Customers of Netflix have been warned to check their direct debits to see if they have been hit with an unexpected rise in charges.
Some viewers have complained of being upgraded from a standard plan to a premium subscription unknowingly, meaning their monthly fee has gone up.
The streaming service recently hiked its subscription costs, increasing the price of the basic and standard plans by £1 for new and existing customers.
The basic plan, which allows subscribers to watch one screen at a time in standard definition, now costs £6.99 per month, while the standard plan, which offers HD viewing, two simultaneous streams and two devices to register for downloads, is priced at £10.99.
The cost of the premium plan, which allows subscribers to stream on four screens at the same time in HD and Ultra HD, has gone up by £2 and now costs £15.99 per month.
Not so premium
Some customers said they had been charged for the premium plan despite not signing up for it, and had noticed the charge in their latest monthly bill.
Money saving expert Lynn Beattie, known as Mrs Mummypenny, said the issue is a “worrying concern” after some of her followers complained they were being charged too much.
Here is my latest article for The Mirror. Make sure you check your Netflix account settings!! Plus other bills to check you are getting what you signed up for. https://t.co/3ePZBh1tPx
— Lynn Beattie (@MrsMummypennyUK) May 5, 2022
Writing in the Mirror, she said: ““Some of my followers say they were checking their Netflix accounts only to discover that they had been moved from cheaper basic and standard plans over to the premium plan.
“Some people said they were expecting to be paying (with recent price increases) either £6.99 or £10.99 per month but were actually paying £15.99.
“I shared this on my Facebook page and immediately got messages from followers upon checking that they had been unknowingly paying too much.”
Unexpected charge?
In a statement, the streaming giant said: “In order for a Netflix subscription plan change to happen, it must be confirmed by a person on the account. Netflix does not update a member’s plan without their explicit approval
“Any member who has experienced an unexpected charge should change their password and get in touch with Customer Service so they can investigate the issue further.
“To learn how you can keep your account secure, please visit the Netflix Help Centre.”
Recently the company, which enjoyed a number of lockdown hits including Tiger King and The Queen’s Gambit, announced it will be further rolling out a testing feature which charges account sharers a higher price in an effort to boost numbers and cut down on password sharing.
The move came as the streaming giant suffered its first subscriber loss in more than a decade, amid concerns that the pioneering streaming service may have already seen its best days.
Log into your account to check your tarrif on the Netflix website.
Conversation