[b]bogus BlockBuster Video late charges ?[/b]

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - [b]bogus BlockBuster Video late charges ?[/b]

Posted: 7/11/2002 6:21:47 PM EDT

Every time I go to BlockBuster Video they say I have a late fee because I was late last time.
I know this is BullSh*t !

I bet this happens to everybody, right?

Posted: 7/11/2002 6:36:59 PM EDT

[#1]

Not exactly, but similar.
Used to belong to a local video store. I was always having messages left on answering machine about a late video, always little kids poo bear type crap. I go to the store and tell them I don't have any ankle biters at my house and I don't rent poo bear movies. Seems some person has the exact same name including middle initial. Too bad the clerks were too dumb to use the membership # instead of the name.

Posted: 7/11/2002 6:41:14 PM EDT

[#2]

Blockbuster sucks, their fees are a kick in the ass. I never rent anymore between buying DVD's and ppv you never have too give those bastards your money again.

Posted: 7/11/2002 6:42:24 PM EDT

[#3]

[url=]http://www.netflix.com/Default[/url]

I HATE Blockbuster. I ALWAYS get screwed with a late fee and they ran the good locally owned video store on my side of town out of business. The only other video stores in town have lousy selections (someone finally clued me in that they were only in business because there's porno in the back-duh)

Then they put up that stupid no guns in the store sign up-grr-it's down now tho.

Posted: 7/11/2002 6:51:35 PM EDT

[#4]

Yes, they got me too. I got a letter from them some time after I returned the tapes saying I used an extra day. Cost me another $4 something. Seems like I was supposed to return it at noon. I thought I was prety close but I guess not. Just dumped them in the return box.

Cooled me on doing business there. But I did go back. And when I did I hand carried the tape directly to the person working there and wainted until she gave me the OK. Haven't been back though. Seems like too much effort to watch your axx for a lousy tape.

Posted: 7/11/2002 7:23:14 PM EDT

[#5]

Ditto the netflix.

Posted: 7/11/2002 9:44:59 PM EDT

[#6]

That womenz that owns the Blockbuster chain refuses to carry porn too.

Posted: 7/11/2002 9:46:25 PM EDT

[#7]

It happened to me also, I thought they were screwing me so I rented a movie on a Saturday morning. Watched it that afternoon..took it back and dropped it off at the outside drop..I had the movie 7 hours..Wrote all this down so I would remember the dates and times...Two weeks later, I go in there and they tried to stick me with a day late charge for the damn movie...I lost it. Busted the card in half threw it at the manager and started to pull him across the counter when the cops walked in...I walked outside with the cop and told him the story. He told me that they get alot of complints for the same shit...Last time in the damn place.
[50]

Posted: 7/11/2002 9:53:40 PM EDT

[#8]

They took my roommate to smalls claims cout for 19.95$ because they lost a DVD and charged it to him. I hate the place. I had to go as a witness that we did indeed take the DVD back.

Keving67

Posted: 7/11/2002 9:54:59 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
That womenz that owns the Blockbuster chain refuses to carry porn too.

View Quote

Cool, I thought I was the only one that noticed that!

Keving67

Posted: 7/12/2002 9:43:49 AM EDT

[#10]

I stopped going to Blockbuster because the employees a the closest one were a bit surly, so I started going to Hollywood Video for a while. What mistake! It seemed like everytime I would rent from them they'd claim I owed money for returnig the tapes late the time before. The they started claiming that I had tapes out that hadn't ever been returned. So I'd make them look up the serial number on the tape and go look on the shelf and it if it wasn't on the shelf then it was checked out and was back on the shelf the next time I came back.

In order to head off the problems I started carrying the tapes into the store when I returned them, made the person at the counter process them while I stood there, then print out a listing from the computer showing that there weren't any tapes checked out under my name.

I did that a few times and then decided to just forget about renting tapes. They are cheap enough that I can just buy the damned DVDs and if I really don't like it then I can always give it away or sell it at half.com or something. My wife and I now have a very large library of tapes and DVDs and don't waste money on rentals or on cable TV.

Posted: 7/12/2002 9:49:24 AM EDT

[#11]

Wasn't Blockbuster involved in a class action lawsuit (within the last few years) about this very issue? I believe they were sued for charging excessive and fradulent late fees.

Posted: 7/12/2002 10:01:36 AM EDT

[#12]

Partial solution.
Go to www.half.com or www.secondspin.com.
You can buy VHS and some dvd's for about the cost of a rental(or rental and late charge). Also, I've been picking up movies @ the local pawn shop and gun store for about $3.00 apiece. Sounds kind of low rent but a bucks a buck.

Posted: 7/12/2002 10:04:54 AM EDT

[#13]

Netflix ROCKS!!! I went through over 150 movies in my first year. Then I had to quit, because I've got two kids and I travel a lot, so the movies were just sitting around. Still a great deal and the movie selection is great, especially for the older stuff.

