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Blockbuster UK Customer Reviews |
Steve from Kenilworth on 2008-06-04 Rates them:  
I would not hesitate in recommending these guys.
If you want realistic dvd rental these are the guys to go with.
You get an average amout from the top of your list (No dvd company gives all top list rentals) the turnaround is reasonable and their Customer services are helpful.
Unlike the other DVD rental companies cancellation is easy and fair, you are refunded for the daily amount of the month you have not used.
Out of all I have tried (all on the above list) Blockbuster give an average to good service but unlike the rest havent downgraded over the years. |
Mike from Manchester on 2007-10-18 Rates them:
Dreadful service, DVD's are almost never from the top of your list, the search feature occasionaly is innacuarate, there is no inidcation of avaliabilty of discs and customer service is the worse I have experienced, I have emailed 5 or 6 times over a period of a week and never received a response, you very much get the impression that this company don't care about that customers. Avoid. |
Maz from Dorset on 2007-05-09 Rates them:
This was the first time I've tried a postal DVD rental. I had a month's free trial (3 DVDs at once). They recommended I put at least 27 titles on my list to start off with. I did so. For the period of my free trial I was in DVD I was in DVD heaven. Titles arrived promptly from the top of my list. Unfortunately, as soon as I starting paying, things went rapidly downhill. I now have over 60 titles on my list, mostly old films and TV series, and it is always the 'allocating stock' message, and delays in sending me anything. On the positive side, I've not had an unplayable DVD yet, though I did have to clean some. But for about 4 months, I've only had one title from the top 10 of my list. In fact I'm wondering if I should move titles I really want to the bottom of my list.
I'm getting really fed up with this. How many titles am I expected to have on my list? A list of under 30 is fine for them for the free trial--but once you're signed up, 60 is impossible for them to source, it seems. If things don't improve soon, I'll cancel. |
Steve from Lancashire on 2007-05-03 Rates them:
I'm now downgrading Blockbuster with this follow up. Since my previous rating below, the service has suddenly dropped off alarmingly. It followed a payment holiday, and after 5 months I'm probably now considered one of their oldies, ripe for exploitation and subject to grade B service.
They've started taking 48 hours to acknowledge discs back. They send them out as usual in seperate envelopes (I always send them back together, which saves them postage) but for 3 weeks running their dispatches have arrived one after the other on separate days. I don't believe the Post Office has suddenly become that sporadic - the disc supply is being slowed at Blockbuster. As a result my rental numbers are down to 3 a week if I'm lucky, for a bunch of old documentaries, and I no longer consider it good value. I was also sent a very badly damaged disc, which looked like it had been hit with a hammer and centre punch a dozen times. Had I blindly put that in a DVD player it would have wrecked the laser pickup as the disc spun. They obviously do not check the discs they send out. |
Gemma from London on 2007-03-28 Rates them:
Same old same old, I've been with Blockbuster for over a year (I assure you they do not treat their older customers any better than their new!). It used to be a great service, however over the past few months I have rarely received anything from my first 2 pages. When I complained about this I recieved an email which basically said 'goodbye then'!
I then tried lovefilm- but the turn around was so slow I was forced to stay with blockbuster. It seems that they are loosing alot of buisness! |
Steve from Lancashire on 2007-02-07 Rates them:
I'm a Lovefilm refugee and have been with Blockbuster for 3 months, and so far the supply has been very good. I'm on the 3-disc deal and average 6 discs per week. As soon as the free trial was over they stopped sending my top 3 choices, but still send titles from the top dozen (maybe easier in my case as I tend to hire documentaries/tv/music dvds, not in-demand films). The only complaint I have thus far is the quality of the discs. They are sent out in cardboard sleeves which are then sealed in a thin plastic bag which acts as the mailer. As a result the disc's play surfaces, unless a new or unpopular disc, are usually heavily pitted, and you'll need a recent DVD player with excellent tracking to read them without error. Also it becomes obvious that they're marking problem discs and the sleeve label with a black dot using permanent marker, yet continue to send them out, when in some cases they should be replaced. IMO all rental discs should be sent out in those disc-sized plastic clamshells, like Screenselect used to use. DVDs will get scratches from careless renters without adding damage due to continuous friction in the post. But for a deal that works out at 62p a disc delivered, I'll take it! |
Michelle from Lancaster on 2007-02-06 Rates them:
I've been with Blockbuster for over a year now and have been very happy with the service. 99% of the time I get the top 3 titles in my list. Only recently have I not received my number 1 (Wilderness) even though I have sent and received 2 lots of (3) dvds since I placed that film at No.1. Once I received 3 completely wrong discs that had been my top 3 but i deleted them once I had watched them (so I received them twice). I have had a few discs that were faulty but have had none since I bought a new dvd player 6 months ago (which makes me believe it may have been my dvd player and not the discs that were the problem??). On a number of occasions I have sent discs back and they have not been received by them. The first two times I e-mailed them to let them know I had posted the dvds back even if they hadn't received them and they immediately sent the next dvds on my list. After the 3rd time I thought they might not believe me but they have accepted that I posted them and have continued to post me more dvds fom my list. So all in all the service I have received has been great!! Blockbuster also have the most user friendly site out of all the online dvd rental services I have used. |
