BigPond Movies

J from Melbourne, 3 September, 2009

BigPond has a big library and quick deliveries, am I glad I moved to these guys from webflix. I have had one scratched disc this year, so theyre not perfect but not bad either.

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Kate from Sydney, 1 September, 2009

We're on an 8 per mth plan. We were originally pretty happy with this but after a few months, everything is going wrong. BP is sending scratched DVDs so often we don't bother to report it any more (just miss 10 minutes of every movie). They tell you they've sent you a movie from your MyQ, but they send a random DVD you've never heard of. They note that you've returned DVDs but don't send replacements. The order in which they send DVDs is unfathomable. All in all, it means we don't get our 8 DVDs for the month. Really ready to quit.

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Mark from Perth, 19 August, 2009

Joined Bigpond movies after being slugged $50.00 for dvds overdue from video store by 3 days. Like the fact that you can pick your movies on line and they are so easy to return. Hate the MyQ 'cos they never send the dvds according to whats available next on it. I have 40 dvds on my q but I only seem to get sent movies way down the q. Recent releases seem to be a long way off from being sent. I had Ink heart on a wait list and now it is in myq for a short wait. The service is really only good if you are happy just getting any movie! I also have had a couple of scratched dvds which are not fun to watch.

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Pirjo from Lauceston, 17 July, 2009

All in all BP are ok - been with them 2 years on no contract and they have been satisfactory - not bad enough to leave and there is really no better priced alternative:
+++'s
1. Fast delivery and turnaround
2. Plans are good value and they do have a good range 3. New films are released quite fast and you can pre-order the up coming releases.
---'s
1. Crap website - not very fast and hard to navigate. Difficult to recall what you have and have not already booked out in the past. Generally a bad design and too much artwork to be efficant. Always waiting for the server!

2. Scratched DVD's - about 1 in 2 cause the player to jump. The more popular the title, the more frequently you'll get a jump

3. Long waits for popular DVD's and there is no real way of knowing where you are in the queue for that DVD - if there is such a thing

4. Release range for TV shows is soooooo badly behind the DVD releases in the shops.

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Leigh from Melbourne, 22 June, 2009

We have been with Bigpond dvd rentals for 2 years now and have had intermittent problems with them sending dvd's from the bottom of the queue. On the whole we have been very happy with the service until about 6 months ago when all new releases began to be on 'long' or 'short' wait. So we found ourselves sneaking off to the video shop to rent the odd 'new release'.Then recently I received my 20-22nd choice, even though there were seven 'now available' dvd's ahead of them. When I complained to Bigpond I was told that even if dvd's were 'now' available, they might not be available in my state! What the #$@$! I suggested they should invest in buying some more dvd's or what was the point of renting dvd's from them when all I was getting was dvd's that were cheaper at my video shop because they were now weeklies. Needless to say Bigpond haven't returned my calls or sent me anything past my 20th selection! Looks like I'll be looking around for somewhere else to rent from.

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Paul from Newcastle, 15 May, 2009

I have posted a review about Big Pond last year and am still using their service today[as well as Quickflix]. Big Pond have improved in general, and seem to be taking more notice of customer complaints.They have a big range of titles[including less mainstream ones],improved delivery times,reasonable prices and less problems with faulty discs.I have tried several sites,and they all have common problems[not enough new releases,scratches-which usually can be fixed by cleaning the disc yourself,etc].Big Pond have got better,and still beats all the travelling to video stores and their hassles.Well recommended now.

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Anonymous, 21 April, 2009

We have been with Bigbond for a number of years and found them good. We always got movies quickly and were never damaged. In the last few months however we have not received DVDs which had supposedly been sent to us, received DVDs never on our queue or DVDs at the bottom of our queue. Sometime this resulted in us paying for DVDs which we never received. Customer service were terrible, pretty much telling us bad luck check with Australia Post! After the bad customer service we moved to Quickflix!

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Angry, 8 April, 2009

Started Bigpond dvd for a month or two and started receiving dvds that were too scratched to be played or ones that gets stuck at multiple points where I have to fastforward several times in a sitting or ones that can't be fastforward as sson as it gets stuck.

I have made a complaint via the comment box on the 'report damaged dvd' feature and my very next dvd came broken in three pieces but I gave them the benefit of the doubt that it wasn't deliberate after receiving criticism.

The number of damaged dvds I recieve is getting to the point of frustration and not getting what I paid for which is to have a enjoyable smooth movie experience!

I am currently reading reviews and looking for online dvd rental that does not have the significant and severe issues of damaged dvds as Bigpond has!

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Al, 30 March, 2009

Good service, though you don't always get the latest releases as quick as youd like. Much better value than a shop though. Once you try you'll never go back.

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Jean from NQ, 26 January, 2009

I have just had two movies sent that both would not play through. This isn't the first time. I am not paying for rental DVDs that I can't even get to play the full length. DVDs need to be checked and cleaned. I am paying for rubbish.

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Jim from QLD, 23 November, 2008

I've had no probs with Bigpond, like ths site, quick delivery, etc. And I get their cable, so I save on my DVD bill. Definitely recommend to anyone.

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Rick from Sydney, 28 September, 2008

Bigpond's search engine is by far the WORST on the web; they clearly want to control and restrict their customers' choices by forcing them to select from their list of recommended titles rather than letting them find the ones they want. Similarly the online feedback section appears to have been deliberately designed to be difficult to use to discourage airing of complaints. Also if you add more than 10 titles to your queue, Bigpond will send send you the bottom half of your list first. Wish there were more competition in this business.

