ZML.com review: deceptive practices 67

Just like everyone else, I had paid for the initial day and was charged the $29 before I had a chance to cancel the service. Trying to make the best of my mistake, I started downloading movies. Some Internet research revealed that a paid ZML account allows 200 movie downloads per month. In one month, I downloaded somewhere around 50 movies. I did check the billing information on the site, and planned to cancel the account the day before the next billing date... however, I failed to compensate for an apparent difference in time zones. I was billed again for a second month recently, so once again I made use of the service... until tonight. Is anyone else having trouble accessing the site?

ZML.com seems to be down as of the afternoon of 12/10/09.

I was charged two times for the amount of 39.o0 each and I did not sign up for this service(s0.

Little mister Cocala, you think this is funny? International fraud is no laughing matter, especially when money is transacted under false pretenses to overseas. Don't think you can't be excluded from being one of the suspects.

ZML is a scam service and has several different names it uses to disguise itself. It's operations is overseas and has a banking service in Limassol CY or Limassol Cyprus. This is a matter of the FBI to investigate since it involves international fraud.

i was looking for a movie online, and reportedly, the ZML site had it, but i had to sign up for the trial to get it. i thought it was decent, but when i finished signing up, they didn't even have the movie i was looking for. there are no clear instructions on the site about how to cancel your account, so as i was clicking around, i clicked the "upgrade account" button, figuring it would take you to a screen where you could edit your account. instead of even confirming that my information was correct and i wanted to upgrade, they just upgraded my account. this all happened within minutes of me signing up. when i e-mailed customer support about this issue they sent me the following message:

Hello,

You got charged 24 hours after you had signed up for the ZML service. In the Activate Your Account section you could read the following notice: "In 24 hours the one day trial membership will be extended automatically at the $39.90 membership fee per month". Please see the screenshot attached. Since you didn't cancel the subscription, you were billed.

You are now entitled to download 200 movies in any format you want. If you calculate the cost of each movie included in your membership packet, you'll see that it costs 19 cents only. 39.90/200=0.19 You won't find such a large movie collection at a super low price anywhere else.

Once you have downloaded movies, they are yours to keep forever. There's no limit to how long you're allowed to store downloads on your computer. You can watch them on your PC, DVD and DivX player, PDA or iPod as many times as you want, whenever and wherever you want.

Do you really want your ZML account to be cancelled? We hope you will give it a try at least for this month.

I emailed them back to tell them i wanted my account cancelled, and i have yet to get a response. they are lying and manipulative. their website is misleading. they are fraudulent. i was only signed up for maybe 0 minutes before wanting to cancel my account, yet they said i had been a member for 24 hours. even as i'm typing this, i still have not been a member for 24 hours, yet my account got charged nearly $40 for NOTHING.

Yep.. and they like to hack other websites and place Phishing schemes on their servers to get hits / link referrals. these guys are a bunch of ###-clowns..don't give them any money.

This is rather amusing. While I do feel bad for the few bumbling folks or kids who somehow just don't seem to know better...the ones threatening CLASS ACTION suits and FBI are cracking me up! Could you imagine the phone call? 'Hi, yes I'd like to report a crime - an illegal download site scammed me out of my money that I paid to illegally download a movie I really wanted to see.'

Ha, ha. People - you aren't entitled - you are lucky the authorities aren't pursuing you and throwing your butts' in jail! Movies aren't public programming. They cost a lot of money to make, so you deserve being scammed for this nonsense.

ZML are pretty good, I paid the $39.00 australian dolars and I have so far downloaded MANY great new releases that aren't even on DVD over here yet...now when I compare the price of ZML monthly membership to walking into our Video shop down town it works out a hell of alot cheaper considering at $6.50 for a new release DVD at the shop...$39.00 only gets you six movies at the Video shop...but ZML enables me to get as many as my little heart desires for only $39.00 now thats awsome...think about it, ...calculate it and you will realise your'e better off with ZML...

I also was scammed. I was told that I would recieve a free 24 hr. access to their downloads and for a ONE TIME fee of $29.00 I would be upgraded to premium and I would gain access to as many movie downloads as I wished which was in May of this year. I was recently robbed of my laptop computer from my home and did all of my banking on-line and discovered when I acquired a new laptop that not only was I charged what I thought was only going to be a one time fee of $29.00 that I was being charged every month since. I think I will do what another disatisfied customer did and that's to download as many movies that I can in a short period of time before I cancel my subscription (If I can). I hope that justice prevails for these crooks & I too will see to it that the Internet Crime Complaint Center & The Federal Trade Commission gets involved & I will also spread the word to as many people as I can. SHAME ON YOU ZML

I did not even try this internet service and there is a charge on my card for $39.90 - and this is the card I use for only gas charges. So either someone fraudulantly used my card to try to download movies (still not sure how they got my # since it's always on me and locked up when it's not and I have 2 firewalls and internet security software) OR someone transposed #'s and my card was accidently used. I can't even download movies - I have satellite service, and one movie would put me over the fair access policy threshold and I wouldn't be able to even browse for 24 hours. SO - now trying to figure out, without having my account closed and a new one opened, to get my credit company to read all the fraud online about them, remove the charge and block them. And why aren't they shut down by now if there is this much fraud going on with them? What is this world coming to?