anonomous from manchester on 2006-12-08 Rates them:
my 6 year old brother used my debit card to sign up to multiple online dvd/games companies without my knowledge, i only found out when my dc comapny called to verify all the charges, when i rang blockbuster they were quite helpfull, they cancelled my subscription and agreed not to charge me, i never used this company like you guys but the cusomer service didn't really give me the brush off once they knew he was onyl 6, so if your little brother signs upto this comapny without your knowledge, hopefully they will help you sort it out |
Graeme from Maidstone on 2006-11-13 Rates them:
Excellent compared to other services. I have gone through them all over the past 3 years, always going onto the top package as I am a heavy user. Although at times it m ay not seem I am getting the top discs that I ask for, when I look at the top 20 dvd chart list, I have generally received them all. I think that it just seems I am not always receiveing my top choices as I get so many, approx 30 per month on the 5 disc rental. Lovefilm are useless, and now they have joined screenselect who I found to be the worst of the bunch, it will only go further downhill. |
ray from norfolk on 2006-10-30 Rates them:
Immediately the trial is over and they start billling, they become utterly useless. Once all the old/unpopular titles on your list are used up, you will get nothing for up to a week at a time because they are waiting allocation Customer service alternates between unhelpful and obnoxious, suggesting that you list some films that you dont want to see. Newer and in-demand titles? Forget it! You wont get anything you couldnt see on TCM.
This bunch of total wasters is to be avoided at all costs!
Im going back to Amazon - its much better all round. |
Ray from Weston-super-Mare on 2006-10-18 Rates them:
The service and selections sent out during the honeymoon period with Blockbuster was astounding but like many others I have now found that they are a complete and utter waste of time. I have not seen a premium rated movie on my list for ages and as a matter of fact unless I pick really old, low rated titles, they don't even seem to want to send more recent titles at all.
After not having any stock allocated to me for several days I wrote to them about this issue and they responded by saying that I needed to increase my selection (which already had approx 50 titles in there, a mix of new to old, a mix of popular and not so popular). Basically this is saying that they will not send titles I want to watch so pick a load of titles that no-one will watch please.
Avoid this service like the plague! |
Mark from Warwick on 2006-10-13 Rates them:
I can only echo the great service during trial / honeymoon period, but now the service is poor. Initially hooked by the trial period and new releases landing on the mat daily.
I reckon Channel 4 movies will show most of the new releases before I get to see them. Definately a second tier service to that of the store.
The trial period does not represent the service that you will receive as a paying member, is this against consumer law???
If you want to have a rant at them like I did by phone then give this number a go 0845 6060999 (customer services, obtaned from my local Blockbuster). Or maybe its just a case for Watchdog! |
Tom from London on 2006-08-24 Rates them:
No top 10 for 4 months. Read the fine print though. They warn you that they allocate films by usage and time you have been with Blockbuster. What this means is that if you are with them more than a few weeks and you watch films regularly, you fall to the bottom of the pile. They want to get customers locked in quickly and hope you will slow down the turnaround. If you don't they basically beg you to leave by not sending you anything you want.
Waste of money. |
Nadja from Kenilworth on 2006-07-27 Rates them:
Well not only have the last three dvds that we have rented been scratched, costing me time and money to return, i can now not find anywhere wher i can contact hed managment with i find terribly annoying. They certainly dont make it easy. |
Don from Southend Essex on 2006-05-12 Rates them:
I have been a customer for a considerable length of time. I recently used my extra night option and would normally pay when renting a new selection. This has occurred on numerous occasions. I have never failed to pay. today i received a letter threatening that if i did not pay my account a debt recovery agency would be used to recover my debt. how much do i owe?? £5. Customer service??? my account was 1 1/2 weeks overdue. Obviously they want to lose my custom |
Richard from Berkshire on 2006-05-09 Rates them:
Best turnaround in the buisness (120 rentals in 4 months), never failed to turnaround on the same day but I did have a list of over 100 titles. I did have a problem in getting top titles but lets face it all the companies send their top titles to their free trail customers and I now regret leaving them to go to Screenselect who not only do not send top titles but have a very poor turnaround once you have paid upfront(see my review). |
Claire from Edinburgh on 2006-05-01 Rates them:
I've never had any probs in terms of delivery and getting films I wanted.
They did get mixed up when I changed my adress but they gave me a months free rental and I wasn't charged for DVD's sent to my old address (which i got cos the mail was redirected). |
Manip from UK on 2006-04-18 Rates them:
I'm trying to rent my way though the entire series of Smallville (series 1 though series 4) -- that is about 24 discs. Last month I opened two amazon accounts and watched all of series 1.
