• by Ray Schultz , October 1, 2018

MoviePass is being criticized for sending an email to lapsed subscribers saying it would begin charging them again unless they opted out.

The email, which went out Friday, says: "Because we really hope you begin enjoying your MoviePass subscription again, we have chosen you to be 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 9:00 p.m. EDT.

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 5, 2018." 

One observer, professor Joan Martinez Evora, a lecturer in business law at the University of Miami Business School, calls the email “unfair and abusive,” according to Business Insider.

This is an unusual tactic — in effect, it is a negative option with an implied threat aimed at people who have decided they don’t want the service. Certainly, it would be flagged under the GDPR. And it does not seem user-friendly. But the email does contain an opt-out link.  

Vox notes that the movie ticket subscription company experienced “a summer of catastrophes, service changes, and even an emergency cash infusion.” 

The email also says: “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.”

One user tweeted that he had quit the service and was not "suspended."

The email continues: “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.”

It concludes: “Thanks for believing in us — see you at the movies!”