find silly seeing as they only send 2 and it takes 3 days to get a new one) or they get lost in the post and tell me to wait 7 days before filling in a form but when they do send them they send me in no particular order. Also from reading this thread that could be just a small dip in service that could be up running fine next week but like i said its very hard to be certain.

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Post #: 66

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 7/5/2006 10:01:11 AM

Chopper

Posts: 369
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: UK

You could always PM me ur e-mail address and I get �20 to recommend a friend!

(in reply to Nezzley)

Post #: 67

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 19/6/2006 4:34:41 PM

Dready

Posts: 749
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Maidstone Toon!

I use Screen Select and so far have had no problems. I was originally with DVD's 365 and they were getting shite. But they got bought over by screen select and since then everything has been tickedy boo. They dont always send you the brand new releases straight after they are released, althought i did get March Of The Penguins a day or 2 after it came out, but they are very quick and I have never had to chase them up about delivery. I also got a good deal 6 a month, 3 at home at a time for �9.99. Bargain!

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Post #: 68

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 19/6/2006 4:45:35 PM

sushiandrice

Posts: 606
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: The Village of the Damned.

Wow that is good. I go through Tesco and usually the discs are scratched out of all proportion.

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Post #: 69

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 19/6/2006 5:07:13 PM

Beckymonster

Posts: 188
Joined: 30/9/2005

Back with Screenselect after they offered me 3 months for the price of 1. I was with Lovefilm but they were pretty rubbish.

- Recieiving anything from my top ten choices was a rarity.

- I was penalised because I was a high volume user (namely I usually turned around the DVDs in a day or two). Meaning that my top ten choices (nothing too popular - cult tv shows like 'Stargate: Atlantis or Doctor Who) were just ignored.

-Whenever I complained, they simply cut and pasted their replies from their FAQ!

In short - if you get a freebie trial - then go for it. Other than that - go elsewhere. As for Screenselect - my first three discs are all ones that I have been waiting for months for from Lovefilm.

(in reply to sushiandrice)

Post #: 70

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 19/6/2006 5:21:28 PM

Peppermint

Posts: 10418
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Sussex

quote:

ORIGINAL: Beckymonster

Back with Screenselect after they offered me 3 months for the price of 1. I was with Lovefilm but they were pretty rubbish.

- Recieiving anything from my top ten choices was a rarity.

- I was penalised because I was a high volume user (namely I usually turned around the DVDs in a day or two). Meaning that my top ten choices (nothing too popular - cult tv shows like 'Stargate: Atlantis or Doctor Who) were just ignored.

-Whenever I complained, they simply cut and pasted their replies from their FAQ!

In short - if you get a freebie trial - then go for it. Other than that - go elsewhere. As for Screenselect - my first three discs are all ones that I have been waiting for months for from Lovefilm.

Lovefilm are the company Sainsbury's use for their rental service and I have the same argument with them. They have been better since the last time I complained, so I'm going to see how it goes for a while.

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Post #: 71

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 21/6/2006 1:58:25 AM

wooty

Posts: 19
Joined: 14/6/2006

Is there only UK version of screenselect?

(in reply to NadaPlissken)

Post #: 72

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 22/6/2006 7:51:57 PM

Deadly_Little_Miho

Posts: 398
Joined: 30/9/2005

How long does it usually take to get your first DVDs from Screen Select? I signed up on Wednesday and still haven't got them.

< Message edited by Deadly_Little_Miho -- 26/6/2006 11:49:34 AM >

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Post #: 73

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 11/7/2006 2:03:41 PM

Chopper

Posts: 369
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: UK

Deadly_Little_Miho - I signed up on a sunday, got them wed's.

Wooty - http://www.screenselect.co.uk

Let me know if you wanna sign up (PM me)....I'll prob get you a better offer for recommending a friend. I just enter your email address and they mail you with the offer, thats it! I gave a mate a work an introduction voucher/offer worth 3 months free rental as you can only get 5 free dvd rentals on the site now. You won't be tied into anything if I introduce you, it just means you get a better intro offer to start with. Take it or leave it!

(in reply to Deadly_Little_Miho)