Amazon rentals works like this:
-> Receive + Watch -> Return (1 Day) -> Amazon get DVD, they Dispatch new (1 Day) -> Receive + Watch
Amazon *really* do this. Thus you can literally have a DVD arrive each morning. It's great!
So why did I try Blockbuster [UK]? Simple answer is the price. Amazon charge about £2 per dvd... Which does not get any cheaper if you rent more. And as an added annoyance Amazon's largest package goes up to 6 DVDs, so I had to open two accounts in order to watch the number I wanted.
That all being said I opened a Blockbuster account. If they did what they said they would do (although I was always sceptical) "unlimited DVD rentals" then I would save a bundle!
So I added every episode of SmallVille to my account ... Admittedly I made a mistake in doing so and ended up receive random disc's from random places in the chain.
I then fixed that by checking the "First to Last" boxes next to the DVDs. I also added in some random films (oldies) without "First to Last" to fill in space in case various episodes were out of stock.
Since returning the random / out-of-order DVDs it has been over a week and I have yet to receive anything else *ANYTHING*.
What's the deal with this? Do they have one copy of SmallVille Series 1?
If this is how they treat NEW Customers I'm not planning to stick around to find how I get treated 6 months down the line. I guess the old saying is true, you get what you pay for; thus why I'm going to PAY for Amazon.
I don't expect DVDs every morning, although it is nice; all I expect is SOMETHING in over a week when I have 20 DVDs on my last with at least 5 of those not being "First-to-Last" and or obscure films. |
Katy from Derbyshire on 2006-04-09 Rates them:
Their (apparently) good selection is their only plus. I have been trying to put up with this since last August, wanting a 'classic' Japanese film since then and this APRIL I still hadn't had it, though it had been in my top 10 for 9 months. Pretty appalling. I had a long playlist and was sent the films my partner didn't want to see down at number 80 and 90 a lot of the time, very rarely any recent releases. They are also getting slower and slower in the turnaround time - I have sent things back on a Friday and on a Tuesday afternoon, it registers as being returned, and I then have got new films on the Friday - a one-WEEK turnaround time. Sending 2 complaints in the last month, they took 2 weeks to reply to me, the same reply as they sent last time I complained before Christmas. I was not impressed. I have now cancelled and am taking FULL advantage of the fact that I have 28 days to return outstanding disks. They didn't try to persuade me to stay as many other companies do. Gone back to Lovefilm - who incidentally send the film I wanted in the first week.
You'd think such a big company would do better than this. Try it if you must, but don't say you haven't been warned! |
Mark from London on 2006-04-06 Rates them:
Do NOT waste your money with Blockbuster. As soon as the free trial is over and they've got your money they screw you. A great deal of the time they don't send you any DVD's at all. They do not respond to e-mails to customer services. This is a scandal ! They are quite happy to take your money for nothing in return ! |
Steve from Banbury on 2006-03-23 Rates them:
Took a free trial to evaluate the service (if you enter the promotional code "monsav151" you get a month's free rentals rather than the standard 2 weeks). Service was fine, I managed to turn around sets of 3 dvds up to 3 times a week with no delay at Blockbusters' end. Towards week 3 I seemed to be getting films from the middle of my list, and then as the trial ended I started getting my top choices again. Cancelling the trial was easy and painless, and if they have any DVDs still processing for despatch when you cancel, they send them anyway. Best trial so far. |
Jason from Farnham Surrey on 2006-03-08 Rates them:
This has to be the worst ever service and product I have ever had the misfortune of using. Over the time I was with Blockbuster I NOT ONCE received a DVD which was in my top 5. Most of the DVD’s I had we scratched. But I didn’t get to find that out until ¾ of the way through the film. You then emailed the “Customer Service” centre and got no where! I will never use blockbuster again! |
IAN from WEST MIDLANDS on 2006-03-04 Rates them:
DONT USE BLOCKBUSTERS!! I have just cancelled my membership. There service is absolutely appalling. In nearly 12 months of being a memebr I NEVER received a title from the top ten of my list, they were always fron near the bottom. And when I was billed twice in the same month my e-mails to them constantly went un-answered. There customer care service is non existent. I am now with a much better company (lovefilm .com) that gives much better service. I'll never go back to Blockbuster. |
Gill from London on 2006-02-21 Rates them:
I am on the 5 at once deal. Turnaround time is excellent, but that's about it. E-mails seem to be ignored although an automatic reply is generated. I suspect that they don't have a lot of films that they advertise on the site - eg I've had Apollo 13 near the top of my list for over a year. Also the supply of new films seems to have completely dried up - War of the Worlds at the top since November. Having a laugh with their TV comedy DVDs - they don't seem to exist either. They used to be great, but have deteriorated drastically recently. |
Simon from Dorset on 2006-02-06 Rates them:
