Blockbuster Scam: End of Late Fees My Ass

[Twisted Sister]

Blockbuster sucks. I can not possibly feel deeper fucking disdain for these bastards and cut up my card. I will NEVER rent from them EVER again and you shouldn't either, unless you live in an area with no other rental stores, are desperate for a new movie and do not have a bright enough light to entertain yourself with shadow puppets. This "End of Late Fees" policy is FALSE, MISLEADING and considered to be consumer fraud in several states. It was announced today that Blockdumpster is being sued. They, of course, are "shocked" and "disappointed" at the lawsuit.

February 5, 2005: A month after the policy went into effect, as a test, I went to Blockbuster and rented 3 DVDs with the intent of taking them back one day late. Well, at 8 days (Feb 13), they charged me the FULL price of each movie, like $20 apiece. Having called their corporate headquarters ahead of time, I was told that I would not be charged until I've had the movies 30 days. However, when I went into the store, the manager on duty said that they were already charged to my credit card and informed me that the charges could be reversed, save a "restocking fee." I said, uh, hey guy, Blockbuster HQ told me that it would be 30 days, so there must be a mistake. Nope, he said I was the one who is mistaken, and that when he was trained in the new policy's procedures, HQ told store managers to charge after 8 days. And just an FYI, I went into Blockbuster's site to review the policy for myself, and couldn't find it. I kept finding links to it, but they never took me into the policy.

I turned to my lovely life partner and said, "I give them 2 months from the inception of this scam before they get sued. There is no way they're gonna get away with this shit." The reason I said 2 months was because it would take about a month of unassuming consumers getting screwed before they take action, and in the second month, Blockbuster will have low inventory and a lot of angry clients on their hands.

Today it was announced that they're being sued by NY/NJ, and I could not be happier. There are several lawyers in CA also looking into suing them.

Has anyone else had this experience yet?

Here's the story about the lawsuit from CNN:
http://money.cnn.com/2005/02/18/news/midcaps/blockbuster_suit/index.htm?cnn=yes

[chilli pepper]

Nothing like that has happened to me. My last couple rentals sat around at my house for two weeks and all I got was an annoying computer generated voice phone call.

[jeo4]

It sounds as if it is happening differently in different stores. If the franchise is balking on this, then it is fraud. And I can't help but think 'Good. They deserve it for lying.' But I'll wait to see what happens before I just throw my hands up and cancel my membership.

[Mr-Blonde]

One word: Netflix

No late fees ever! :cool:

Fuck Bockbuster! Nobody needs to use these guys ever again even as a last resort when there are all these mail order movie rental companies in business now.

Netflix is the shizznit. :D

[mshulman5]

Yeah happened to me. Fortunately it was not charged to my credit card, it was charged only to my account. I go to rent a movie and they tell me I owe 20 bucks for a movie I kept out to long and once you keep it out one week past the due date it's charged to your account. So if you have a 2 day rental it's 9 days and if you have a 7 day rental it should be 14 days, but I think they just add it to your account whenever they feel like it. I told them to go fuck themselves and that no late fees doesn't mean I want to buy the fucking movie. They took it off except for the restocking fee which is less then a late fee, but it's like paying the same thing. Re-stocking fee huh?? Isn't that what you pay employees to do?? You need my $1.35 for a movie to find its way back on the shelf?? Fuck you blockbuster. I do use blockbuster online which is more or less the same as netflix. netflix has lower wait times, but blockbuster has all the different editions of a DVD so for that reason I prefer blockbuster online. The stores themselves however can go fuck themselves. Oh and another time I rented the movie 13 Seconds. They charged me for that....I went in to yell at whatever idiotic manager was working and they claimed I never returned it. They showed me where it should have been under new releases and it wasn't there. I walked over to horror and in about 30 seconds found it there out of place. I pretty much embarassed the shit out of the poor guy, not to mention told him if he charged anything to my account again I would contact his corporate offices.

[someguy]

It's just a facelift for what they were doing already

Previous policy

Films that have been released for a few weeks(2-4 I believe)are no longer 2 day rentals and then become 7 day rentals instead

New policy

All titles can be kept for 7 days, but we still say 2 days

Think of it as a "drop dead date" policy now. You can hand it in by this time, but you have to hand it in at this other time in the near future.

