Some MoviePass customers are starting to question the Peak Pricing system that is now in effect with the suggestion the company is not quite sticking to the rules first set out when the change was first announced. Citing rising costs at times of the day thought to be non-peak, being charged the higher rate for older movies, and in some cases, charged a peak price when others are not for the same movie in the same theater.
MoviePass Peak Pricing came into effect last month and the general explanation was users could be charged an additional fee “based on movie demand and popularity” with that explanation further defined as “movies that are high in demand for title, date, or time of day.” However, a number of MoviePass customers on Reddit and Twitter have now said they were charged the higher prices in spite of the movie theater being almost empty. With some highlighting how it’s not just premium times (such as evenings) when Peak Pricing is in effect, but also times many would consider to be off-peak, such as during a weekday afternoon. In at least one instance on Twitter, MoviePass is understood to have charged one person the peak pricing and not a relative of that person who was seeing the same movie, at the same time, and in the same theater. Suggesting the issues with the change might not be just based on certain times or certain movie titles, but also on individual accounts. Adding to that, some users seem to be encountering not just one or two movies that are subject to the price increase at a certain time, but all movies showing that day at certain locations.
Then there are some annual users who are have reported also starting to see the Peak Pricing showing up for them in the app. This is in spite of existing annual customers supposedly being exempt from Peak Pricing until their annual membership is renewed. While these just represent a few examples of the issues that are being noted on social media, there seem to be enough users to suggest there might be an problem in general with the rolling out of the dynamic pricing model. An example of one of the issues noted by a user can be seen below.
@MoviePass if a movie is at “peak time” or “peak pricing” why does that only apply to some people and not others? Why was I required to pay an extra fee to see the same movie that my father saw at the same time at the same theater with no additional cost? #RefundNeededpic.twitter.com/r7Cx1CKY8G
— John Cooper (More Than Sparrows) (@johnadah_24) July 21, 2018