Although they do have a quick turnaround, you do rarely get any of the latest releases. Also, I have not received any DVDs for a week even though I have over 50 on my list!! Why am I paying £14.99 a month when I don't actually receive any DVDs!?! The customer service you receive from e-mailing them is also very poor. However, it is rare to receive a damaged disc, and you nearly always receive the correct disc(s). In my opinion, Blockbuster need to put their hand in their pocket and buy some more copies to rent out - especially of the latest releases which is what people normally want to see. They also probably need to employ more staff to deal with the demand. I have been a member since October 2004, and at this point in time I would say I am disappointed in the Blockbuster DVD Rental service, and am looking to take my business elsewhere in the near future. I would also like to say that the service seems to have good worse since the price was raised. |
simon from durham on 2006-01-25 Rates them:
i joined blockbuster's in january 05. in my first months free trial they were brilliant. i could send all 3 dvd's back on a monday and would receive 3 more by wednesday. i had about 30 titles on my wish list and they always sent dvd's from the top of my list the latest releases. as soon as my free month ended so did the good service they slowed down they never sent the latest releases and in the end i had to cancel. in september last year they emailed me and offered me 2 months half price so again i joined back up the first 2 months again they were very fast at sending discs out they were sending the latest dvd's but then again when i started paying full price they stopped sending me anything. i have over 50 dvd's on my wish list and i have received 1 dvd in the last seven days i have emailed them 3 times in the last month i am still waiting for a reply. |
Ian from Stoke-on-Trent on 2006-01-09 Rates them:
they dont seem to have any new stuff just latley plus got 31 titles in my list and they have sent none for two days now, only upside is they have a fast turn around but seeing as they have nothing in stock i want that doesn't help, looking for a new rental company with stock!!! |
Chris from Leicester on 2005-12-29 Rates them:
I have been with Blockbuster for about 6 months and have just cancelled.
During the trial I recived many of the latest DVD's I asked for but after It seemed my online list was put on the back burner. Blockbuster is not happy unless you have a list of at least 30 DVD's. The turn around time is quick but I was never getting my priority films. Then one day all three DVD's failed to turn up despite the site saying they had been sent (I suspect a light fingerd postman). I went onto the site to report this to find you can only report one "lost in post" every 30 days. I was able to get one DVD running again but then had to wait 60 days to get back to three. I contacted customer services by email and have never recived a reply. So stuff you Blockbuster its time to try someone else. |
George from London on 2005-11-21 Rates them:
I am really surprised about some of the reviews here, which don't reflect my experience with Blockbuster. I would agree that you never seem to get anything from the top of your list, and recently I've only got stuff from the bottom, but I must admit this quirk works for me as I like to get a random selection! Their customer service on the phone is generally very good, and they rectify problems quickly. Turnaround of discs is good, and you can't blame them for the slowness of post! I am looking for a better deal though, mainly because they put the price up to £14.99, and I don't really now have time to watch an unlimited number of films a month. It also wouldn't hurt for the biggest brand in video rental to have a few more copies of Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 4! |
Gavin from Wales on 2005-08-26 Rates them:
I, like the majority, had nothing but praise for them at the start (about 10 months ago), but things have changed drastically in the last 2 months. 2 scratched discs, 3 wrong discs and 1 had the extras disc and not the feature disc(!?), another didn't have the return address (small complaint, I know). Their customer service email is a farce. Emailed them on the 3rd August about a faulty disc and got their reply on the 21st. By the time I got the reply, I had phoned them and partially sorted out the problem. Out of the last 15 discs, 3 from my top 3, everything else from the butt-end of my list.
Time to look elsewhere |
Jonathan from London on 2005-08-22 Rates them:
I was quite happy with Blockbuster until the website no longer works. On both Internet Explorer and Firefox you can't delete from your list because it never deletes the film you want to delete, it chooses one at random. I have complained to Blockbuster but have got no response. So I am leaving ASAP, would never recommend this service. |
Nige from on 2005-07-26 Rates them:
Joined last summer and everything was fine with fast turnaround and I almost always got my top prioritised choices. However, around the start of this year things got worse with titles at the top of my list never being sent and regular emails saying that there was nothing available from my list of choices (despite there being around 30-40 to pick from).
I've put up with it for long enough now - it's actually better to use a local video shop. It may be more expensive and not have the same level of choice but at least I can almost guarantee being able to rent the film I want, when I want it. I had planned on trying one of the competitors but, having read the reviews, I can't see that I'd be getting any improvement...
