Did you cancel your MoviePass subscription in the last few months? If so, congratulations—you’re among plenty of good company. Users have been fleeing the formerly “unlimited” movie ticket service in the wake of constant bad news about its future. Those stories are so numerous that they’re now difficult to sum up, but in general, MoviePass managed to:
A. Literally run out of cash one weekend, temporarily disabling the service until they received a loan,
B. Announce they were increasing the price of their famous $9.99 monthly plan, and
C. Announce days later that they were disregarding the previous price increase announcement and instead simply limiting the number of films one could see per month.
There’s more, but we only have so much space here—at this point, a comprehensive telling of the downfall of MoviePass should really be a feature film in and of itself. But here’s the latest: If you canceled the service recently, you’d better look for an email from MoviePass in your inbox, because they’re probably planning on restarting your account without your knowledge or permission.
According to Verge, the company is now sending out emails to former customers, telling them that they must choose to “opt-out” of the company’s newest plan, or automatically start being charged for the service once again, starting on Thursday, Oct. 4. They’re also being told that they never actually “canceled” their MoviePass subscription, despite the company using that exact word in the past—instead, those accounts have simply been “suspended,” which MoviePass apparently believes gives it the right to start charging them again at will. And get this—this isn’t even the first time that MoviePass has tried to un-cancel people’s accounts. If you think you’ve stopped paying for MoviePass, now is the time to check your bank statements to be sure.
Shocking, the internet reacted with … anger? Yeah, I guess that seems about right.
@moviepass Your Aug 21, 2018 email stated that if we did not “opt in” to your new price, our plan would be cancelled. Not suspended, not open to new charges – CANCELLED. pic.twitter.com/A5fLVHGeTl
— Jill (@JillinBmore) September 28, 2018
I. Cancelled. @MoviePass.
A month ago.
This is what they just emailed me. How…is this allowed? If you thought you cancelled MoviePass, check your email. pic.twitter.com/v2wlkrA2IF
— Caroline Moss (@socarolinesays) September 28, 2018
We would say that this should be the last blow for MoviePass, but the service seems to be completely bulletproof in terms of surviving things that would bring a final end to anyone else—it’s like this really is a movie, and they have impenetrable Plot Armor.
Still, who wants to bet that we see another press release from MoviePass in 24-48 hours, completely undoing and reversing course on the contents of the last one?
In the meantime, here’s the full text of the email that MoviePass is sending out—if you’ve canceled the service, check your inbox to see if you have one like it.
In August 2018, we announced a new offering for three movies a month for $9.95, giving subscribers the ability to opt-in to this plan if they wanted to continue as a MoviePass subscriber. However, our records show that you have not yet taken any action on the new plan, and because of that your subscription was suspended and your monthly subscription charges have stopped.
Because we really hope you begin enjoying your MoviePass subscription again, we have chosen you to be a part of a select test group, who beginning Friday, October 5th will be restored to unlimited movies (up to one new movie title per day based on existing inventory) – the same subscription that you signed up for and you previously enjoyed. If you decide that you do not want this you must “opt out” before Thursday, October 4th at 9:00PM ET.
To be clear, unless you opt out, your unlimited subscription will be restored and you will begin enjoying unlimited movies again (up to 1 movie per day, based on existing inventory) at $9.95 per month, and your credit card on file will be charged on a monthly basis beginning Friday, October 5th, 2018.
If you do opt out of the restoration of your subscription to the unlimited plan, your subscription will be canceled and no longer held in a “suspended” status, and you will not be able to re-join until 9 months have passed.