Following a Christmas petition calling on LoveFilm to make its services accessible to deaf people, Sir Malcolm Bruce MP (who is also Chair of the All Party Parliamentary group on Deafness) has now written directly to the Chief Executive of Lovefilm, Simon Calver, expressing his concern.
Over 12,000 people signed the petition asking Lovefilm to make it clear which of its DVDs for rent have subtitles and to provide subtitles on its on demand service.
The petition was raised by deaf film lover Stephanie McDermid after receiving rented DVDs without subtitles and having to send them back.
Petition originator Stephanie has made repeated attempts to get a response from the company with no success, but she remains hopeful that LoveFilm will have a change of heart, especially since she has received lots of support for her campaign.
“I’ve been both amazed and encouraged by the tremendous support I’ve received,” she said.
“Not only from people with hearing loss, but also from hearing friends who weren’t aware of the lack of access. At this point, we have over 12600 signatures in support. We are also backed by Action on Hearing Loss and Sir Malcolm Bruce, both lobbying on this issue. The Twitter campaign has been really successful and we’ve received support from people in the media, including stars from British TV.
“I am now in touch with people who feel equally strongly about this issue and who are campaigning alongside me and I’m now on the admin for the Love Subtitles Facebook page. It is a continued source of frustration, however, that LoveFilm has failed to acknowledge the petition directly and instead has just changed the wording of the subtitling statement on their web page.”
Celebrities that have backed the campaign include Guardian TV Critic Sam Wollaston, ‘White Queen’ Screenwriter Emma Frost, Shameless actress Sally Carmen, Dame Evelyn Glennie, Dame Tanni Grey Thomson, Coronation Street’s Cherylee Houston and comedian Toby Hadoke.
@VanessaFurey This is a bit RUBBISH @LOVEFiLM Sort it out and let customers know whether or not DVD rentals have subtitles…
— Emma Frost (@EmmaFrostLondon) November 21, 2013
Sir Malcolm, who has a deaf daughter, but has also come under fire for voting with the government on welfare reform, said:
“I am aware of Stephanie’s petition and the attention that it is receiving. In fact it was as a result of Stephanie’s campaign that I was contacted about the issue and undertook to contact Lovefilm regarding the availability and labelling of subtitled services for deaf and hard of hearing customers.
“I believe that other similar companies are actively working to improve accessibility and I look forward to receiving a response from Lovefilm as to their intentions in addressing their customers’ concerns.”
We asked Lovefilm for a comment but we did not receive a reply.
By Andy Palmer, Deputy Editor. Andy volunteers for the Peterborough and District Deaf Children’s Society on their website, deaf football coaching and other events as well as working for a hearing loss charity. Contact him on twitter @LC_AndyP (all views expressed are his own).
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Lucy
January 9, 2014
Love film won’t do anything. I stopped using them years ago and go elsewhere. Just do that, it’ll be more effective when they lose customers. Stop wasting your time.
Stephanie
January 9, 2014
Hi thanks for your comment. I have done just that, but I am continuing to campaign. They think we’ll just quietly back down and give up. Nearly 13 thousand people have signed in support, so obviously plenty of people feel strongly about this. I don’t have much time on my hands but thankfully, other people are also campaigning too.
Sueby
January 9, 2014
I’ve been using Lovefilm for several years and have probably had 2-3 films without subtitles during all that time. They were always substituted by other films when I sent them back. I have also asked them to make it clear whether or not the film is captioned but they don’t seem able to do that. Where is the petition so that I can sign it? Thanks
Andy Palmer (Deputy Editor)
January 9, 2014
Hello Sueby – thanks for your comment. Here is the link to the petition.
Michelle Hedley
January 9, 2014
I dont believe its a waste of time, I think it is very important to stand up to the BIG companies such as Lovefilm/Amazon. If you think back a few years ago, there were several companies that offered dvd rental. How many companies offer that now (Irrespective of subtitles)? It shows how the likes of Amazon take over everything, and so it is important to fight them from the start.
Its not as if we are asking for a service free! We are all practically trying to throw our money at Lovefilm as we are desperate to access their services. The only other alternative service we have at the moment is Netflix, but my understanding is their catalogue is not as big as Lovefilm.
This is potentially a HUGE business opportunity for Lovefilm/Amazon but the longer they take to even acknowledge us, they risk losing more and more customers – hearing and deaf!
I will certainly still support this campaign, not just for myself but for everyone out there affected by this.
Michelle Hedley
January 9, 2014
Sue, you can find the petition at this link http://www.change.org/en-GB/petitions/lovefilm-all-we-want-for-christmas-is-subtitles