It's a foolish policy that reeks of bullshit. What if the movie company started an "arrive late for movies!" deal where you can watch a 2 hour movie at 7pm or arrive late and watch it at 9pm. Same thing really.

[Twisted Sister]

Originally posted by Mr-Blonde
One word: Netflix

No late fees ever! :cool:

Fuck Bockbuster! Nobody needs to use these guys ever again even as a last resort when there are all these mail order movie rental companies in business now.

Netflix is the shizznit. :D

I've been a member of Netflix for almost three years (since it became available in CA) and have been amazed at their service and value. The only reason I kept my Bolluckbuster membership was because I was a gold member, meaning that I rent 1,000 movies per year and get all kinds of bonus shit for it. We only went this one time because we were in between Netflix rotations and wanted to test the "no more late fees" policy. I can't wait until their is a multi-state, class-action suit that makes them credit me my $3.75 bullshit restocking fees. Bastards. Grrrrrr.

[The Mack]

I am a former Blockbuster employee. Fun job overall, but dealing with the customers suck. Remember that next time you're bitching to the guy or girl checking you out. They just do what corporate tells them to do. They're not the bastard screwing you over.

But moving on to the issue. Twisted, Blockbuster is not allowed to charge anything to your credit card. That is not just against company policy, that is against the law. They tried to do that to my brother about a year ago. They charged his late fee to his credit card. When he called threatening legal action, Blockbuster caved so fast it'd make your head spin.

[thedudeman69]

I went to this fucking place when I wanted to get movies that Hollywood Video didn't have, and it turns out that all the soccer moms took all the copies of Ray, Friday Night Lights, Saw, and a bunch others. I also returned a movie 2 days late and got charged 8 bucks, I was like "what the fuck?", I went up to the manager and felt like bitch-slapping him, but I complained that I was charged for being late when I shouldn't been.. He shrugged me off, that bastard. I called the HQ and complained, and they fucking blew me off too. what a buncha assholes.

[outsyder]

It's a better policy than their last one. Charges don't keep piling up. Besides, no company is just going to let you walk away with their films with no consequences should it not be returned.


Maybe if a few idiots would bother reading the fine print on things, they might not get "screwed," like they think Blockbuster has done to them.

[ak]

Actually...Blockbuster is allowed to pay off a fine to your credit/debit card when a fine is past a certain amount of time. It is perfectly above board.

It goes like this - When you join up to Blockbuster, you can either join up with proof of I.D, like a driver's licence, or something else with your name and address printed. If you do not have either of these things, you have the option of joining up with a credit or debit card. If that is your option, you are told upfront that the details of the card will be taken and you are told why the details will be taken.

It is a legally binding contract that they sign.

I work part-time for Blockbuster, and while I dislike asking people for their credit/debit card info (i'd much rather take a driver's licence for example), it is their own choice that they agree to.

On occasion it is clearly a technical error, or a staff error that a person has a fine, and Blockbuster is very generous in clearing fines. A little too generous sometimes (many people clearly abuse the system).

I have a problem with some of Blockbuster's policies, but if people bring a film back late, boo fucking hoo - Pay the fine and get out of my face.

[Twisted Sister]

Originally posted by outsyder
It's a better policy than their last one. Charges don't keep piling up. Besides, no company is just going to let you walk away with their films with no consequences should it not be returned.


Maybe if a few idiots would bother reading the fine print on things, they might not get "screwed," like they think Blockbuster has done to them.

With all due respect, Outsyder, I had no intent of keeping their DVDs. I was testing the new "No Late Fees" policy and took my movies back a day late, which wasn't anywhere near the 30 day limit.

There also seems to be some ambiguity with regard to when they process the charges. This is where my biggest gripe comes in. If you're going to create a new policy and market the shit out of it, make sure it's CLEAR or else the lawyers are gonna come a'callin. Has anyone else noticed how Blockbuster has scaled back its marketing for their "No More Late Fees" policy? I was seeing the commercials all the time, and lately I haven't seen any.

