MoviePass competitor Sinemia abruptly...Three Movie Subscription Services, and When They're Worth...

Sinemia offered discounted movie-ticket plans.Sinemia advertised a variety of subscription types, including those that allowed users to watch movies in every format available at any movie theater with no limitations on the dates or movie show times, however the service was plagued with problems.Sinemia was the only international movie-ticket subscription service in the UK, Canada, Turkey and Australia.Sinemia ceased operations in the US on April 26, 2019.[3][4]

A class-action lawsuit was filed against Sinemia after the company stated it was the subject of a pending FTC investigation.Sinemia came under fire for requiring its users to provide photo identification, social security numbers and other personal information, as well as app errors, which many believed were intentionally designed to slow use of the app.

The Sinemia app can be downloaded on a number of devices.A user's Sinemia membership began after purchase of a plan.If users paid an additional fee to start using the service right away, the ten day activation period would not apply.The app provided virtual credit card numbers members could use to purchase movie tickets online, however convenience fees charged by services like Atom and Fandango would be charged to the member's credit cards separately.

Users could roll over unused movie ticket credits with Sinemia's "Rollover" feature.For both one-person plans and family plans, the feature was applicable.[9]

In March, Sinemia introduced and heavily promoted the "Sinemia Limitless" feature, which claimed to allow users to purchase tickets with a one-time payment at the location of their choosing.Many users claimed their memberships were not activated until many weeks after their purchase, despite the fact that this feature promised an option for movie goers who prefer not getting involved in subscriptions but charged a hefty $49.95 initiation fee and up to a $19.95 card activation fee.

In the US, UK, Canada and Australia, Sinemia introduced its own unlimited plan, which claimed to allow users to watch a movie every day with their membership.[2]

Sinemia developed a feature allowing customers to buy movie tickets online in advance of the show date, however its service fees (above and beyond the monthly cost advertised) became the source of much controversy.

Sinemia Social had planned to offer a database for actors, actresses, and movies, as well as news, speciallycurated movie lists.

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating Sinemia.The FTC's role in stopping unfair, deceptive or fraudulent practices in the marketplace matches many of the complaints that users have made.

A class-action lawsuit was filed against Sinemia in November of last year over a new ticket processing fee.Sinemia 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, according to the lawsuit."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."The lawsuit was amended in February to include more people.[18]

A message that Sinemia needed a copy of a driver's license, passport or other photo ID to "prevent fraud" caused customers to be unable to use the app.There was speculation about the company's motivation when Sinemia required two forms of ID.Once the company got the photo ID, passport, etc.The accounts were shut down.Those who refused to provide photo identification were barred from using the service with no refunds, leaving many compelled to give their personal identification documents as unusual and intrusive as the demand is.Sinemia was an "exit scam" in which they collect private information for sale on the dark web, and quickly cease operations and disappear.Sinemia ceased US operations within 60 days, leaving customers extremely concerned about the fate of their photo ID, credit card information, and other personal information.[21]

Customers began to report that their accounts were being terminated without any reason.Despite outcry from many of those terminated that there was no misuse or fraud on their part, Sinemia claimed that it has uncovered more than a thousand variations of fraud and has improved its fraud detection systems accordingly.When customers tried to purchase movie tickets and refused to tip, their service was terminated and many noted that they were terminated after the company updated their app to request tips.For most users who were terminated ended up being zero, Sinemia offered partial refunds to customers based on the difference between what they paid and their spending.The company has provided no hard data to back up its claim that it has only removed 3% of user accounts due to fraudulent activity.Business Insider noted that they alone had received hundreds of complaints from customers on Sinemia problems, and that many other sites reporting the "fraud" claims have hundreds or even thousands of comments from irate terminated users.A survey conducted in the private Sinemia Chatter Facebook group showed that 80% of the people had their accounts or service effectively terminated, whether through account termination, account reinstatement, or an error message.One user said that it was a way to kick off users and stop them from seeing their movies without being accused of fraud.

Sinemia began reinstating the accounts of the most vocal complainers after the outcry of users who claimed they were terminated despite following all the rules.This was followed by unusual and never-before-seen app errors.