Menu
CB Games Gamefly Unauthorized billing
Gamefly

Gamefly review: Unauthorized billing 16

G
Author of the review
3:48 am EST
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Featured review
This review was chosen algorithmically as the most valued customer feedback.

I first signed up with GameFly with their promotion at the end of '08 since I figured if it was anything like Netflix, it'd be a lot cheaper than renting games from Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. Not only does it take over a week to receive a game from the point when I receive the 'we've shipped you...' e-mail, but they do not respond to their e-mails.

They sent me a game that was WAAAAAAY down on my 'GameQ' list. I had chosen a list of games with high/medium availability and put them at the top of the list since I was expecting company. They sent me a game at the bottom of my list. I thought 'Okay, at least something actually arrived.' Well, to my disappointment, the game wouldn't play. Take one look at the disc and you'd see why. The game was covered in food, finger prints, and deep scratches. I sent them an e-mail through their website saying the game was damaged. At that point I was also frustrated and upset that they were sending games from Texas with a warehouse in California (I live in Washington so logically, shipping from CA makes the most sense) and they charged me for a game they didn't inspect on shipping.

So it takes a week for the game to arrive, 3 days for the game to ship back, and (on average) 5-7 days for them to respond once the game is received back to their warehouse. Do the math, that's 15-17 days of processing per month. So, unless you keep the game for 15+ days, it's not beneficial to keep an account with them. I asked in my e-mail about the defective disk to also cancel the account. They waited 2 hours after I received an e-mail saying 'we've just shipped...' to tell me that they could not cancel my account since they shipped a new disc?!

Sooooo, I sent the both discs back (defective AND the replacement to the defective). Then they said they didn't receive it and charged my account $32.46...and now I see they charged me again and I have a new game in my mailbox.

So let's recap:

I received my first game after being charged the promotional $7.52. A month later I was charged $17.26 (on 2/2) and then on 2/28 I was charged for the DEFECTIVE game I sent back for $32.46. Yeah now, I have another charge for $13.23 for my next month's charge (3/2). I've sent e-mail after e-mail requesting that the $32.46 be refunded since 2/28.

Does anyone else notice that the monthly fee went from $17.26 to $13.23? Are they just charging whatever they feel like? Also, how can someone charge $32.46 for a game that was reported defective and obviously used?

Resolved

The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.

More Gamefly reviews & complaints

Gamefly - Scam charges 2
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Gamefly - Fraudulent business practices
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Gamefly - Horrible company
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Gamefly - SLOWEST SHIPPING EVER
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
Gamefly - false advertising horrible customer service 1
Resolved
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
16 comments
TheldrakisCS
TheldrakisCS
, US
Sep 02, 2016 11:21 am EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

@ichigo that's game fly for you.

I only pay $5 after $15 for my membership at gamestop. For a year with game fly it's $25/1month so that's $300 per year. I posted earlier that game fly has hidden fees they don't tell you upfront when they advertise on TV. Though why would they? When you sign up they should tell you the prices if they truly are cheaper than retail.
Word of advice just do retail. You might get deprecated value for trade in but if it's same day or a good cashier you might get full value of purchase or allowed to exchange it for little to no fee(depends on store though. I been extremely lucky).

I
I
IchigoX
, US
Aug 26, 2016 1:43 am EDT

I recently was billed for my Gamefly account and little did I know they had billed me twice. Now I pay 24.56 a month and refused to let this slip past me. The first thing I did was called my Bank and made sure it wasn't something on their end. Of course Wells Fargo said that their were two payments made within the same week for the same amount. So they provided me with a provisional credit. I called Gamefly after that just to find out that they only have record of one payment made. So I canceled my service even after being offered a free month of service because they are just like Netflix, they are cheap so they can take more money from under your nose without realizing it. I will NEVER EVER allow Gamefly to profit off of me again. Gamefly and Netflix are like the North Koreans of this world. Have a good day everyone and good luck Gamefly customers!