See, here's my take on it. It's possible that this whole thing is about shareholders and revenues. For example, it could be that Blockbuster's profits needed a Q1 boost because of Netflix's larger market share in the past year. The easiest way to do this was via a new promotion to take effect when? January 1st, the beginning of their first quarter in '05. It (theoretically) could boost their numbers just long enough to roll out Promotion #2, "Blockbuster Online," aka, the direct, less expensive competitor to Netflix. While Blockbuster is starting to push commercials for their new Online biz, customers are renting movies in the bricks and mortar stores, thinking that there are no more late fees. But ambiguity in the marketing/policy is causing them to keep the rentals out a little too long, and Blockbuster is charging them for the product, thus boosting their Q1 revenues. It's shitty, but plausible, and in the end, two things will happen: It'll be found out to be consumer fraud, and two, "No More Late Fees" will either disappear altogether or be clarified so that Blockbuster will have to accept that "no more" means NO MORE. As it stands now, they're taking late fees and just slapping them with a different label. No the movies aren't late, but guess what - you own them now. Isn't that great?

Like I said, this is just my existential prespective on the whole thing, and has no basis in anything I've heard or read.

Oh, and BTW, I am one of those "idiots" that you referenced who has not read the fine print of their policy. Of course, I asked for a copy of it in the store and they could not provide it for me.

It's interesting that without knowing the lengths to which anyone has gone, you feel you can insult their intelligence. :rolleyes:

[mshulman5]

So everyone who belongs to Blockbuster is supposed to read the fine print?? If Blockbuster had just said in there commmercials for the end of late fees that if you have the movie out 7 days after the due date it would be charged to your account then fine. If they had then added that if you then returned the movie the charge would be taken off your account but you would be charged a restocking fee then fine. However, they did not. They led people through their commercials to believe that late fees were completely done away with. They did try to suggest in those ads that we should only keep movies for an "extra day or two". This is clearly a case of false advertising as the end of late fees is clearly not what they meant. They should just call it the end of annoying everyday charges to lazy people's account so now all you aholes have an extra week to return the movies.

[outsyder]

Originally posted by Twisted Sister
With all due respect, Outsyder, I had no intent of keeping their DVDs. I was testing the new "No Late Fees" policy and took my movies back a day late, which wasn't anywhere near the 30 day limit.

There also seems to be some ambiguity with regard to when they process the charges. This is where my biggest gripe comes in. If you're going to create a new policy and market the shit out of it, make sure it's CLEAR or else the lawyers are gonna come a'callin. Has anyone else noticed how Blockbuster has scaled back its marketing for their "No More Late Fees" policy? I was seeing the commercials all the time, and lately I haven't seen any.

See, here's my take on it. It's possible that this whole thing is about shareholders and revenues. For example, it could be that Blockbuster's profits needed a Q1 boost because of Netflix's larger market share in the past year. The easiest way to do this was via a new promotion to take effect when? January 1st, the beginning of their first quarter in '05. It (theoretically) could boost their numbers just long enough to roll out Promotion #2, "Blockbuster Online," aka, the direct, less expensive competitor to Netflix. While Blockbuster is starting to push commercials for their new Online biz, customers are renting movies in the bricks and mortar stores, thinking that there are no more late fees. But ambiguity in the marketing/policy is causing them to keep the rentals out a little too long, and Blockbuster is charging them for the product, thus boosting their Q1 revenues. It's shitty, but plausible, and in the end, two things will happen: It'll be found out to be consumer fraud, and two, "No More Late Fees" will either disappear altogether or be clarified so that Blockbuster will have to accept that "no more" means NO MORE. As it stands now, they're taking late fees and just slapping them with a different label. No the movies aren't late, but guess what - you own them now. Isn't that great?

Like I said, this is just my existential prespective on the whole thing, and has no basis in anything I've heard or read.

Oh, and BTW, I am one of those "idiots" that you referenced who has not read the fine print of their policy. Of course, I asked for a copy of it in the store and they could not provide it for me.

It's interesting that without knowing the lengths to which anyone has gone, you feel you can insult their intelligence. :rolleyes:


If you were specifically given incorrect information about the program then I can understand your frustration and I apologize.

But if relying on the promises of a commercial that everything is too good to be true, it probably is and that means there are consequences. If the information is there in the store, then people are responsible for what happens. Blockbuster can market their program anyway they want to. Companies do that. It's business.

Calling people idiots was probably too harsh but they are nonetheless responsible for what they have done.

And about Blockbuster increasing revenue by charging people for movies they keep out? Well, if these people returned their movie, they get all of their money back, and only a small charge is applied. This charge does not increase over time, which is why this system is more beneficial to customers than the last one.

