More value from Tesco (Tesco DVD Rentals)

Name: sit2020

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Product:	Tesco DVD Rentals
Date:	21/05/07 (310 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Slightly cheaper than most

Disadvantages: Finding the time to watch them

A few months ago we decided to change the way we watch films. We had got fed up with checking on the films on Sky to discover that for the most part they were films we had already seen or were films that held no interest for us.
Add to that we worked out that even if we decided to down grade our Sky package, we would still have some movies that we could watch on some of the other digital channels (to a certain extent this would be dependant on the package we chose).
The only downside to this was we would miss out on some of the newer films.

The revelation

My partner (bless her cotton socks) came up with the idea of signing up to one of the DVD rental companies, saying it would cost us no more than having Sky movies.

Which company did we choose?

We had plenty of companies to choose from, all had various packages with them. Eventually we decided that it would make sense to opt for a package that gave us three films at a time. The reasoning for this is how the packages work. The companies deem you have a film once they have posted it to you. Therefore if you have a film sent to you on a Monday, it arrives on Tuesday, you post it back on Wednesday, The company will not send another film until the Thursday. That would realistically mean we would get two films per week, so by opting for a three film package we should end up with up to 6 films per week, that would comfortably be enough for us.

After going through the offers from the various companies we chose Tesco DVD rental with a package that would give us up to three films at a time, an unlimited amount of DVD titles at a cost of £14.97 per month.

Finances

Be dumping Sky movies then changing our package with them. Taking the three DVD package we have actually saved £4 per month.

How it works

All we had to do was sign up online (via Tesco website), giving the usual details email, password, name address, payment details etc.
Then it is time to choose which package we wanted (details of packages below), we chose the three DVDs at home with unlimited DVDs per month and 1st class P & P included both ways for £14.97.

This is where the fun begins as it was now time to choose which DVDs we wanted, wading through a selection of over 56,000 DVDs with everything from the latest releases through to old time classics. It has too many different categories to name individually, a couple worth noting are new releases and coming soon.
We needed to pick a minimum of twenty DVDs, this is so they have something to work on and can make sure we are always sent a DVD when they receive one back.

Then we had to prioritise our selection from one to three, one being we want it like yesterday down to three, we will have it whenever. Well that is not the words that Tesco use, but that is the meaning

Now we just had to wait by the letterbox for the post to arrive, we knew what was on its way as we received an email telling us.

Once a DVD arrives it is simply a question of watching it, then popping it back in the envelope and then posting it back. Sometimes you will get more than one DVD in the same envelope, you may only want to send one straight back, this is not a problem as they supply spare envelopes for such an eventuality (you can order these spare envelopes online). One word of warning, read the instructions on how to open the envelope as this is the same envelope you will use when sending the DVD’s back.
You are under no obligation to send DVDs back as soon as possible, you could if you want keep them for weeks if not months, basically you will not be charged any extra fees for not being prompt (unlike library books), however you will not be getting any more delivered until you have sent them back. Plus you will still be paying the monthly cost whatever package you’re on.

Other packages Tesco offer

One DVD at home with unlimited DVDs per month and 1st class P & P both ways £8.97
Two DVD’s at home with unlimited DVDs per month and 1st class P & P both ways £11.97
Three DVDs at home with unlimited DVDs per month and 1st class P & P both ways £14.97
All of these have a 14 day free trial period
They also offer console games (further details about this later in this review).

One DVD or Game at home with unlimited DVDs per month and 1st class P & P both ways £9.97
Two DVD’s and/or Games at home with unlimited DVDs per month and 1st class P & P both ways £13.97
Three DVDs and/or Games at home with unlimited DVDs per month and 1st class P & P both ways £17.97
All of these have a 14 day free trial period

Then it would not be Tesco if they did not offer a Tesco Value Range

One DVD at home with two DVDs per month and 2nd class P & P both ways £4.47 (Free trial of one free disc)
One DVD at home with three DVDs per month and 2nd class P & P both ways £5,97 (Free trial of two free discs)
Two DVDs at home with four DVDs per month and 2nd class P & P both ways £7.47 (Free trial of two free discs)

Tesco deem a DVD and or Game to be at home from the moment they post it until they receive it back.

Service

We have found this to be a very efficient service and thanks to the post, we have been able to work out exactly when a DVD should arrive
They send an email when they dispatch us a DVD, this is great as it lets us know what DVD we will be getting the following day.

Choice

The system of prioritising works quite well. Although the latest releases are not always available straight away, but then that will have something to do with the fact that a lot of people will want the more popular latest releases at the same time.
With over 56,000 DVD’s on offer, the hardest part is choosing what to put on our list next.
We have also put on our list “coming soon” titles, this ensures we do not forget to add them when they are released.
Then they also have television series, these are on multiple DVDs, thankfully they will send them in the correct order (series one disk one, series one disk two etc). Although they do not always send these out one after the other.

Games

Just after we joined, Tesco announced it was increasing its rentals to include console games, the consoles it supports includes GameCube, PSP, PS2, PS3, Wii, Xbox and Xbox 360.
Although we have not taken them up on this offer, the range of games is very extensive and if we were more avid games players it is something that would have attracted us. At the end of the day most console games are quite expensive, so using a service like this gives people the chance to try before they buy.

Problems

Well we have had only one DVD that refused to work correctly, it meant we got part through watching when it started jumping around and eventually it froze completely. This was resolved very quickly, there is a part on the site to let them know that it was a faulty disk (also a box on the envelope to be ticked). Tesco responded in a very timely manner asking if we would like another copy of the DVD sent out, we said yes. They sent another out, but did not include this as part of our three t home, this resulted in us having for a short while four DVDs rather than just the three. This is only a small gesture but in our book it is a great way to operate and keep its customers happy.

The Tesco DVD site is “powered” by Lovefilm, I have read some reviews about Lovefilm not all of them have been exactly positive. I can happily state that with Tesco we have not had any problems and are more than happy with the way they have treated us.

All the prices quoted in this review are correct at the time this review was first published.

Summary: Great service and the option of console games