Post #: 74

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 13/7/2006 11:06:24 AM

iamjacksass

Posts: 606
Joined: 4/7/2006
From: Hull

I've been using online rental companies from the start, I took advantage of all the free trials initially which meant i got best part of a year free and a taster of all the services. Back then I could of told you which ones outclassed the rest but with the the merging of all the companies (as has been mentioned) it's a different ball game.
The big players lovefilm, screenselect and blockbuster (and their respective subsidiaries) are all first rate when you first join them, the trial period is truly a honeymoon period, all the top releases get sent out straight away and the next ones dispatched immediately upon return. Well like all honeymoon periods, the bubble bursts, you can say goodbye to most new releases and you can forget about recieving 3 discs back upon the return of 3 discs, they'll slowly send one out after a couple of days (something usually so obscure you know full well they had it in stock in the first place) and you get a trickle of discs thereafter.
I know people say they don't have a problem with these services but I doubt these people are power users (I can recieve 3 discs, watch them all in a a day and send them straight back, I should easily be able to get 6 discs a week). They seem fine to a casual user but anyone else who wants to take full advantage of the advertised "unlimited" service can forget it.
It really pisses me off that they hide behind these "fair use policies" and piss poor customer service, standardised email responses do not make a customer with a grievance any happier, infact it makes me furious.
Unlimited should be just that, is there not a trade descriptions discrepency there? Companies shouldn't be allowed to hide behind the small print.
They counter that customers who don't use the service as much should get priority, well why? I pay the same as them, nobody should be getting preferential treatment. If the comapny can't handle it's business without resorting to these practices then they should look at alternative fairer policies, ones that satisfy low and high users alike. Why should we pay for their incompetence?
The only exception I know to these companies are mymoviestream, who genuinely care about the customer, high user or low, they have a system to let you know when you're likely to recieve that discs. If a disc in your list is available they will send it (why can't the other companies do this? surely their system is all automated anyway, when a disc arrives back in stock it gets scanned and put on the system, why can't the customers be privvy to this information too?). Also when they didn't have a new disc on their system (mitchell and webb situation) i emailed them and got a quick personalised (do you hear that lovefilm) response telling me they will order it, and sure enough a few days later it was in stock-brilliant customer service.
I really hope this small company can stay afloat, I urge everyone to join them.

I hope that someone from Empire is reading this thread, I would like to see them do a feature on online rental companies and get to the bottom of the problems highlighted here (that's if they aren't afraid of lost advertising revenue). Would be nice to see Empire get all Watchdog on their asses.

(in reply to Chopper)

Post #: 75

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 13/7/2006 6:54:45 PM

Peppermint

Posts: 10418
Joined: 30/9/2005
From: Sussex

I don't see why I should pay to cover people that don't watch as many films as me either and I really resent being penalised for being a good customer and sending my DVD's back promptly (I rent from Sainsbury's and Lovefilm provide the DVD's).

The last time it happened I was furious and I think they realised they were about to lose my custom if they didn't stop pissing me about. It was alright for a couple of weeks, but they've started delaying sending me new ones again.

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Post #: 76

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 13/7/2006 7:12:22 PM

Fluke Skywalker

Posts: 9540
Joined: 23/4/2006
From: the dark side of the sun

Screenselect are who I have used for a couple of years and I think they are brilliant.

Say I post two films on Sunday night, the next two will arrive Wednesday without fail. I am paying 12 quid a month and get through 8 films in that month - works out to �1.50 a film and all the films on my list are quality. The number of damaged discs I have received in two years I could count on one hand and they will instantly send you out a new one even if the other has not been returned. I always get at least one of my top titles as well.

That said I have not tried anyone else but frankly what's the point, I am perfectly satisfied.

(in reply to Peppermint)

Post #: 77

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 24/7/2006 6:41:46 PM

Caster

Posts: 5608
Joined: 30/9/2005

I'm getting a little annoyed with Lovefilm now. They're literally sending me the last things on my list - you know, the ones you forget why you added them in the first place. I might go back to Screenselect as you all seem happy with them. I think the tendancy is for companies to treat you like a prince for the first few months then just give you your least wanted choices, hence it may be best to change companies every now and then...

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Post #: 78

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 6/8/2006 8:53:56 PM

pettsy

Posts: 5969
Joined: 30/9/2005

I've just switched from Lovefilm to Screenselect for the same reason. I've had King Kong top of my list since it came out (I've seen it...my brother wants to watch it) and still am no closer to getting it. I was complaining about this to a friend of mine who sent me the get 6 rentals free thing from Screenselect so I signed up to them. Only had 2 discs so far but no probs...

(in reply to Caster)

Post #: 79

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 8/8/2006 4:18:51 PM

MOTH

Posts: 3194
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: Sittin' on the dock of the bay

Tried Screenselect on a month free trial and currently on a month's free trial with Blockbuster.
I'm using them to get older and foreign films which i can't easily get in local store and they both have a grand selection, so can't really comment on service for new releases.

Both have a reasonably fast turnaround - 'unlimited' would still only work out at about 10 films a month tops and i suspect they both might slow down after trial period.

A couple of Blockbuster's discs were slightly scratched which was a bit annoying

Screenselect gave me all my top priorities whereas Blockbuster have jumped down my list already (not a big problem since i want to see all the films but could be annoying)

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Post #: 80

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 10/8/2006 2:37:15 AM

Macphist0

Posts: 343
Joined: 12/1/2006
From: Wales

I use Lovefilm, simply because I cancel, and wait a while, and i get offers from there. I got a new 3 month free one last week.

I find no problem getting my high priority ones, but that's simple, because most of my list is older, and a lot of foreign, not the popular ones either. Also I only add things I want to watch, so I could get whats at the bottom and careless. They are as fast as you could get for a online rental though.

I've also had fine customer service, in the past, if a disc was wrong, 2 free days, and they'd send me the film I did want as an extra rental for free, so i'd 3 instead of 2.

