Rentals and refunds
How long a rental lasts, when you can have your money back, and how to ask.
Updated
How rentals work
When you rent a film, you have 30 days to press play, counted from release day if you rent it before it comes out. Once you start watching, you have 48 hours to finish, or until the 30 days run out if that comes sooner. Within that time you can watch it as many times as you like, on up to two screens at once.
The 48 hours start the first time the film plays, not when you open its page. If you have not started and your 30 days are nearly up, we email you a reminder. If you have started but not reached the end and your 48 hours are nearly up, we email you another.
A film you buy has no time limit, and stays on your account even if it is later taken off the site. A pre-order unlocks on release day by itself, and we email you when it does. With a subscription you can watch every film while it is active.
When we give refunds
- Rentals. A rental you have not started watching can be refunded if you ask within its 30 days. Once it has started playing, it cannot be refunded.
- Purchases. A film you bought can be refunded if you ask before you first watch it.
- Pre-orders. A pre-order can be refunded if you ask any time before you first watch the film, including before it is released.
- Subscriptions. You can cancel any time. The period you have already paid for is not refunded, and you keep watching until it ends.
If a film will not play properly, write to us before your rental runs out and we will help. Our records show whether, and when, a film was played on your account.
How to ask for a refund
Write to us at support@indiefilmstream.com from the email address on your account. Tell us the film and roughly when you paid. We check your account and reply to let you know.
Please write to us before disputing a payment with your bank. A dispute ends the access the payment bought straight away, and writing to us is usually the quicker way to put things right.
What happens when we refund
- We refund the full amount to the card you paid with, through Stripe, our payment provider.
- How soon it shows on your statement depends on your bank, and usually takes several business days.
- Access to the film, or the package, that payment bought ends when the refund is made.
Cancelling a subscription
Go to your account page and press Manage billing. This opens a secure page run by Stripe where you can cancel. You keep watching until the end of the month or year you have paid for, and you are not charged again. The same page shows your invoices.
Payments on our old site
Payments made on our previous site were taken there, not here. For a question about one of those, write to us at support@indiefilmstream.com and we will sort it out.