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Paul from Newcastle, 13 August, 2008

I have tried four of the seven sites listed, and have used Big Pond Movies for about a year and find them to be quite good. I would agree with the main review given and also some of the complaints by customers. Big Pond falls down on detail mainly-scratched and broken discs, lost discs, fair turn-around and service. Could be better[I prefer QuickFlix, which I also use].

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Amber from Melbourne, 8 July, 2008

Don't know for service etc as I am just about to start free trial...thanks to Gary for code word for six week trial. It is still valid..will add more when I get into the free trial...otherwise Ill switch. Great Website thanks for the help.

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Greg from QLD, 3 March, 2008

WAS EXCELLENT IN EVERY WAY !!!
CANCELLED MEMBERSHIP WHEN BIGPOND WHEN THEY CHANGED THE LAYOUT OF THEIR WEBSITE-----ITS IMPOSSIBLE TO USE NOW----NO THUMBNAIL PICTURES ON EACH TITLE ANYMORE !!!
Its like being in a cheap video store with the dvd's stacked with the names only visible. And no sub-genres.

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James from Brisbane, 20 February, 2008

BigPond Didn't give a refund for overcharging and the first two DVD's they sent were scratched. Quickflix is by far the better choice!!!

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Nicky from Adelaide, January 13, 2008

Beware of these guys!

I was only one week into my free trial and I decided to change my plan to a higher one. Then I noticed that BigPond had charged $36 to my account when I was still in the trial period. I rang them up and they advised me that my trial period ended early because I had changed plans during the free period. I asked to go back on the previous plan I was on but they said that they could not put me back on the free trial again! I got one week of free DVDs when it's supposed to be 1 mth!!! I said to them that it's not a very good customer service and hasn't made a good impression on me as a new customer but they didn't care. I've cancelled my account now and am joining up to Quickflix!!!!

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Garry from Melbourne, December 2, 2007

I'm about to sign up for a trial. Mainly because I'm a bigpond customer who has recently had Bigpond's billing system changed and bigpond sent out an offer for the trouble.
The offer 4 discs at a time and unlimited discs for the 6 weeks.
The offer code is 6weekfree01
Stargate season 1 to 10 should keep them busy for starters ;)

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James from Sydney, November 16, 2007

I had a lot of problems with customer service, particularly lost dvd. There are up to 6 dvd that were returned, but bigpond claims they never received. Once these were mark as lost, I was charged for each one of them. Customer service was very poor. I ve stopped y plan. Not recommended.

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Lesley from Tasmania, November 9, 2007

I signed up 3 days ago and still have not seen the movies marked as sent I phoned them and they say they have site problems also said supervisor would not even look at my problem till I had 20 movies in my Q !
nowhere does it state you have to have this I think its Bigpond making it up as they go along .....very bad service

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Malcolm from Holbrook, November 2 , 2007

Good library, excellent delivery and return system, but Bigpond's website is terrible - very slow to download, so each time I need to update my list of movies it takes typically an hour or so... once I needed to suspend my membership while away from home for a month, and another time a broken DVD arrived and was replaced quickly, no problems at all with service.

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Susan from Woy Woy, November 2 , 2007

I decided to sign up for the one-month free trial after looking up their catalogue for the TV shows that I could not get at local video stores.
The catalogue looked great and the price as a Big Pond customer signing up for 12 months okay. Three days later I am still waiting for my registration to be confirmed. I called the helpline three times the day I tried to sign up and I'm not looking forward to calling them again. Rude, impatient, condescending. Maybe it's not a happy workplace. On the last call I was told there was a problem in their system and another email would be sent within two days. Still waiting. I'm glad I found this site. Thanks for the previous comments, very informative. I now have reservations about signing a twelve month contract.

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Maria from Adelaide, October 29, 2007

Joined on the old plan which I am happy with. No problems with receiving discs... sometime I have to personally request disc that have been on order for months.
The design of Bigpond's website is not that good, its so slow to download especially if you have dialup.. puts you off looking for DVD.s

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Steve from NSW, March 17, 2006

Great site, laid out well. I couldn't afford to do more than a couple of months and had problems getting some of the DVD's at times. Also, one film had dialogue and visuals out of synch and they refused to send another. They also overcharged me one month. The service on the phone - although they were efficient - was a bit abrupt and while they did say they'd give me refund, they were a little rude about it. Also couldn't get my top pick, even though it was on my list for 3 months!!! Wouldn't go back there, looking at other sites here.

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Mark from Sydney, February 14, 2006

My main gripe with Bigpond is that out of 10 movies a month, only 1 or 2 will ever be from my high priority list. I keep a long list with lots of movies I'm interested in. The ones I just want to remember, I keep at low priority. Of late, they aren't even able to give me DVDs from my normal priority.
I raised it as an issue. They responded promptly, but didn't offer much.
Worse, that's when I started receiving low priority DVDs.
Bottom line, I'm at this site because I'm looking to switch.

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Kylie from NSW, January 2, 2006

I like the site design and movies were sent fast. I never called customer service so I rated it middle of the range. At the time of my comparison they were more pricey than the others so that's why I didn't choose them.

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Amber from Australia, December 8, 2005

I'm almost finished with the free one month trial and have decided not to stick with them, because I've waited one month to be sent my top pick and still didn't get it! It seems that they must have only one copy of each DVD. So if you want a popular new release one, forget it....Go down to your local Video store instead and rent it tonight. On the plus side, the turn around time was good.

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Max from Canberra, November 4, 2005

Great range of titles, easy-to-use website, love the trailers function. Returned function doesn't always seem to speed things up though.

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Babs from Melbourne, November 1, 2005

I quite like these guys compared with the others I've tried. Turn-around seems faster than some, and I've no quibbles with the service so far. Happily I'm a BigPond customer anyway, so get the discount too so its a bit of a bargain too.

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