OutNow DVD Rental Review

Review of OutNow DVD Rental

WARNING: Complaints about the OutNow/MyMovieStream service are coming in thick and fast. We would urge caution at this point, especially for free triallers.

THE Lovefilm-rivalling DVD Rental service MyMovieStream has rebranded, bulked up and now comes at you head on as a the two-syllabled OutNow.co.uk.

OutNow now boasts a much larger collection of titles, a swish new site and just under 100 Blu Ray titles (putting it behind Lovefilm, Blockbuster DVD Rental and WhyBuyGames but we suspect this will grow fast).

Prices and packages have remained the same as the old MyMovieStream offerings, but if you want to save between 50p - £1 per month, you could try The Sun Movie Club, the Sun newspaper's rebranded version of OutNow.

In the doldrums?

OutNow DVD Rental is well constructed, well designed and jam-packed with a shelf-busting 65000+ catalogue of titles (this equals LoveFilm and includes practically every DVD released in the UK).

What a huge pity then that this once shining beacon of great customer service and satisfied customers appears to be suffering a backlash from more and more users disgruntled with the once golden service.

It's unclear why this once excellent service is in the doldrums at the moment, and indeed our enquiries into the matter have fallen on deaf ears. Time will tell whether they can straighten out their act again.

A reassuring sign that OutNow is taking customer service seriously though, is their new freephone 0800 number for customer support, which they display prominently on the OutNow site. That's something we haven't seen any other DVD rental site do.

High-demand system

We are especially impressed by some of the small innovations employed my OutNow DVD Rental, in particular the special sleeves in which high-demand rental DVD's are sent out, reminding you to watch those ones first.

Of course there is no obligation to do so, but that little reminder is undoubtedly what keeps OutNow delivery of high-demand titles so fast.

While OutNow allows you to send back DVD's in dribs and drabs, you will be prioritised higher for rental DVD's in high demand by sending back the maximum amount of DVD's from your last delivery in one OutNow DVD Rental return mailer.

Victim of its own success?

OutNow's expansive range of DVD rental subscription offers is also impressive, including a series of 2 'limited discs per month' packages which we have found are always great value for money and suit busier people who don't have time to watch films every night of the week.

For students, slackers, dole-dossers or retired millionaires with 50" plasma TVs above the jacuzzi, there are plenty of unlimited DVD rental packages to choose from too, all at competitive prices.

We hope the recent spate of bad reports (in some cases quite disturbing reports) about this service are just a temporary glitch in the machine but our experience here suggests that when a once excellent company dramatically starts racking up negative criticism, something is usually afoot. Either that, or OutNow has become a victim of its own success, with more users stretching a system not quite up to the task.

OutNow get two-thumbs up for:
OutNow's inclusion of trailers for many of their movies, which makes browsing for DVD rental titles an absolute pleasure. The OutNow team also get a pat on the back for their Socialist-inspired idea of sending out high-demand DVDs in special priority sleeves, so you (and other renters) are reminded not to sit on it too long.

Free trial details

	OutNow offer a free trial of 14 days. The free trial is only available on the 4-disc limited and 2-disc and 3-disc unlimited packages. All other packages offer the first month for half price. It's free, so...

Actual User Ratings

Independent Comments

Which? Online has rated MyMovieStream (OutNow's former name) with an overall performance score of 97%. They said that MyMovieStream's turnaround of priority DVDs is 'excellent'. Which? Online Report (April 2007)

User Comments

At a Glance

Our Rating
No. of Titles	65,000 +
Free Trial	14 days
DVDs at once Max / month £4.88 £7.82 Unlimited £12.71 Unlimited £15.65 Unlimited £19.56 Unlimited £24.46

	DVD Types Available:
	Recent Releases		Bollywood
	Popular Choices		TV Series
	Children's & Family		Sports
	World Cinema		Adult Themed
	Game Types Available:
	OutNow does not offer game rentals

Customer Reviews

Add your own review of OutNow's dvd rental service...

Remember, the customer reviews below are subjective (and are not the opinions of ChooseDVDRental.co.uk).

