Everything changed for Redbox fans in the summer of 2024. If you've been wandering around your local Walgreens or Kroger recently, you probably noticed those iconic red kiosks looking a little... lonely. Or maybe they're just gone entirely. It's frustrating. You have a disc that won't play, or maybe you got charged twice for a movie you returned days ago, and now you’re hunting for a customer service number for Redbox that actually works.
Honestly? The news isn't great.
When Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, the parent company that bought Redbox back in 2022, officially spiraled into Chapter 7 liquidation, the support systems we all relied on basically evaporated. It wasn't just a restructuring. It was a total shutdown. This means that the old reliable phone lines and chat bots you used to find on the website are mostly dead air now.
Why the customer service number for Redbox stopped picking up
To understand why you can't get a human on the phone, you have to look at the mess behind the scenes. In June 2024, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but by July, it transitioned to Chapter 7. In the world of business law, Chapter 7 is the "end of the road" phase. It means the company is being dismantled to pay off creditors.
Employees were let go. Servers were turned off. The 1-866-REDBOX3 (1-866-733-2693) number, which served as the primary customer service number for Redbox for nearly two decades, shifted from a busy call center to a ghost town. Some users report hearing a generic recording, while others just get a busy signal or a "number disconnected" message.
It’s a massive bummer for the millions of people who still loved the physical media experience. Redbox had about 27,000 kiosks across the United States at its peak. Now, those machines are often sitting dark, sometimes with discs still trapped inside them. If you’re one of the thousands of people currently being charged for a movie you can't return because the kiosk is broken or gone, you’re likely feeling the heat of a "zombie" billing cycle.
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The reality of reaching a human today
Can you actually talk to someone? Probably not.
When a company hits Chapter 7 liquidation, a court-appointed trustee takes over. Their job isn't to provide world-class technical support; their job is to sell off the remaining assets—the kiosks themselves, the DVD inventory, the digital rights—to pay back banks and vendors.
If you try to call the old customer service number for Redbox, you are essentially calling a company that no longer has a payroll. There are no agents. There are no managers to escalate your ticket to. This creates a weird legal limbo for consumers who have active disputes.
Dealing with "Zombie Charges" and technical glitches
The biggest issue people are facing right now isn't even the kiosks—it's the automated billing. Since the infrastructure is crumbling, many users have reported being charged daily "late fees" for movies they’ve already dropped into a machine. Because the machine isn't communicating with the central server anymore, the system thinks you still have The Fall Guy or Kung Fu Panda 4 in your living room.
Since the customer service number for Redbox is effectively out of commission, you have to take a different route. Don't waste your afternoon on hold with a dead line.
- Call your bank immediately. This is the most effective "customer service" move you have left. Request a "Stop Payment" or a "Chargeback" for any Redbox transactions. Tell the bank the merchant has ceased operations and is no longer providing support.
- Take photos. If you are at a kiosk and it won't take your disc, or the screen is black, take a photo of the machine and the serial number (usually on a sticker near the bottom or side). This is your evidence for the bank.
- Check the app (if it still loads). For a while, the digital side of Redbox stayed twitching longer than the physical kiosks, but even that is largely unreliable now. Don't expect a response from the "Contact Us" form in the app.
What happened to the 1-866-733-2693 line?
For years, this was the gold standard. You’d call, wait five minutes, and a person would reset your account or give you a promo code for a free rental. It’s weird to think that an institution so ubiquitous in American life—right there next to the soda machines—just stopped answering.
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There were reports in late 2024 of the line briefly routing to generic call centers or third-party liquidation firms, but these representatives have no access to your rental history. They can't see your credit card info. They can't "check the box" to see if your DVD was returned. If you do manage to get a ring tone, don't give out personal info unless you are 100% sure who is on the other end. Scammers love to "squat" on the customer service numbers of bankrupt companies.
The legal side: Who owns Redbox now?
Right now, the "owner" is technically the bankruptcy estate. Retailers like Walgreens and Walmart have been left with these giant red boxes that they don't even own. They're basically just heavy paperweights taking up floor space. Some retailers have started unplugging them because Redbox (Chicken Soup for the Soul) stopped paying the electricity stipends and rent for the space.
If you have a problem with a machine inside a store, the store employees usually can't help you. They don't have the keys. They don't have the software. Telling a grocery store manager that the Redbox ate your credit card is like telling a landlord your neighbor’s car won't start—it’s just not their machine.
Is there a digital support alternative?
Social media used to be a great way to get a quick response. The @redbox Twitter (X) account and the Facebook page have gone silent. Looking at the "Replies" section on their social profiles is a graveyard of "Where is my refund?" and "Why am I being charged $35 for a rental?" messages.
If you’re looking for a customer service number for Redbox to deal with the digital streaming side of the business (Redbox On Demand), you’re in the same boat. Those services were tied to the same collapsing infrastructure. Most of the digital library rights are in flux, and the streaming servers have been intermittently offline or completely inaccessible for many users.
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Practical steps for frustrated renters
Since the traditional customer service number for Redbox is a dead end, here is how you actually handle common problems in the post-bankruptcy era:
- For stuck discs: If the machine won't take your disc, do not leave it on top of the machine. You are still technically liable if it’s stolen. Keep the disc. Try one other machine if there's one nearby, but if that fails, just keep the movie and call your credit card company to preemptively block the charges.
- For double billing: Log into your banking app and look for the "Dispute Transaction" button. Use the term "Merchant out of business" as the reason. Banks are becoming very familiar with Redbox-related disputes lately.
- For your data: If you're worried about your credit card info being on Redbox's servers, the best move is to keep a close eye on your statements. With the company in liquidation, data security updates aren't exactly a priority.
It’s a strange end for a company that once killed off Blockbuster. We went from a world where you could drive three minutes to get a movie for a buck, to a world where we can't even find a person to tell that the machine is broken.
What to do with your Redbox discs
Believe it or not, if you have a disc and the company is liquidated, there’s nobody to return it to. Thousands of people have ended up with a permanent collection of "property of Redbox" DVDs. While it feels wrong to keep them, if the kiosks are gone and the customer service number for Redbox doesn't work, you've essentially become an accidental owner of that copy of Madame Web.
The machines themselves are being sold for scrap or to private collectors. There’s a niche community of people buying old kiosks to turn them into home arcade machines or tool sheds. But for the average person just trying to watch a movie on a Friday night, the era of Redbox support is officially over.
Actionable Next Steps
Stop searching for a new customer service number for Redbox. It doesn't exist. Instead, protect your wallet by doing the following:
- Check your bank statement today. Look for any recurring "RED*BOX" charges.
- Call your card issuer. Ask them to place a block on any future charges from Redbox or Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment.
- Dispose of the app. If you still have the Redbox app on your phone, delete it. It’s no longer being patched for security vulnerabilities, and your stored payment info is better off managed through your bank's security portals.
- Pivot to alternatives. If you miss the "cheap physical rental" vibe, check your local library. Most public libraries have massive DVD and Blu-ray collections that are actually free, and—get this—they have real people sitting at desks who will actually talk to you if a disc is scratched.