(in reply to MOTH)

Post #: 81

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 27/8/2006 9:26:29 AM

Chopper

Posts: 369
Joined: 3/10/2005
From: UK

Lovefilm have bought Screenselect, just got a news letter e-mailed to me from them.

(in reply to Macphist0)

Post #: 82

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 28/8/2006 1:27:36 PM

Becs

Posts: 52
Joined: 3/10/2005

I liked the bit that said "we haven't sold out"... pah!!

If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck and quacks like a duck...

"We chose to go with the LOVEFiLM brand because the words 'love' and 'film' seemed to better sum us up these days."

I'm not sure they "chose" anything...and price rises too...

(in reply to Chopper)

Post #: 83

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 29/8/2006 8:03:26 PM

pettsy

Posts: 5969
Joined: 30/9/2005

How fucking annoying is that! Hope they don't switch over to Lovefilms prioritising service, I had King Kong on order there for aaaages and never got it. Screenselect sent it as my third DVD.

(in reply to Becs)

Post #: 84

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 29/8/2006 8:17:02 PM

elab49

Posts: 52009
Joined: 1/10/2005

That must mean Lovefilm now have a pretty large chunk of the market. Fingers crossed they don't make things worse than Screenselects handling of Tesco.

I still prefer Blockbusters - it is a great way to get all the Masters of Cinema titles and first time of asking too - seems not many people opt for them!

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Post #: 85

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 6/9/2006 10:49:17 PM

Lebowski

Posts: 1759
Joined: 30/9/2005

Just signed up for a Blockbuster trial, but I'm fast running out options trying to find a service that stays good after the trial. I'm still with MMS, but their pool is a bit shallow and most of the time they don't even answer complaints, something I find totally unacceptable. I'll miss their turnaround speed, but FL and SS at least go to the bother of cutting and pasting something that doesn't answer your question from the FAQ, MMS can't even be bothered to do that. And their search engine is 2nd only to Empire's in terms of utter crapness.

I've been pleasantly surprised by the range of titles Blockbuster has, so I'll see how they go. I think speed and scratched discs will be my main concerns with them.

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Post #: 86

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 7/9/2006 9:44:50 AM

aproberts

Posts: 18
Joined: 30/8/2006

I found ScreenSelect to be quite reliable even after the free trial. True I didn't get quite so many of my top choices as I did on the trial, but otherwise I have found them to be excellent. LoveFilm on the other hand, their free trial was great, but their service tailed off noticably afterwards.

It will be interesting to see what else happens as part of their merger. We have already had their free trials become mutually exclusive (i.e. you can only now have trial with one or the other), and as of tomorrow (Friday 8th September) their trials are both being reduced to 21-days, maximum 6 discs. Incidentally, to anyone who hasn't already had a free trial with one of them, today is your last day to sign up for the 30-day unlimited disc trial.

At the moment though the services themselves are being run as seperate entities, but it is rumoured that they will eventually be completely integrated; if that does happen it will be interesting to see what becomes of their service. Hopefully they will adopt ScreenSelect's standard of service, and not LoveFilm's!

(in reply to Lebowski)

Post #: 87

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 11/9/2006 8:28:58 AM

GinaJ

Posts: 181
Joined: 1/10/2005
From: London

I'm with Lovefilm at the moment but I am getting sick of their weekly limit, when they take 2 days after recieving
my dvd to send out another one and then send out my next fastrack which wasn't even in my top 50!
Went for about 2 months and 25 dvds without getting anything above 20 in my list!
I'm doing a free trial with MyMovieStream and so far getting my top titles even though they're new release
and getting them very fast. However I've noticed this seems to happen with all the free trials. They try
and sucker you in with good service then when you've been with them a few months start treating
you like crap.

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Post #: 88

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 12/9/2006 8:22:58 PM

sharkboy

Posts: 6049
Joined: 26/9/2005
From: Belfast

I've been using Tescos (powered by ScreenSelect) for some time now and while they're not as good as they used to be, they're still better than the service I received from LoveFilm and Blockbuster. If anyone out there hasn't tried SS or Tescos and wants a 60 day free trial, go to tesco.com, click on DVD rental and enter promotional code TD67G6X. I've got this code with the last 3 discs I received, don't know if there's a limited number of times it can be used or not, so it may be 1st come 1st served (and no, there's no crediting my account in any way if any of you decide to give it a go, more's the pity!

)

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Post #: 89

RE: Best Online Rental Shops (Please advise) - 13/9/2006 9:26:01 AM

aproberts

Posts: 18
Joined: 30/8/2006

I would be surprised if that code still worked, unless it is still actively promoted by way of a contractual obligation with Tesco.

There were various promotional codes and tricks that still worked with ScreenSelect and LoveFilm (and the various sites they 'power') even after they ceased to promote them (for example extending LoveFilm's trial from 14 to 30-days by entering the code FR25 in the e-mail address field), but they both overhauled their free trials last Friday (see my post above), and as a result it is very unlikely that any of the old codes will now still work.

Obviously I hope it does still work, and if anyone has managed to get this or any other codes to work since last Friday I would love to hear about them, but I suspect the writing might be on the wall for these old codes.

(in reply to sharkboy)

Post #: 90