Kate from Keighley writes... 12/3/2008

"I didn't recieve any titles for 6 weeks and I was told that it was because I had only selected new titles. Surely thats the whole point?? I rang to cancel my account and was assured that no further payments would be taken, but I've looked at my bank account today and sure enough they've taken money out. Do not join this rental service, they are rubbish!!"

Matt from Warrington writes... 10/29/2008

"Outnow are the worst company that I have ever dealt with. they ignore your e-mails and when you contact them by phone ther customer service reps and managers are very rude, should at you and are generally not willing to help you in anyway. AVOID THIS COMPANY LIKE TEH PLAGUE - IF YOU DONT AVOID THEM I GUARENTEE THAT YOU WILL REGRET IT"

Elaine from Wales writes... 10/14/2008

"Avoid, terrible service, no new films sent out in the 7 weeks i've been with them. I was told to put old stuff on my list as I was more likely to receive them.Very poor and you won't get to see any new releases which I thought was the point of a DVD service."

Michael from London writes... 10/2/2008

"An absolute disgrace! Their "Customer Service" (what a joke) is the worst I have ever experienced. You have been warned."

david from dorchester writes... 9/15/2008

"I have used various dvd rental companies from time to time and I really found these to be the slowest. They flag up when the disc has been returned, but despite this 2 days later they still haven’t put a new disc in the post. I went for the unlimited 2 disc option and would only ever get 2 discs a week maximum! Not really unlimited. Despite having over 40 discs in my list and 10 priority titles I didn't received any priority titles in the first month. I tried contacting customer services by email but didn't get a response."

A Stevens from HULL writes... 9/13/2008

"I joined last Sunday7/9/08 and today is 13/9/08 and todate I have recived nothing, now I signed up for pay 1 month and get 2 as a returning customer, but as I have said I recived nothing though they sent me a e-mail saying they had posted 2 on Wednesday 9th, checking my credit card I find they took 2 payments and I cannot get through to them, the the freephone number comes up no one is here and replies to e-mails brings nothing, be very carefull. you been warned."

paul stephens-warburton from abergavenny writes... 9/12/2008

"be very carefully with them as even after you cancel your membership there still take money and refuse to return it"

james wilson from london writes... 9/12/2008

"this is the second time i have been with them and thay are a joke. now they are blaming the post office over the last week that the mail is slow coming in but okay going out. in other words buys them a few more days to screw the customers out of money. once they take your money after the trial they dont give a crap about you. this company changed its name from my moviestream to outnow in the last months so they could con you under a new name. avoid like the plague."

Tina from Plymouth writes... 9/10/2008

"Absolutely appalling service-availability is dreadful for anything half-decent."

Karen Riley from Waterlooville writes... 9/2/2008

"I Have been with MOviestream/Outnow dvd rental for a year But this weekend they took £73.00 out of my account and I can't get hold of them There phone lines are closed and they havent replied to my e-mail. So am very worried and would warn anyone not to give them there card details. "

John Reed from Birmingham writes... 8/29/2008

"Avoid. Joined 2 weeks ago. Found the turnaround time to be very slow. Despite first-class mail each return takes at least 3 days to register. This means you never get more than 2 DVD a week. Now awaiting next 2 and being told by customer services that none of the movies on my list are available (26 in total!)"

Kiran Sidhar from Hounslow writes... 8/29/2008

"This company is advertising films for rental that they havent even bought. If you phone their customer services they will offer you excuses, blame, accuse and bully you into accepting that it is not their fault. I have recently reported this company to trading standards office. Anyone who has an issued should take some time to raise it with their local trading standards. The more people report this company the sooner they will have to sort out their business practises. As a consumer it is your duty not simply to complain but to raise issue with appropriate authorises so that unscrupulous businesses don’t carry on offering a shoddy service. Consumer direct and your local trading standards can be easily found by doing web search."

simon jones from Wirral writes... 8/28/2008

"Absolute Garbage. New releases about 1 months later and a website that has links that lead you to "No matches found". You best not hope that the rubbish you are forced to select doesn't get lost in the post. They dont respond to your emails, and the call centre cant handle more than one call at a time. But hey. It is backed by "the sun""