The whole thing's a pity as, for me, it was an ideal way to rent DVD's. Unfortunately, if the business model of unlimited rentals is unsustainable then these companies should change the details of the service as advertised instead of promising something they clearly can't (or don't intend) to deliver. |
Tammy from Kent on 2005-07-24 Rates them:
Very poor costumer service emails and certainly NOT unlimited rental as I had over 80 movie titels on my list and for 2 weeks I just received an automated email saying that non of the titles in my list are avaible. I closed my account after calling costumer services saying well lady if you don`t like it leave than - so I did. Be warned for poor service and don`t even count on getting movies in your top 10 list - I have been with them for 2 months and never got 1 send out of my top ten list. Dissapointing ! |
tony from on 2005-07-19 Rates them:
disc scratched ,very late email reply and there is no list for previously rented disc rented. |
Sergio from Edinburgh on 2005-07-16 Rates them:
Rubbish!!! Just cancelled the service for the second time and will never get back. I returned my DVDs last Wednesday, they arrived on Thursday and they did not send me a single title back, so I would have to wait until Monday, maybe Tuesday. Being punished for wathing them quickly? These guys think customers are idiots! Stay away from Block"Buster" |
Marc from Chichester on 2005-07-14 Rates them:
Generally not bad, but customer service is rubbish. When you ring up they blame "warehouse problems" and emails *never* get replied to. They blatantly impliment the "heavy users get punished" system, as having rented 15 dvds this month I haven't had a single one this week. |
Michael from Solomon on 2005-07-13 Rates them:
Like so many other people on here, the service has declined. Long turnarounds, scratched discs. I maintain my list at approx 100 titles - ranging from new releases, to old stuff, going through all ages inbetween. I have not had a film from my top 30 for 4 months. I currently have 93 movies in my list and I have received an email from them saying they cannot send me anything. Customer services, I know, will not respond. DVDs365 seems to be a well rated alternative.
I cannot recommend Blockbuster to anybody, and I will be cancelling my membership today. They really are an incompentent moronic bunch. If you are after frustration, infuriation, ignorance and arrogance beyond your wildest dreams - sign up to blockbuster. If you want prompt DVD rentals of films you have even a slight intention of watching - go elsewhere. |
Brian from Northumberland on 2005-07-12 Rates them:
This service is so bad that it is virtually fraudulent. I have received an email from them saying that there is nothing available on my list to send out and perhaps I should extend my list a bit. It currently has over 230 items on it. |
Eyre from London on 2005-07-12 Rates them:
I've been with these guys for a few months now, and to be honest at the start, and even after the free trial they were good to there word, though I found that if I wanted a film my best bet was to make sure it WASN'T in my top 10. In fact my number one film on my list has been there for over 4 months!
However recently they keep sending me the same NO STOCK email at every return. This is quite frankly ridiculous as I have over 50 films in my list, and many of them are brand new releases.
I'd advise people to try anyone else and DO NOT recommend them to your friends.
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Gill from London on 2005-07-11 Rates them:
Have been with Blockbuster for about 6 months now. They have a consistently good turn-around - I manage about 5 per week. Another good aspect is that if their is a 2 disc set they send them out as 1 mailing - this is good for TV comedy series (they are often on 2 discs) and for getting extras discs that come with films. The envelopes are very robust, and they e-mail you when they recieve the discs back and when they send out the new ones. I have never had an unplayable disc, or been sent the wrong one. Availability of new "Blockbuster" films is not great - but then all the rental companies seem to have that same drawback. Also contacting them is a problem - wasting your time with the e-mail. Ring them instead - at least they are helpful - unlike my previous company - Lovefilm. |
Jiltz from Scotland on 2005-06-27 Rates them:
What can I say....
Been with them for a couple of months now and in my opinion, they have been the best rental company that I have ever been with.
Same day turnaround!!
Real unlimited (unlike other companies who try to make this claim).
Always try to send from the top of my list.
Never had a faulty disc.
Good packaging.
Friendly customer services.
Decent price....£13.99 (for 3 discs)
They also send out 2 discs (if it is a double dvd) as 1 selection.....other companies split them up and send them out separate.
They are the BEST !!!
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Tony from London on 2005-06-21 Rates them:
It is interesting that many of the people on this site have similar and genuine gripes. I used the Blochbuster free trial and fortunately cancelled it after a week or so as it was, quite frankly a joke. A common human trait of moronic companies like these is that all of their customers are idiots and so should not be listened to. This is a huge mistake as I am sure there are a lot of people(such as myself) who have operated in businesses with similars models and have a vast knowledge of advertising and marketing. All (YES ALL) of the Online rental companies seem to stupid enough that they all have a very similat model (3 DVDs sent to your door for £14 odd quid - simple). So whoever separates themselves with GOOD SERVICE (not something I usually associate with Blockbuster) wil win and have a business for years to come. As some of these companies are as thick as a whale omelette they do not see this so they ALL try the same trick - dazzle with the free trial by getting top choices out quickly then once the customer is paying offer a pathetic service so they go elsewhere and the brilliant marketing minds are left with a huge sum of £15 - well done. Blockbuster did not surprise me although I have written these comments in the hope that the idiots in the marketing department might come up with a new stratgey. By the way lads - your supposed to see a rapid decline in the service AFTER your free trial - not 4 days into it. I would suggest that there are too many companies vying for all of our business and when the wheat is sorted and companies are forced to sell to others or go out of business, the common criticisms such as mine and the majority of the comments above will be common. Wait, use the free trials and let the idiots fight it out and try the survivors. |
Peter from Glasgow on 2005-06-18 Rates them:
An update on my previous post. I still have the same opinion, I do get movies from them at a reasonable turn around.
