Had you actually paid, and then canceled, you would have gotten the rest of your month but they don’t want whiny freeloaders hogging their bandwidth.

That is actually not correct, and their FAQ is fairly clear about it:

Q:
Why can’t I cancel my account on a specific date in advance?
A:
It is part of the terms of our membership service. Once you cancel your account, it’s effective immediately and all movies need to be mailed back to Netflix within seven days. We don’t give refunds or credits for unused days in the monthly schedule.

I don’t mind that they limit access when canceling a free trial early, but I have a huge problem with companies that feel it’s acceptable to shut down service which was paid for because a customer has expressed a willingness to cease purchasing service in the future.

This would be roughly similar to you buying food at a restaurant, telling the waiter that you’re not happy with your meal and you won’t be back, and the waiter then removes the uneaten portion of your meal and bills you the full amount.

Had you actually paid, and then canceled, you would have gotten the rest of your month but they don’t want whiny freeloaders hogging their bandwidth.