Hey all...

I've been a member of both the CH DVD and music clubs for about 2 years now and am really having a hard time with them lately. I visit the website, decline the "featured selection" then get the confirmation email saying I declined it. 5 weeks later, it shows up up in my mailbox. I refuse it and I return to sender unopened. I know I can do this but I shouldn't have to. I've emailed them twice and never get a reply. This has happened about 6 times in the last year.

I've had multiple memberships for 19 of the last 20 years in either the music or DVD clubs and have NEVER had this happen. I've had little things happen like a defective cassette (back in 1988) or a CD (in 1992), but it was taken care of promptly.

Is this happening to anyone else out there who is a member???

I signed up a couple years ago for the DVD Club and received a wrong item in my introductory package. I called and received permission to send it back and exchange it for another title altogether, since I decided I'd rather have a different movie.

Sent it back and waited. And waited. And waited. Called again and found out that the returned copy was never received. Of course. But they did end up sending the replacement, so ok.

I also didn't like their "implied" terms that you can take an extra DVD for a cheaper rate, but what they don't tell you is that selection DOES NOT count towards your purchasing agreement. I'm not talking about the 6th DVD you can choose and apply to your account, but the 7th "bonus" offer at a discounted price.

If you don't pay attention to the language it is easy to assume that this DVD will also be credited towards your purchasing agreement, but alas 'tis not so. That is what they want you to think, and many people add it to their selections only to find out they still have to buy the same amount of movies to fulfill their contracts.

The other thing that strikes me as shady is their listing of multiple prices online. Some are in red, some are in black, and nothing there to tell you what the difference is. What is your price? Well, you'll just have to figure it out on your own since they do not show you the total of your purchases before charging your account. That should be illegal, IMO.

I won't deal with them anymore since I just find them too shifty for my liking. Sure, many people love joining, quitting, joining up again. But I find them too much hassle for what it's worth, and I always end up getting movies I don't even want but are just settling for to make up the numbers.

Hey all...

I've been a member of both the CH DVD and music clubs for about 2 years now and am really having a hard time with them lately. I visit the website, decline the "featured selection" then get the confirmation email saying I declined it. 5 weeks later, it shows up up in my mailbox. I refuse it and I return to sender unopened. I know I can do this but I shouldn't have to. I've emailed them twice and never get a reply. This has happened about 6 times in the last year.

Is this happening to anyone else out there who is a member???
It happened to me again last week. I declined The Pink Panther in late May, and it showed up last week.

It has only happened twice in the last year and a half. The first time was when they were updating their web site software. This time I'm not sure.

I am finding that their prices are no longer competitive.

Their current promotion is buy 1 regular price and get one free. A DVD that was $22.00 a couple of days ago has now jumped to $29.00. Add the shipping costs and taxes, and it'll be close to $42.00.

My biggest gripe is that they now ship the DVDs in an envelope. Some of the DVDs we received have had broken spindles that were damaged in transit.

It's not really worth it anymore.

they called my wife the other day (its in her name) and they offered a new deal since our contract obligations were completed.
So my wife said sure and ordered her first movie. 2 weeks later we get a letter from their finance department saying that they needed more info on her for credit rating!!!!!!! They wont ship until we send the info.

It looked too fishy as they should have that data in their system. We have been members for 3 years!!!!

1)The first time you did sign up was the credit card under both of your names.
2)If it was not this why they need more info.

The first time we sent them the info on where my wife works, how much she makes, etc etc.
everything was fine. We would always send a cheque, until i realized I could do payments through EasyWeb.
What gets me is that we didnt cancel and re-sign. We just recommited to a new "contract"... so it is an existing account... so why ask for more info...

What also caught me was that the letterhead said Columbia House MUSIC Club... I am not usually suspicious, but this rubbed me the wrong way.

You have to be careful with these guys.I did belong to them for a bit they sent me my movies i sent in the cash you would thinks that it.Two monts past the fact i get a letter saying i owe them $65.00 while infact i paid it.This goes on for a while they say pay up or else.They keep sending me these letter i keep calling them and saying i have sent the money in.I had to cave in a money order in after about 4 weeks they found the check i did send in.To make up for they send me 6 free movies i told them no thanks.I really think there on the edge of beeing criminal.

Sorry for the long delay in replying...

About 2 weeks ago, I got another DVD in the mail and another "past due" notice for a DVD I sent back because I never ordered it.:eek:

Anyways, I called them and started to get lost in the "push this number" game but eventually got someone and I told them what was going on. They said it might be a problem with the website. (well, duh...) Anyways, They wiped my "amounts owing" and marked both accounts that everything is now or will be returned.

I was also switched from the regular account type (decline or accept your monthly selection) to a "no-longer need to let us know). I know they used a specific term for it, but it has slipped my mind. I logged into the website that night and I no longer have a "Featured Selection" item along the top, so it looks good so far.;)

That "3 DVDs for $10" discussed in this forum sounds tempting thought....;)

Thanks for all your posts.