P
P
Phantom7707
, US
Nov 19, 2011 2:20 pm EST

This company is a waste of time. Takes up to a week to process and ship a new game and they dont have your NEW games in stock. They will ship a old game and say "low" availability for the new ones. I have had 5 new games on my que for over a month now and have gotten none of them. Blockbuster online at least tells you it will be a month for the new titles. Honesty is the best policy.

R
R
Rill
, US
Jan 18, 2010 12:16 pm EST

I returned that video game (Assassin's Creed), unopened and unused the same day that I canceled the account. If it was lost in the mail or GameFly have some employees with sticky-fingers, then it doesn't seem fair to charge me because I did everything I was supposed to do. It is especially unfair that GameFly charged me the price of a new game when it was almost certainly used.

T
T
Thicane
, US
Aug 30, 2012 10:07 am EDT

They bought D2D, now my D2D games, that I paid for, won’t activate. Also I can’t DL them. Gamefly is a rip-off. I’m not the only one they screwed.

H
H
Harryplopper
, US
Sep 09, 2011 4:39 pm EDT

Gamefly has been very slow about receiving games mailed to them. The last game I sent back went in the post office early Saturday. Gamefly did not mail me a game until the following Friday. That's 5 mailing days. Netflix usually does it in 1-2 days. I'm canceling this waste of money.

J
J
jerky
, US
Sep 06, 2011 5:16 pm EDT

About a year ago Gamefly billed for another month after I had canceled my account. I had the charge removed. Tried to re-join yesterday, NOT ALLOWED! Apparently ANY billing dispute(even if it's their fault) means they ban you from ever joining up again. GREAT customer service/attitude!

G
G
gamerinok
Tulsa, US
Aug 29, 2011 11:00 pm EDT

They take forever to mail a game. Their excuse is that it takes up to a week before a shipping issue can be addressed, but the membership is monthly. Therefore half of your paid up time is wasted on shipping one game. A REAL RIPOFF.

N
N
Nobroke
, US
Apr 30, 2010 9:18 pm EDT

The games availability needs to change. After several months of waiting on games at the top of my list...I would have already brought the games that I really wanted to play. Therefore there will be no reason to continue paying for this service.

TheldrakisCS
TheldrakisCS
, US
Jul 15, 2012 12:37 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

i have noticed a few things on their webpage.
1. monthly membership not listed anywhere nor is how much it is to buy the game you rented and such.
2. if you do the math with what you see some games they charge [this is from the store section] $65 for a game on top of the $15-$25 per month. that totals $70 -$90 per monthand lets add a stratigyguide [some need one] thats about $20. that means you pay $90-110 with gamefly.
now lets take gamestop for example. i only pay $15 per year thats right 15 usd for a full year with them. and i pay $60-70 for a single game that i know is good. sometimes its 70 for a new game. a guide is $20. oh wait i have the member discount wich is 20% off the guide with the new game so i pay 10 usd[note this is only my experience i may have had extra discounts i did not know of]. lets see thats oh look thats $70-80 usd per game.
now lets say you buy 10 games and guides.
gamefly:$25+(10x70)+(10x20)=$925 per month
gamestop:$15+(10x70)+(10x10)=$815 per year/12=about $68 per month im paying not using gamefly.

id say knowing the game you want and buying it right away from playntrade, or gamestop is a good idea.
since the post also mentions returns here is the deal with gamestop. each week it is out of store it is - $10 if its new but opened. mind you if you get a staff that is great you might be able to trade it in for full price if it is the same day you bought it. though i was lucky. btw the origenal packaging issue i havent had. to me the packaging is the box not wraping the store puts on it.[though i never had that anymore unless i get it from the shipping box brand new.]

