TV Tech

[Amanda1671]

A renter signed me up for 2 monthly contracts - Netflix and another.  I immediately cancelled and even ended my card - fraud alert -  without any movement towards prosecution, obviously.  

BUT, how do I prevent people from renting movies and signing up for subscriptions in the future?

[Angelica-Y-Jorge0]

@Amanda1671 I'm assuming this is through a cable provider. Most cable providers offer password locks to make purchases. Usually, you can set it up via the box or you may have to call them.

If they do not offer it I would switch providers or cancel cable altogether, pay for just Netflix and leave it logged in on the TV for guests.

[Amanda1671]

Thank you so much!  I am a newbie and I appreciate all information to make this successful!  That was my very first guest and I have my second today!  I will do what you suggested!  Cheers!  Amanda 

[Dale711]

Hi @Amanda1671 

Welcome to the community 😊

The short answer is to prevent this happen again, is to contact your bank put a restriction on your bank card.

Happy Hosting✌️

[Kia272]

@Amanda1671 You should absolutely mention that in your review of the guest. That's a no-no, and it's not okay that the guest did that. That's truly obnoxious. If they did it by mistake they should simply have told you. 

And as the others said, definitely block purchases by making a password required. 

In my space, I provide only a smart TV and Wi-Fi. I tell guests to remember to note their log-in credentials before arriving, as they have to log in to their own Netflix and Amazon profiles to stream anything. 

These days  you can watch almost anything online, so I feel that providing Wi-Fi is sufficient. Good luck with your new venture! Kia

[Lorna170]

@Amanda1671    If you cannot figure it out, your cable company should be able to help you put a password on the cable and the payment account.  Heck, even my spouse does not have the password to order anything on our cable account....or to anything else that has pay-per-view attached.  As  @Kia272 wrote, be sure to tell your guests to bring their own passwords for their streaming services.