Now I've monitored my last 16 sent. The highest up my list being number 15, all but two have been between 20 and 30 on my list. all the movies have been out since 2003.
I've decided that I'll try somebody else when I come back from holiday. |
Derek from Nr London on 2005-06-15 Rates them:
I have just written this to Blockbuster and will get a standard response as normal but here is my view on this company as of today.
I Have just written a review on the serious decline in your service
levels since early this year.
When I joined October last year the service was fabulous. I would
always receive movies from my top 10 list, and always receive the latest
releases.
The past 3 months this service level has declined rapidly.
I have had 2 friends join your free trial offer in the past month and
they got the first three titles on their list immediately, all the very
latest release by the way.
I am currently getting movies that are not even in my top 40, and have
not seen any new releases for about 2 months now, yet free trial
customers get them....amazing don't you think!
I have also noticed new delays tactics in the turn around of receiving
dvds, so as I write this, I am investigating new rental sites. I have
just signed up to a trial offer at what looks like a better service at
Dvd's 365.
It is amazing how many reviews are written about you showing the exact
same pattern for existing customers no longer getting the latest
releases and delay tactics, an they all seem to have started earlier this
year. You maybe should stop doing whatever it is your doing, as it's an
awfull shame I am now considering leaving you as one of your highest
tariff customers.
Thankyou very much for your Oct 04 to Jan 05 service I was really
impressed, but since then you want to get rid of whoever has made some
stupid decisons!
Derek
ps:- the review site is as follows
http://www.dvdrr.com/reviews/Blockbuster-UK.html
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Peter from Glasgow on 2005-05-18 Rates them:
I have been with Blockbuster for some time now. Initally everything was fine and I was impressed. I still cannot complain about the turnaround of the DVD's.
After a period of time the arrival of movies near the top of my list deteriated. It has been sometime since I've had one in my top ten. The last two being numbers 19 & 21 in my list.
I'm now looking at reviews of other suppliers to try an alternative. |
Paul from London on 2005-05-09 Rates them:
Okay at first but now total rubbish. No DVDs have been sent to me recently as they say they don't have then. Some, at the top of my list hve been there for 4 months. They just tell you to add more to you list! My friends use ScreenSelect and don't have this problem. I'm canceling my Blockbuster account. |
Barney from north west cumbria on 2005-05-02 Rates them:
I used the free trial and paid for 2 months and i found the service really slow, the dvd turnaround was poor and i kept getting "we cannot supply a dvd please add more to your list" !!!!! geez i had nearly 60-70 on my list !!
In fact i had choices of dvds on my list that were there for the full 3 month and i still never got them.
if i was you id go to screenselect, they offer a much beeter service |
t saunders from west midlands on 2005-04-25 Rates them:
started off very good when i was on my trial as time`s gone on i get email`s saying "we do not have any films on your list" i have 39 films on my list!!! they never reply to emails terrible service. |
Everard from Manchester on 2005-04-16 Rates them:
Baiscally ok. Most dvd's come not scratched or covered in crud. Turnaround is about 20 dvd's per month, sometimes a few more. However is you want something from the top of your list make sure it's not popular, you'll never get it. In three months i've had 2 wrong discs and 2 damaged. Customer services actually replied when i complained that the turnaround had slowed down once i'd bocome a paying memeber. Selection not as good a love film. I'd recomemd if you have a big list and aren't too bothered about which order you see films. |
Alan from Shropshire on 2005-04-11 Rates them:
They do NOT answer any emails to customer service.
You will NEVER get anything from the top of your list.
Before Xmas 2004 they were much better.
If you want older titles then the turnaround can be quite good, but don't old your breath for any "new this week" titles.
Search engine doesn't find titles that ARE there, and it can be very hard to find the most recent of releases.
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Perbinder from London on 2005-04-07 Rates them:
Good service at beginning 4 months ago. Now dreadful. No customer service reponses to emails. No phone to contact. DVDs missing, scratched and never from the top 10 choices.
Am now cancelling. |
Steve from London on 2005-03-25 Rates them:
Been with Blockbuster for 4 months - initially quite good - fast turnaround and DVDs from the first page of my list.
Recently though wrong DVDs, nothing from even the second page of my list and no replies from customer service.
Looking for something better |
Rus from Coventry on 2005-03-23 Rates them:
I am yet to become a member of this.
Apparently someone has joined at out address. Unlikely anyone in our house. Im thwe only one who rents films and uses the web also have lived here for 30 years.
I contacted them asking what the problem may be and waited 3 weeks for a reply. I answered the questions asked by return of the email and have yet to respond to my reply. that was 2 months ago.
Im not going to try to join any further. if they treat new customers this way what are they gonna treat you like when you join and if you have problems later on.