Besides, the whole thing can be avoided if people just return their movies on time.

[jackson13]

If you were to walk over to the shelf and put the movie back yourself, would that waive the restocking fee?

[The Postmaster General]

The way I look at it, if you kept the movie that damned long, you must have liked it. Unless of course you rent movies on Friday to watch on Monday.

It's nothing like a late fee. You get to keep that movie. That's much, much better than racking up a $15 late fee for a movie you have to give back.

The only person hear who sounds like they got scammed was the poor schmoe who was looking to rent Saw -- obviously misled into thinking it's good.

And I'm sorry that your ass is effected by these late fees. I'm really not sure what that's all about, but it seems clear that the manager and store employees may be victimizing you. You have a valid rant there.

[Addi88]

Almost every day since this "no late fee BS" started, I can never get through one day of work at my video store without hearing a customer say......

http://www.geocities.com/danielradcliffe4/Daniel_goofy_smile.jpg

Hey! Are you doing that no late fee thing Blockbuster is doing!?


My answer: No because we're good businessmen and we care about customers.


:D

Hopefully this scam puts them out of business. Shit off, Blockbuster.

[Mr. Fred Krueger]

The thing is that it technically ISN'T a false advertisement.

You don't pay a late fee, you just pay the full price of the flick and get to keep it.

If you're going to keep a movie 8 days over then that's your problem.


P.S. The limit, I believe, is 7 days with no charge. ;)

[The Mack]

Originally posted by Mr. Fred Krueger
The thing is that it technically ISN'T a false advertisement.

You don't pay a late fee, you just pay the full price of the flick and get to keep it.

If you're going to keep a movie 8 days over then that's your problem.


P.S. The limit, I believe, is 7 days with no charge. ;)

It is false advertisement. All they've really done is rename late fees restocking fees.

[TheDeadWalk]

Whether it's technically this or technically that does not matter.

When the consumers start to feel shafted, you have conducted yourself in a manner that is unexcusable. You may not be found guilty in a court of law, but you have been found guilty by the consumers of conducting bad business.

I hope the short term profits were worth it. They've likely alienated themselves from many customers by now who have either been shafted, or disapprove of this conduct.

[ak]

This must just be an American Blockbuster thing, because it hasn't even been mentioned in the UK. This is the first I've heard of it.

By the sounds of how badly it has all gone, I very much doubt it will make its way over here (thank fuck).

Regardless of any offers or small print, or any dirty dealings by Blockbuster, the way it still works in the UK is this - You've got a fine, you pay for it. If the film was processed as being late by human or technical error, Blockbuster is more than willing to clear the overdue fine (It's staggering how many credits Blockbuster give to their customers).

It's simple really. Blockbuster seem to kick shit into their own faces from time to time.

[Zebra 3]

Originally posted by ak
This must just be an American Blockbuster thing, because it hasn't even been mentioned in the UK. This is the first I've heard of it. According to the Canadian Press, the alleged scheme/scam applies to both US and Canadian Blockbuster stores. And like in the US, Blockbuster may have broken both Canadian federal and provincial laws.

[JCPhoenix]

I don't really have a problem with this new Blockbuster policy as essentially you just get more time to return it and if you don't return it in 7 days, you have to pay (or return it in 30 and get credit back - not money).

As soon as I saw the commercial on TV, me and my friend were talking about it and I knew there was no way it could be so simple, so I went to the Blockbuster website to find out the details and that's where I found out the full policy, etc (although it was buried two or three pages in with a bunch of other text - the link to the full policy is underlined but it's cleverly hidden among a couple paragraphs and not very bold at all..

What I do have a problem with is how they've been advertising it. The way they've been going about advertising it really reeks of a scam - they're hoping people won't read the fine print and so will get charged by them. The commercials are extremely misleading and the whole campaign is just, simply, manipulative. And I think the lawsuit is FULLY justified considering the way Blockbuster has acted. Again, no problem with the policy itself, but the way they've advertised it, that I have a problem with.

Originally posted by outsyder

And about Blockbuster increasing revenue by charging people for movies they keep out? Well, if these people returned their movie, they get all of their money back, and only a small charge is applied. This charge does not increase over time, which is why this system is more beneficial to customers than the last one.