I have never used the site or been to it until i was charged 39.90. I have filed a complaint with my bank and will be filling out the fraudulent charge paper work and pressing charges if asked. I have no idea how they received my card info but they have it.

I was also charged the $39.90 on my Visa without my authorization. I was ok with it as I intended to pay the full price to sign up again anyway. This is my second subscription. I had no problems the first time. NOW I cannot download an entire movie...all I get is the first few minutes and then it is over. I have uninstalled the codec and reinstalled that many times. Some movies I have tried to download as many as six times. I am very frustrated. I do not mind the charges if I can get what I am paying for. Since I am not getting my movies I will contact the authorities also. Perhaps we should all consider a class action suite. Maybe then ZML will either pay attention and operate their business correctly or give us back our money.

they charged 39.90 to my account and it hasn't even been 12 hours. Same scam $.99 a download, with 10 free... then they hit you with the fee.

My brother in-law signed up and we have both been able to login at the same time from several different computers and have downloaded a total of 78 movies this past month, sometime the downloads are slow but only at peak hours, overall its well worth the 39.90 if you have the resources to take advantage of it.

Gee what a surprise -- wanting to get something for nothing (or close enough -- something worth more for less) and you wind up *giving* something for nothing.
Remember the old line, "you can't cheat an honest man."
If you all hadn't been greedily trying to get something for less than it's worth in the market, you wouldn't have been scammed.
And pointing out that "everybody else does it" just makes it worse. Remember when you were a kid and used that excuse, how your Mom used to ask "if all your friends jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?" She was right then, and she's right now.
ZERO sympathy.

That said, the zml.com firm are clearly ### too.

same crap happened to me, tow days ago, .99 trial turned out they charged me 39.90 put my acc. in neg, so i got charged $25.00 overdraft, then they charged .68 for currancy exchange and i got anather 25.00 fee the $1.00 trial turned into almost $90 frikkin dollars and i have sent them a e-mail canceled my account yesterday, and haven't heard anything at all, i am noe trying to find a phone number to the company or something, if anyone can help i would appreciate it, just e-mail it to me at buckley48708@yahoo.com and for the subject, put zml phone number thanks so much to anyone who can help me john

I also was charged $39.90 after the first 24hrs of signing up for a $0.99 1 day trail period, when I checked my credit card account I found the unauthorized charge. I liked the service and their concept of movie download, which I had no problem getting movies through my cable service. I was prepared to upgrade to the premium account status and that is when I found out they already had charged me. So emailed them and said if the 39.90 charge was for the premium account status then I'll keep it but if it is more then that I want a refund and cxl my account. The next day I received an email from ZML, they said the 39.90 was a hold on my account towards future movie downloads. And they would release the hold which will drop off in 2 business days and cxl my account. This did happen as the said, but I felt they could give a better explaination of how their proceedures work (just plainly tell people upfront what your going to do). I believe if they had better business practices they would be the best movie download website on the net. Lastly stop being so greedy give a affordable month charge with a limit of downloads with access to all movies, and do what you say on your website, you'll have less complaints and more long time customers. I hope this helps all. Bryan Harvey, Las Vegas, NV

Same here... Charged 27 Euros for the .99 FREE 1 day trial

I've been taken too! They charged me the $39.90 fee. It will be reported to the Better Business Bureau as well as the Internet Crime Complaint Center. The Federal Trade Commission can also step in. I will blog the FRAUD practices that ZML practices in as many places that I can.

Yes it also happened to me. ZML replied to my query pointing out that in their 'acceptance' page it states that $39 will be charged if you dont cancel within 24 hrs.
they pointed out that their servoice is good value.
Retrospectively I now agree !
Determined to get good value for money I have downloaded 21films in last 10 days and they are excellent.
That said I have cancelled any future payments as I believe they do intentionally decieve customers initially.

Ditto! Charged $39.90 even though I canceled the service within 1 hour of trying the $1 "trial". The movie was taking forever to download, so I aborted the download and then canceled the service. When I got my bill there was a $39.90 charge. I have disputed the charge with my credit card company and emailed the company again.

They did that to me, charged me $39.90, and it's almost impossible to contact them

This happened to me too.But I was charged $39.90 instead of $29.90.
This was on Aug. 19th 2009 and I have not heard from them at all after 3 emails.
I am going to report them to the Better Bussiness Bureau and the police for internet fraud.

Nothing but problems with ZML. It is so technically difficult to use this service, that you feel like you are lost in a labrinth. If it is not one thing, it's another.

zml is fraud

this happend to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeee alsooooooooooooo

ZML is a scam! They only give you 24 hours to cancel before charging
$29.90.