TheldrakisCS
TheldrakisCS
, US
Jul 15, 2012 12:14 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

It sounds like you had a glitch in your order. i one time was ripped off by eb games. i went to the corporate hq via mail and i not only got an appology, but also my money back, the staff fired from that store, the product they claimed they sold me, the one they sold me i was allowed to keep, and a gift card. btw gamestop and eb games are the same parent company. just because you specificaly had a bad apple doesnt mean everyone will.

S
S
Sidphx
Phx, US
May 18, 2012 7:20 pm EDT
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

I recently had ordered a game and it never showed up. After waiting five days for it I reported it lost and they said I would have to wait seven days before it would be considered lost even though every game I had ordered before came in three days. After the seventh day they said that they would send me a replacement or the next available title in my queue but that I should send back to them my original [lost] disk when it arrives, as surely it will? They then waited until the next day to send the replacement. I have been a Netflix customer for nine years and in all that time I had two lost videos which they immediately replaced. I have been a Gamefly customer for less than three months...this was my fifth title rental. After reading online reviews I truly believe that they never sent out the 'lost' game in the first place. I fear what will happen when I cancel my membership.

R
R
rumble2007
, US
Jan 23, 2012 6:05 pm EST

i am in the same boat as u am about to cancel and laugh if they try to charge me

A
A
angel very madddd
Hot Springs, US
Dec 15, 2009 6:22 am EST

i was charged 8.95 for it and didnt even sign up. and then the next month they charged me 17.95 and i never ordered any games and never made a list i have sent three emails and called but when you call you can not get a person to answer it is a recording and then hangs up thats it.

W
W
whome
Miami, US
Aug 03, 2009 12:16 pm EDT

I've had only troubles with GameFly. They are rude and hard to contact. They reopen your account after you close it and then claim you didn't close it; so they can re-charge you. Even to cancel your account; it is like you have to say it twice to get it truly cancelled. Like they are trying to trick you. I worked with my credit card company; had my card cancelled and then filed a dispute. I got my refund; as I should have. I have never worked with GameFly again. I notice that on certain sites; GameFly shows up as a popup and tries to sign you back up. They are rip-off artists. Avoid at all costs. In the end; it isn't really cheaper. That is why rental places are going the same route. No late fees; pay monthly. It is cause they want constant income coming in but could care a less about their customers.

M
M
Meyer
New York, US
Mar 05, 2009 9:58 am EST

That's really unfortunate. I've had Gamefly forever and they work great for me. I'm a pretty serious game enthusiast and I honestly couldn't afford to play without Gamefly. They've saved me a fortune, particularly these days now that money's a more precious commodity. I don't know if did actually cancel your account but they do have a customer service phone number you can use [protected]). I've always found their CS helpful, be it via email or phone.

From what you describe of your shipping situation it sounds like there was some kind of a problem because that's not normal based on my years with them. I suspect there was an error or glitch in the system somewhere. As for damaged discs I'm frankly surprised. I've found their quality control to be of the highest order. Amazingly so really. Far superior to any of the brick and morter rental outfits. You just had an all around exceptional experience. It sucks because it is so far removed from what the service actually offers.

As for the game queue, there is a little bit of a learning curve involved to get it to work to your advantage but no more than ten minutes of your time to really get into and get the hang of. Basically, GF ships games based on their availability and if a game on your queue isn't available in the warehouse that's closest to you then it will ship from another. It also means that if you've got your queue loaded up with a bunch of games and #1 is low availability and #7 is high, you're going to get #7. The trick is to log in often and tweak your game queue. For me, I only ever keep about 6 or 7 games in there at a time and only ones I'm really itching to play so I always end up with something I want. If you want more of a crap shoot then load it up. The bottom line is, game availability changes daily and the more proactive you are about your queue the better your results will be.

I don't know what to make of your billing issues. You should really get on the phone to them and get this sorted out. In all my time with Gamefly my billing has been straight forward and consistent. It really makes me think there was some major technical malfunction somewhere.

Anyway, best of luck to you. I hope you get it sorted out. I can tell you for a fact that it's worth it.