Since you're talking about the restocking fee, I assume you're talking about people returning movies after the 7-day period. In this case, this isn't exactly true. They don't get all of their money back, they actually get none - what they get is instore credit - which essentially means Blockbuster gets the money all the same. It's funny cause the Ottawa Citizen had an article about the misleading campaign and even they didn't realize (or mention) that the consumers only get credit and not money back. The policy must be pretty confusing for a newspaper not to pick that crucial point up, probably the major reason why people are so worked up over this.

[moose1132]

I have netflix too, but still go to Blockbuster for games and the once a month free "favorite" that I get. I've noticed that they have nothing in stock anymore as far as new movies go. I'm glad they're getting sued. It is false advertising; I haven't read any fine prints anywhere that said you'd be charged for the over-due movie after so many days.

[mshulman5]

Exactly...they're saying one thing and meaning another while hoping that people just don't notice and fork over their money without complaint. If they had just come out and said what they meant I would have no issue with them. The fact that they want to make money off of people who don't think to look deeper then they should need to creates a moral issue. $1.35 restocking fee doesn't sound like much, but the sheer amount of unaware people that will be assessed this fee will turn that $1.35 in millions. Is it still less then $4.00 a day for everyday a movie is late? Sure it is. It's the fact that they are incorrectly advertising this.

[bmain77]

I'm sorry, but the bottom line is that those of you who thought they'd test out this new policy and got "screwed" then you got what you derserved. But then again I just might be the only fan of Blockbuster on this whole entire board and I still refuse to drink the Netflix Kool-Aid so take this for what its worth. Which I know is not much. :D

What did you really expect to happen when you keep movies for an extended amount of time? The whole idea of the program is to keep a movie out a few days late. I mean there are only about a few hundred signs posted throughout the store that say need a few more days to watch your movies then keep it. I persoanlly love this new policy. OFten times I only need an extra day or two. So I think it's great to get that time for free rather than being charged the full price alll over again.

And you don't need to read the fine print to know how the deal works. In mid december when this program was announced the whole thing was broken down perfectly on the front of every newspaper and every news program out there.

The bottom line is:

Pay the old extended viewing fee or pay nothing or like $1.50 to keep a movie a little longer....

yeah I almost see how Blockbuster is trying to screw people over
:rolleyes: I see that logic only if you yourself were going out of the way to try and test the limits of this policy.

[TheDeadWalk]

NO MORE LATE FEES!!!! *Cue Roy Orbison 'It's over'*
on the eighth day you will be charged full price of the movie

Come on man. No late fees is supposed to mean no late fees. I understand the "30 days we will charge you the full price", but eight fucking days and then you're charged the full price? Come on.

The full price fine is detailed only in the fine print. They are trying to get more business by makign people think they can keep movies as long as they want.

They are fucking lying. They are fucking liars. The advertisement is misleading. They only want you to keep the movies for a few more days, yes, but as a business do you expect them to say in their tagline "Want to keep a movie for a few more months?'

Nahhh fuck that noise, I'll pay late fees. It's bad business to try to fine print your customers. It's one thing for a credit card company or your health insurance, but come onnnnnnn... this is people renting movies for christ sake. Charging the price of the full movie is basically a delayed late fee. That's basically like charging the customer $4.30 a day for every day they've kept the movie past day one. Only those fees don't accumulate until day 8.

No late fees is no late fees. The fine print is bullshit.

It really ranks up there with a company having a HUGE sale advertisement and then put in the fine print "while supplies last" knowing damn well they aren't putting out more than ten of those super sale items onto the shelves.

Blockbuster didn't go into this for the consumer, they did it for the short term profits. Short term profits they got, now they can get their asses kicked by their competitors who, if smart, will attack this campaign.

[Mr. Fred Krueger]

But then again I just might be the only fan of Blockbuster on this whole entire board

You're not alone my friend. Though they are a bit on the expensive side, I love Blockbuster (especially after they stopped combining the Action and Horror section).

[Twisted Sister]

Originally posted by TheDeadWalk
NO MORE LATE FEES!!!! *Cue Roy Orbison 'It's over'*
on the eighth day you will be charged full price of the movie

Come on man. No late fees is supposed to mean no late fees. I understand the "30 days we will charge you the full price", but eight fucking days and then you're charged the full price? Come on.

The full price fine is detailed only in the fine print. They are trying to get more business by makign people think they can keep movies as long as they want.

