MoviePass competitor Sinemia terminated a slew of accounts in the last week and its customer service representatives have been vague when asked why.
In a statement to Business Insider on Monday, Sinemia claimed the users it booted were engaged in "fraudulent activity." But over 50 former Sinemia subscribers have contacted Business Insider this week, saying their accounts were canceled unfairly. A handful said they even had the strange experience of Sinemia asking for a tip of $1, $2, or $5 shortly before canceling their accounts.
Many of the former subscribers who contacted Business Insider said that when they asked Sinemia for more details on why their accounts had been canceled, they received an email from customer support saying the account had been terminated "by the system automatically" and that the representative "cannot provide any further details."
Here's a sample of the email multiple people received:
"We see that your account's been terminated by the system automatically. Unfortunately, we cannot provide any further details as we do not have access to such information. You may refer to the message you see on your membership area for further information or visit www.sinemia.com/terms for the terms of service.
"You are eligible for an adjusted refund based on the difference between what you've paid to Sinemia and your spending which also includes the cost of the tickets you have received through your Sinemia membership. If you would like to apply for an adjusted refund, you may click on 'Request usage history' on your membership area at www.sinemia.com/member
"Once you submit the form, you will receive your payment and spending details as soon as your report is ready. Please note that turnaround time depends on the length of your usage history."
Sinemia confirmed to Business Insider that it would not provide further details on the cancellations to former subscribers, and that its customer service representatives don't even have access to the information (Sinemia's "internal fraud team" does).
"Our policies and procedures are consistent and in line with other Fortune 50 companies in regards to not disclosing the reasons for membership terminations," the company said in a statement to Business Insider on Tuesday. "Over the years, given our experience, we have also learned that fraudulent accounts will change methods and find different ways to commit fraud once they understand how fraud is detected in our system."
Besides the run of cancellations, Sinemia customers have complained about many other aspects of the service. Over 250 disgruntled subscribers have contacted Business Insider since November on topics ranging from "misuse fees" to demands for copies of their IDs. Some customers filed a class-action lawsuit in November, which was amended in late February, alleging Sinemia ripped them off by introducing a new "processing fee."
