MoviePass has been hit with a lawsuit from subscribers alleging it's a 'bait and switch' scheme
- Two MoviePass subscribers filed a lawsuit alleging the company engaged in a "deceptive and unfair bait-and-switch scheme."
- Lawrence Weinberger and his wife Laurie, of Sea Cliff, New York, each subscribed to annual memberships in March 2018, costing them both $105.35, to see "any movie" in "any theater" on "any day," once a day.
- But the two allege they were only able to see three movies over a 10-month span due to the app constantly saying no movies were available in their area.
On Friday, two MoviePass subscribers filed a class-action lawsuit alleging they were only able to see three movies over 10 months due to restrictions on the movie-ticket subscription app.
Lawrence Weinberger and his wife Laurie, of Sea Cliff, New York, each subscribed to annual memberships in March 2018, costing them both $105.35, according to the lawsuit (via Variety), with the promise they could see "any movie" in "any theater" on "any day," once a day. But the suit alleges that when the Weinbergers checked for showtimes on the app, often it said that no showtimes were available in their area.
The suit alleges MoviePass refused to provide a prorated refund, and that the company engaged in a "deceptive and unfair bait-and-switch scheme."
MoviePass was not immediately available to comment to Business Insider.
MoviePass is not the only movie-ticket subscription company to be hit with a "bait-and-switch" lawsuit. In November, two subscribers of MoviePass competitor Sinemia filed a suit over a $1.80 "processing fee" introduced to subscribers, even those who had already prepaid for a yearly subscription.
"It lures consumers in by convincing them to purchase a purportedly cheaper movie subscription, and then adds undisclosed fees that make such purchases no bargain at all," the lawsuit against Sinemia claimed. "Sinemia fleeces consumers with an undisclosed, unexpected, and not-bargained-for processing fee each time a plan subscriber goes to the movies using Sinemia's service."
MoviePass has also faced class-actions lawsuits from its shareholders. In August 2018, shareholders in two lawsuits claimed MoviePass' parent company, Helios and Matheson Analytics, misstated its finances in press releases when it said MoviePass was a "sustainable" business model.
This new suit comes as MoviePass attempts to regain public trust, following last year when, according to a study done in January, 58% of MoviePass users canceled their subscriptions.