Some Netflix Customers Accidentally Billed Several Times

The extremely popular movie-streaming service Netflix has accidentally charged some of its customers extra subscription fees. A number of customers using Netflix in Australia and New Zealand have reported being billed multiple times within the same billing cycle.

Netflix subscriptions in Australia start out at AU $8.99. As the New Zealand Harald points out, Netflix just launched their service in Australia and New Zealand in March. Right out of the gate, Netflix is having trouble in its new market.

The majority of the complaints claimed that Netflix billed them just a few additional times. Some customers, however, were billed an excessive number of times in a matter of hours.

A small number of Netflix users reported being charged multiple times for a month’s subscription to the service. At least one customer reported getting charged 13 times over a very short period of time. Another user complained that they were billed nearly $200 by Netflix.

As 9NEWS reported, one man was billed even after speaking with the company about the issue. His bank account was completely drained by the system glitch.

The distraught customers took to social media to voice their frustration. Posting stories of the undue withdraws from their bank accounts.

— N (@nick_marland) May 24, 2015

Another angry customer posted her complaint on the company’s Facebook page.

“you took $194.87 out of my bank with out my permission…”

Netflix admitted that there was a problem with their billing system through an announcement on their Facebook page. In the announcement, Netflix apologized and said that the billing problem had been fixed. Affected customers will be given refunds, but some customers’ bank accounts were emptied by Netflix’s billing system glitch.

“Apologies for the now resolved billing issues. No extra money has been withdrawn from banks accounts and authorisations will be lifted from accounts in the coming days. Please go to the Support tab on our Facebook page for further assistance.”

Netflix said that the problem has been fixed, but that it may take “several days” for the bank charges to be refunded. Any customers still having issues should contact Netflix’s customer service to remedy the situation.

There are not yet any reported instances of billing issues occurring outside of Australia and New Zealand. The issue could be blamed on how new Netflix is to Australia and New Zealand. Just to be safe, Netflix users elsewhere may want to check their bank account and make sure no erroneous charges were made.

[image via Justin Sullivan/Getty Images]