My advice stay away. |
dave from bristol on 2005-03-12 Rates them:
Rubbish. I joined them 6 months ago and initially they were quite good. But there service has gone steadily downhill. I currently have 35 movies on my would like to see list, and they dont have any of them in stock. I feel they are breaching their contract by charging me for renting movies they dont have. Im now looking to change to a different rental service. |
rik from south wales on 2005-03-11 Rates them:
Good turn around times and emails, BUT, they never send what you want in the order you want. 47 films on my list and today they sent one vincent price and one charlton heston film, nothing else available. |
Ben from Smith on 2005-02-25 Rates them:
Best company so far (have tried Screen Select and eGlobalRentals) in terms of discs not being scratched plus turnaround. Getting an e-mail to say that the discs have been received OK by them is a bonus.
However, like other reviewers - where are the top choices ? They don't seem to like sending out the top 3 choices you have, possibly a 'clever' tactic to keep you as a customer for longer, so you hold on in the chance of getting your highest choice. |
iain from cheshunt on 2005-02-20 Rates them:
Half way through my free trial, and the stalling tatctics described by some of my fellow reviewers have started. £ DVDs back at one time, all aparently received at different times and days and only one returned within 2 days. This was not how it started, maybe they moniter how many DVDs u get thru and then limit u??!! Also, forget new releases, nothing that has come out in the last 2 weeks has been sent thru. When I emialed to query why new releases were available on pay per view online but not via unlimited rentals, guess what I got as a reply....NOTHING!!! Not impressed, and will not be paying them at the end of the month!! |
Matt from Basingstoke on 2005-02-18 Rates them:
Turnaround time is generally very good however discs are often scratched.
Biggest problem is that I am constantly sent the big new release movie titles from the bottom of my list, while the more obscure TV series titles sit at the top of my list for months on end without being sent out. I agree that it feels like the people sending out the DVDs will just send you whatever happens to be to hand regardless of the priority you give it, and will only go looking for the more obscure titles if there is absolutely nothing else in your list that they can send you. |
nathan from bishop auckland on 2005-02-16 Rates them:
i thought this service is alright but sometimes when i take videos or games to be exchanged they always ask me questions also the choice is a bit limited |
Marty from London on 2005-02-12 Rates them:
Having trialed many DVD companies, Blockbuster are one of the better companies and worth joining, despite a pretty ordinary website and you may also find that you don't get your top selections often. |
Silk from Hull on 2005-02-09 Rates them:
I've read all these, and I'm glad I never got past the registration, that was nightmare enough. It didn't like my address, and told me to contact customer service, which I did, it took them over 2 WEEKS to get back to me, by which time I'd given up and deleted what there was of my screwed up account. Also the reply they had sent never actually solved my problem.
I guess in a way I ought to be grateful to them for showing thier true colours BEFORE I gave them money. |
Jatin from Orpington on 2005-01-16 Rates them:
Turnround is slow, sometimes the next working day after having recieved the previous 3 DVDS.Didn't happen during the trial free period.
Out of every 3 DVD's recieved so far, 2 were damaged, irritating when it keeps on jumping to the next scene when the interesting scene starts.Surprisingly it Didnt happen with Bollywood movies!.
I will be discontinuing after the initial paid month. |
Ingrid from Cambridge on 2005-01-12 Rates them:
The jury's still out for me on this. I have no quibble with the turnaround, I tend to get through 2-4 films per week and can get satisfactory turnaround to achieve that. My problem is with damaged disks (3 in 3 weeks) and never getting anything from the top of my list (list has been 18 - 25 titles at any one time). And it's not even the new titles that are at the top of my list but old ones and really old ones, like The Day the Earth Stood Still. Am wondering whether there's only one copy of that sort of thing ! I am going to experiment and knock the list down to 10 and see what happens ! If no improvement will try another service. |
Steve from Manchester on 2004-12-17 Rates them:
They were good earlier this year when I started with them and lived up to the blockbuster reputation. Turn around was fast and new releases if at the top of this list were sent out.
Then they started to con me by still being 'unlimited' but only sending out my next disk the following day after receiving one I sent back - I was not notified of this change of policy and it made the turn around slower.
I also suspect they started to receive disks and then wait until the following day before logging them as received. Another tactic in restricting the number of disks you could rent during your month.
They're cheap but beware that they aren't anything like the blockbuster name. These people dont believe in 'service'.
I wrote an email to complain which they didnt reply to:-
"I've noticed recently that the turn around of DVDs has
become a lot slower. DVDs appear to take suspiciously
longer to arrive back in your system and when they do
the next DVD is usually sent out the following day
with the 'processing' time also appearing to be
nothing more than a stalling tactic.
It wasnt like this when I first signed up and I feel
the service provided doesnt match the service I
received during the free trial.
I also note that I have emailed TWICE asking how to
suggest titles which you dont stock without receiving
a reply.
When things were good I was recommending you to people
- one of those people has now cancelled their
subscription and moved elsewhere as they tell me they
are experiencing the same slowness."
I'm disappointed to have to complain as in the past
Blockbuster have been really good."