Posted: 7/12/2002 11:21:32 AM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:
It happened to me also, I thought they were screwing me so I rented a movie on a Saturday morning. Watched it that afternoon..took it back and dropped it off at the outside drop..I had the movie 7 hours..Wrote all this down so I would remember the dates and times...Two weeks later, I go in there and they tried to stick me with a day late charge for the damn movie...I lost it. Busted the card in half threw it at the manager and started to pull him across the counter when the cops walked in...I walked outside with the cop and told him the story. He told me that they get alot of complints for the same shit...Last time in the damn place.
[50]

View Quote

i must have a reasonable Blockbuster here. i dont get any late charges except ones i return it late on. and i know its late. i did a few times but explailned to the dork behind the counter that i returned it on time to the drop box. guess what? he removed the late fee.

try it sometime.

Posted: 7/12/2002 11:21:34 AM EDT

[#15]

No guns, no porn, excessive late fees, what the hell ARE these idiots good for? They also put a really good local vid store out of business near here (yes they had porn) and pissed off alot of people here. It seems like nobody will even go the Blockbuster here. [:D]

Posted: 7/12/2002 11:45:58 AM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Wasn't Blockbuster involved in a class action lawsuit (within the last few years) about this very issue? I believe they were sued for charging excessive and fradulent late fees.

View Quote

Yea, their "computers" did it.

A month ago, I rented a $40 Defensive Driving video from Cockbuster. They gave me the wrong tapes AND told me the wrong time they were due back. I returned the outdated tapes (you have to call in and register for the video course and I was told I had a outdated set of tapes). Cockbuster told me that they would happily give me the right set of tapes but, I now owed them another $40 for a late fee.
Since the due date was on the receipt and the contract I signed, I was SOL. I should not have listened to the 18 year old blonde newbie at the counter.

Anyway, I bitched up a storm to the store manager and the Denfensive Driving company and I finally got it straitened out.
Thean I watched 8hrs of boring-ass safety video and took the test on line. I am never doing that again, I just pay the speeding ticket.

Posted: 7/12/2002 12:16:41 PM EDT

[#17]

I stopped renting from Blockbuster when the Albertsons by my house opened up, I can 3 new releases for $2.50 instead of the $13 at blockbuster. Same movies, same quality viewing yet $10.50 cheaper, that's more ammo for me.

Posted: 7/12/2002 1:16:31 PM EDT

[#18]

I know several managers, several executives, a large shareholder (was the largest), and have worked for three different contractors that did work for Blockbuster. On one of the jobs, I worked on a couple of large software projects. From the corporate-side, I haven't seen anything that would indicate that they're involved in some sort of dishonest scam to rip-off customers with late-fees. As a customer, I see it about half of the times I rent! This has been at different locations, in different cities over the past 13 years. I don't understand how it could be an organized scam without the software people or the managers finding-out about it. I used to think it was just employee incompetence, but it seems you'd see more fees for movies that were never returned (lost by employee or never scanned back in) than late fees. I'm confused at how it's happening so often.z

Posted: 7/12/2002 1:22:44 PM EDT

[#19]

One thing we can be almost certain of is that no successful applicant to Blockbuster is a current illegal drug user.

Posted: 7/12/2002 1:34:47 PM EDT

[#20]

Quoted:

Every time I go to BlockBuster Video they say I have a late fee because I was late last time.
I know this is BullSh*t !

I bet this happens to everybody, right?

View Quote

Do what I do: smile sweetly at the clerk and ask her if she can waive the charges for you. Every late charge I've had so far, has been waived. [:)]

Posted: 7/12/2002 2:17:12 PM EDT

[#21]

Blockbuster has become my enemy even though I still sadly go there. I used to go to Video Update(remember it used to be called Movie Stars/Moovies back in the day?) Well, they went bankrupt and I was SOL for video rental places..My choices were Hollywood Video (which is very FAR away) or blockbuster which has TWO convient locations in my town..I never had a problem with late fees at Video Update cuz they had 3 day or week long rentals, so I ALWAYS returned them on time..However, Blockbuster has 2 and 5 days rentals which has become a PITA! Here's my rental woes..I accidentally returned High Fidelity, which sucked by the way, case without the tape.. I returned the tape two weeks later cuz I had been out of the state. They were going to charge me 125 bucks! I bitched to the manager until he only charged me 5.95, since I returned the tape.. I've always made sure its in the box now, but lately the worst movies I normally haven't even seen most of I've had late fees on cuz of the lousy 2 day rental policy..(Baby Boy, Bandits, and Ride with the Devil just to name the one's lately..) I need to open my OWN video store I think.. Any other Blockbuster woes out there?

Posted: 7/12/2002 3:28:51 PM EDT

[#22]

Next time, if they try to charge you sales tax when you pay a late fee, argue with them. you aren't BUYING anything, you are paying a fee. They will spin around in circles.

Posted: 7/12/2002 3:40:56 PM EDT

[#23]

jesus christ, there have been so many people like you guys, thinking theres this huge late fee conspiracy. how do i know? i worked there :).......people basically calling us liars every single day, gettin bitched at for nothing, etc etc. true there are real circumstances where we mess up, but the vast majority is some idiot who thinks they can never be wrong

Posted: 7/13/2002 2:05:34 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
jesus christ, there have been so many people like you guys, thinking theres this huge late fee conspiracy. how do i know? i worked there :).......people basically calling us liars every single day, gettin bitched at for nothing, etc etc. true there are real circumstances where we mess up, but the vast majority is some idiot who thinks they can never be wrong

View Quote

I don't think there is a conspiracy, I just think the dumb-sh*ts at my local store fail to log them back in after I return them on time.