Wow, i find this funny, cuz ive been singing up with the 3 dvd's for 10$ and now ive decided i have what i wan from them, and i decided to keep 1 account open, as some of their prices aren't bad.

BUT i SWORE i kept declining that darn movie, but yet it would be sent to me house, LOL so now i know im not going crazy.....hope they fix this glitch in there system. gosh

My daughter signed up against my warnings... they constantly send her the wrong movies... Sometime i think they do it on purpose hoping you won't bother with sending them back , maybe they have a surprlus of one particular movie and they send you that as a replacement for what you order,,, just so they can get rid of their stock

good luck getting through to them...

I was a member of a record company either called Columbia House or Columbia Record Club during the late 1960s and it sounds like they are still doing the same kind of slimey stuff now as they did way back then e.g. sending LP records you didn't order and when you returned them, denying that they received them.
Then, getting letters threatening court action if I didn't pay for the LPs I had sent back etc. Some scams never change, I guess.

It's all been taken care off and like I said in my original post, I've been a member for 19 of the last 20 years and never had these problems. I believe it's "fixed" now.:)

I've signed up lots of people (mostly family) in the early years of my memberships and they did have some stuff mailed to them that was never ordered. However, they never sent the little cards back on time or if ever.;)

I like the idea that I can order something now, arrives in two weeks, and can pay later even if it is only two weeks after that. Prices aren't THAT bad if you take advantage of the sales. The shipping charges are...well...ridiculous. They pretty much have been high the whole time although 20 years ago, they would charge you 1.99 for the first selection, 1.79 for second and .99 for any subsequent items per order. Selection is not as good as it was then. There are alot of CDs missing from the club that were available a couple of years ago....strangely, alot of them are BMG titles...kinda stupid since Sony and BMG are now merged. But anyway....I'm rambling on and on again...;)

First, thanks to the Digital Home Forum for helping me buy a new TV and Blu-Ray player - very satisfied!

Next, I think I've made a mistake by responding to the Columbia House advert on the Digital Home page for Blu-Ray DVDs. Hopefully I've posted this complaint on the right forum page.

I'm sure the saga isn't over, but here are some of the problems I've experienced:
- the selections on the enrollment page were only a small portion of what you'd expect to find;
- instead of 2-3 weeks to deliver, it took 5 weeks;
- calls to their customer service department were of no value since you don't get a membership number until after your shipment arrives - they couldn't tell me when they might arrive, nor would they allow me to cancel my subscription request (since Christmas had come and gone without the movies);
- when the shipment arrived, they were missing two selections (replacement coupons were there though);
- upon examining the account information, I learned that one of my extra purchases when I enrolled didn't count as one of my annual obligations;
- a formal complaint to customer service resulted in a prompt apologetic response with an offer to process the replacements by email (which we did and we ordered 2 more Blu-Rays);
- two days later, and despite what the first customer service response said, they said they couldn't honor the replacement selections and insisted they only come from the short enrollment selection list;
- a follow call to customer service (long distance only) was fruitless as they refused to transfer me to the correspondence section that provided the first incorrect response;
- again, they refused the selections and refused my request to cancel the contract since they hadn't held up their end.

Further, when I placed my second order on-line, it surprised me to learn they had retained my credit card information on enrollment without authorization.

Suffice to say, they appear to compeletly lacking in scruples or quality processes sufficient to deliver a worthwhile product. I would caution anyone before joining Columbia House and wonder why DigitalHome keeps them as an advertiser.

Bit of an old thread but figured I would share my story.

I placed an order for 6 BD on Nov28, 1 of which was a pre-order (Dark Knight). I recieved the pre-order a week after it was released but still have not recieved my other 5 BD`s. Took several messages over a week to get anything done. Supposedly my replacement order is on its way.

I have been a DVD Club member for years but did not purchase any movies from CH for almost 3 years as I have had delivery problems in the past but the free s&h and %60 off was to good to pass up.

i was a member back in the day. i had many problems with them. one i remember is i ordered a copy of air force one in widescreen. they sent me a FS version. i complained and got an RA for it and they sent another copy. again FS, complained again and repeated the same again. again it came FS. i was getting flat out pissed at them and screaming at the CSR on the other end of the phone. then i finally got a hold of someone and over the phone they told me the disc was double sided and i needed to flip the disc. kinda hard to do when the disc is silkscreened on the other side and is only FS and the isbn on it came back as only FS. they finally sent me an opened disc that was verified by the csr i was dealing with that was WS. i sent back all the FS ones i had stacked and they credited my account for them [although i was never charged for them] so i ordered some more stuff from them to use up the credit then canceled my service.

they tried to get me back later and i gave in. it was a good deal. then i flipped out when they sent me FS versions of all the movies i had selected for the enrolement instead of WS. i called in and chewed out some csr and sent all the discs back. now when i get a call from columbia house all they get is F-YOU and i hang up. they haven't called in over a year...