Intelliflix review

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User Rating:

Based on 1 reviews

Read Reviews Write Review Visit Intelliflix
Package Name Cost Movies At Once
3 At a Time $19.95
Per Month
3
1 At a Time
Annual Payment
$47.88
Annually
1
3 At a Time
Annual Payment
$119.70
Annually
3
3 At a Time +Adult $27.95
Per Month
3
1 At a Time +Adult
Annual Payment
$71.88
Annually
1
3 At a Time +Adult
Annual Payment
$167.70
Annually
3

Intelliflix Review

In 2006, Intelliflix (formerly DVDBarn) was on its way up. They had been rated #1 by Consumer Reports and were given praise as the best online DVD rental company by many independent sources. In two years however, they have fallen considerably and are now widely considered the worst DVD rental service in the United States.

With rampant consumer complaints, the Florida Attorney General opened an investigation and later sued the company and owner Christopher Hickery for deceptive advertising and operating without a license. At the heart of the matter is an offer that Intelliflix had on their site that allowed new subscribers to pay for a year up front and receive 6 months free. Consumers felt scammed when the company stopped sending DVDs and refused to offer a refund. From our perspective, it would seem that Intelliflix simply gave pricing offers up front that they couldn't deal with in the long term, and have now resorted to simply billing customers and not providing a service.

It would appear that Intelliflix is no longer in business, however their site and join pages are still active. We've not heard from a single person who has received a DVD from them in the past 3 months. There have been reports of people signing up and being billed as of a couple months ago (based on comments from other sites). They are the one company on this site that we will say should be avoided at all costs.

Inventory

Claiming to have over 60,000 DVDs available (including adult films) is quite an accomplishment. Actually having them available to rent is another. While Intelliflix was one of the better rental companies in 2006 and early 2007, they seemed to hit a point where they just didn't feel like fulfilling their service any longer. No matter how many DVDs, no matter how unpopular the movies were, we just couldn't seem to get them to send out anything to us. Calls to customer service were pointless as we were told to have at least 10 DVDs in our queue (we had 50+).

It appears they no longer are stocking new DVDs. In terms of inventory, they receive a 0 as they don't send you anything anymore.

Membership Features

Intelliflix was unique in allowing people to pay per rental instead of signing up for one of their membership plans. Other than that, the site was always weak in functionality and offered few extras to subscribers. Customer service seems to no longer exist within the company and it seems to be running on auto-pilot.

Movies Information

Information on each DVD is average and contains the basic info you'd find off the box. The movie descriptions are brief on many titles and there are no user reviews to see. Users can rate the DVDs on a 5 star scale.

Shipping

Intelliflix doesn't look to be shipping DVDs to any of their customers any longer. These include customers who were suckered into year long subscriptions at some time last year. The company appears to no longer answer support claims and doesn't seem to care. We highly doubt if their shipping center is even functioning any longer.

Pricing

Price really doesn't matter when you don't fulfill your obligation. Paying anything to this company is essentially flushing your money down the toilet. In any case, Intelliflix was famous for their annual subscription plans that allowed you to buy 6 months up front and get 6 months free.

Regular Movies Plan
3 at a time - $19.95 a month
1 at a time annual plan - $47.88 ($3.99 a month)
3 at a time annual plan - $119.70 ($9.98 a month)
Regular and Adult Movies Plan
3 at a time - $27.95 a month
1 at a time annual plan - $71.88 ($5.99 a month)
3 at a time annual plan - $167.70 ($13.98 a month)
Pay Per Rental
$3.96 - $4.96 per title

Summary

We've all heard that saying "if it's too good to be true". That seems to be what happened to Intelliflix. They floored most of their competitors in 2005 and 2006 with some of the best deals out there in DVD rental. They loaded up with money up front on annual plans, and then pulled the rug out from under their customers. Most likely they just couldn't function financially and had to close up shop. Their ethics in keeping a join page live and continuing to take new members up till a few months ago is despicable. We hope the Attorney General of Florida and other states take a long, hard look at them and punish them accordingly.

For those who have been burnt by Intelliflix, it's a rough lesson in online commerce. It's a reason we've become skeptical of up and coming DVD rental companies that offer flashy deals that don't make financial sense. There are alternatives though that are fair and safe, and we'd recommend not throwing out the whole industry because of one bad apple.

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User Reviews Of Intelliflix
Posted By Sally on June 13, 2008
Rating:    

I can validate all that you wrote in your review. This company is a scam. After months of not receiving movies, I received an email from them indicating they are going after the person who bought me the gift membership for the cost of a movie they say I didn\'t return. I have an email from them confirming they received it back in Nov 2007. My membership ended this month and now they are just trying to get additional money by making false accusations. AVOID THIS COMPANY AT ALL COSTS. Check out the BBB of Florida website if you are not convinced.

 
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