I only subscribed because they claimed to have a rare DVD that no other rental service has (Black Like Me), and it was "Available, " so I did the minimal 2-at-a-time, 4 rentals/month plan and put it at the top of my queue. I was filling out my queue with alternatives when I saw that 2 movies had already been marked as "Shipped, " only 5 minutes into the process, not giving me time to even order the queue properly. OK, annoying, but not crooked. Then I notice that the
movie I really wanted was not one of the two "Shipped" and suddenly had a wait. Hmm.
The site claims that shipping time is 1-2 days for Southern California (I'm just outside of LA), and usually 3 days for most others, although they allow for 4-6 days to the Midwest and the East. It took a good 5-6 days for me to get my movies.
I sent the first one back after keeping it for a week. Coincidentally, I returned a Netflix DVD in the same manner (through a mailbox at my job, which I've used for a year) at the same time.netflix received their movie a day later. A week went by before I emailed QuikFliks to see why they hadn't sent another film. Their much touted customer service reps responded (after 2 days) that they never received it and even said that they can't control theft within their company (!).
They "graciously" said that they'd ship the next DVD in my queue. I made sure to check the availability of Black Like Me before I emailed QuikFliks, and it was again "Available". After they decided it was time to ship the next DVD, it suddenly had another wait.
Because QuikFliks has a policy that they must physically have the DVDs before you can cancel or else they'll charge you (now I know a sign of a questionable company), I wrote to make sure that their theft-related delay would not affect my ability to cancel, since by the time I received the next DVD and returned it, I would likely have been on the plan for over a month and into the next billing cycle. When I mentioned cancelling, their tone changed and they put the blame on me, saying that I should be careful where I mail their movies. I protested, and they said that they would issue a refund as soon as they receive the movies.
I mailed back all movies, and of course they charged me, but then when I tried to get the refund that they promised, they blocked my account and refused to do anything. I disputed it with my credit card company, so I intend to get the money back from them, but since then, I've done some research on QuikFliks and found several customers who've had similar issues (see http://www.dvdrr.com/reviews/QwikFliks.html). Apparently, the company makes a habit of touting movies as "Available" until it comes time to ship.
I'm sure they never even had Black Like Me or many other titles they use to boost their proclaimed inventory. And they intentionally delay shipment and reporting of receipt (if they don't outright "lose" the DVD altogether) because it's in their best interest if you don't get the DVDs back to them before you cancel (and you WILL cancel).
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