If you wrote to blockbuster complaining about their service and they didnt reply - how ignorant is that?
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Richard from London on 2004-10-02 Rates them:
Feels like they are in second stage of growth - they have a stable model and are now advertising to get numbers up from a low level of early adopters. Weaknesses for me are they very rarely send a dvd which is high up my list - like others I never seem to get the popular new releases, get the kids films more often than not - but also the website is missing the opportunity of recomending films on the basis of what I have already chosen or on the basis of my ratings - the normal amazon type stuff. If they did that, I could forgive the poor stock - which I assume will get better the more customers they have. |
Kieran from Newcastle on 2004-09-29 Rates them:
When they started out initially Blockbuster were a very good DVD rental company. Customer service was excellent.
Now I'm not sure what's happened but everything seems to have turned to rubbish. Their customer service email address is now their main support address, You'll get a response if you're lucky and if you are then it will be a standard reply.
Turnaround is also slow, you can see they have receieved the titles back on your homepage but they won't dispatch your order till then end of the next working day.
My biggest gripe however is their limited stock / copies of titles. At one point I had one title at the top of my list for 8 weeks and I still did not get it. You get the feeling the people who are sending these out can't be bothered to search for the older titles so just fob you off with the new ones which are easier to find.
Bit of a dissatisfied customer really. I won't be using them again. |
Brian from Glasgow on 2004-09-24 Rates them:
Signed up for the 1 month free trial & cancelled after a week and a half!!
The only good point for them is they send a 2 disc release as one choice.
Bad points? Discs won't play and the biggest crime of all? From a list of 50 titles they could find 0 to send me out on more than one occasion!!
They couldn't give a good answer to why, so I cancelled & sent them very negative feedback!
Avoid
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Cliff from Camberley on 2004-08-13 Rates them:
OK, the deal looks very attractive. I tend to cache the films on my PC and watch them at my leisure (this is probably not allowed - but I am not copying them) - which means I can return them within on the same day they arrive. As such, it should be easy to get 9 DVDs a week, but I am struggling to get 6. THe problems seem to be blockbusters turn around time. I know they have received them (they tell me) and they sit on them for 2 or 3 days sometimes. Here's my model "3 DVDs arrive on Monday, returned Monday, back at Blockbuster on Tuesday, Blockbuster post 3 DVDs out on Tuesday, arrive Wednesday & returned wednesday, then blockbuster receive on Thursday and send out 3 more to arrive on Friday, post back on Friday, arrive Saturday - Blockbuster post 3 more on Saturday to arrive on Monday.
The next problem is the number of broken ones. The kids ones are especially bad - I suspect the previous renters let their kids smear jam all over them and rub them with sandpaper. I have had 5 DOAs in 2 months - all of which were visually damaged.
The next problem is their listing. I made up a balanced list of new releases and older movies. Guess what, I hardly ever see a new release. They also send me far more kids films than adult films - despite the kids films being well down my list. My list has about 100 movies on it, and most of the time, they send out films in positions 70-100 - whereas I really want to see the films in my top 10.
Then there is the back catalog. It's not enormous. A company like Blockbuster should be offering almost every movie ever made. There are loads of ommissions too, plus it's not possible to rent a lot of things like BBC videos.
Finally, I find the web site very hard to use. With something like the internet movie database, it's really easy to find a movie. With blockbuster you have to know it's name. There are some collections and categories, but they are not strong and tend to be limited.
I realise I am pushing their system, but it certainly creaks when you do. |
Sam from Largs on 2004-08-07 Rates them:
Blockbuster is good for new movies and you generally get them in the week of release.
The selection is not that large though. They add around four new releases per week which is quite disapointing as the other rental services (the other one I'm with is Moviechoices) adds about 40-50 per week.)
For older movies, TV-Series and foreign films Blockbuster is quite disapointing as they only seem to go for the more popular movies (very similar to their rental shops actually)
One thing does stand out and this is one of the main reasons I'm staying with them: they send out 2-disc releases together and they count as one disc. This is the only online rental service to offer this. |
Graham from Cawsey on 2004-07-24 Rates them:
Excellent.
Used about 6 different rental companies now and this is the one I have decided to stay with.
Very quick at sending out new discs, even at the weekend.
A very big bonus is you can telephone and speak to a real person about your rentals. |
Jim from Hull on 2004-07-18 Rates them:
I have been trying out Blockbuster for 8 weeks now. All in all I'm not impressed. The layout of the website could be better and the discs often resemble frisbees, although to be fair they have all played albeit with the odd jump. I found their range of titles to be very poor in comparison with some other companies. And how was I compensated after they sent me the wrong movie (the wrong disc was in the case)? Shockingly I wasn't. They didn't even send my next selection until the unwanted movie was back in their posession. |
kenny from london on 2004-07-18 Rates them:
Quick turnaround on sending out dvd's but the choice is fairly limited and I was rarely sent dvd's near the top of my list. |