They are fucking lying. They are fucking liars. The advertisement is misleading. They only want you to keep the movies for a few more days, yes, but as a business do you expect them to say in their tagline "Want to keep a movie for a few more months?'

Nahhh fuck that noise, I'll pay late fees. It's bad business to try to fine print your customers. It's one thing for a credit card company or your health insurance, but come onnnnnnn... this is people renting movies for christ sake. Charging the price of the full movie is basically a delayed late fee. That's basically like charging the customer $4.30 a day for every day they've kept the movie past day one. Only those fees don't accumulate until day 8.

No late fees is no late fees. The fine print is bullshit.

It really ranks up there with a company having a HUGE sale advertisement and then put in the fine print "while supplies last" knowing damn well they aren't putting out more than ten of those super sale items onto the shelves.

I don't know about other markets (I'm in the Midwest), but they've stopped marketing the "no more late fees" campaign here and are now pushing the Blockbuster Online ads. Anyone else noticed the same thing in their area?

Blockbuster didn't go into this for the consumer, they did it for the short term profits. Short term profits they got, now they can get their asses kicked by their competitors who, if smart, will attack this campaign.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for spelling it out. I kept wondering if anyone understood where I was coming from.

I agree, give me the late fees. Under the prior policy, if you were late, Blockbuster would charge you another full rental, meaning you've re-rented your movie and could keep it another regular rental cycle (2 days/7 days). So, if translated correctly, we can assume that we could keep a "Favorites" movie for 14 days at a cost of approximately $5.98 (2.99 x 2 rentals). How is it supposed to advantage the client if Blockbuster has "no more late fees" but charges the customer $20 after the same two weeks? This makes absolutely no fiscal sense for the consumer. There is a reason 37 states are looking into this new policy.

[The Postmaster General]

But they will recredit your account if you bring the movie back.

A restocking fee is exactly that. If you had to pay like $2 bucks because you kept the movie for 22 days, I don't see what the big deal is.

To me, the bigger problem with Blockbuster is them reporting you to credit agencies and the like -- that's a bit much, but this new policy really seems like they are trying to be somewhat flexable.

And the policy wasn't buried within pages on the site - It said "No Late Fees - click here to learn more" then when you click there, it talks about all the stuff you guys are claiming for.

Besides, how hard is it to just ask at the register how this whole thing works?

I understand why Twisted Sister is pissed off, and feeling a bit steamed, but to call this a scam and the sort is really over-shooting things. At the most, Blockbuster might just have to reword their policy. I go in these places, and they don't seem like their hurting for business. I don't think too many people will be upset for paying $2 after keeping Open Water for 3 weeks, or keeping it for sale price (but most likely PPV price)

But overall, I'm still on this boat. Fuck you, Blockbuster!

[William Munny]

Here's a link to a more official explanation (and believe me, it took some digging):

http://blockbuster.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/blockbuster.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=346&p_created=1103132339&p_sid=uDyF1Myh&p_lva=&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfc m93X2NudD0yMTImcF9jYXRfbHZsMT0mcF9jYXRfbHZsMj0mcF9 wYWdlPTE*&p_li=

Pretty deceptive on the part of Ball-Buster if you ask me.

I let them know about it. Here's a link for anyone who feels like doing the same.

http://blockbuster.custhelp.com/cgi-bin/blockbuster.cfg/php/enduser/myq_ilp.php?p_sid=uDyF1Myh&p_lva=346&p_sp=cF9zcmNoPSZwX3NvcnRfYnk9JnBfZ3JpZHNvcnQ9JnBfc m93X2NudD0yMTImcF9jYXRfbHZsMT0mcF9jYXRfbHZsMj0mcF9 wYWdlPTE*&p_li=&p_srch=;;

You know the worst part?

Rental stores have late fees for a reason.

I can't count the times that I've reserved a DVD or shown up just after new release Tuesday only to find out that some asshole has yet to return his / her copy of the film I'm after.

If people were more responsible with their movie rentals, BlockBuster wouldn't have the opportunity to profit off of our ignorance.

[Jamesadin]

I personally don't like the idea. What if there was a rare movie that you wanted to rent for tommorrow night, and someone had previously taken it out the night before. Oh, sorry, you're probably gonna have to wait 7 days until you can rent it. o_O

[The Mack]

I'm thinking all this negative attention surrounding Blockbuster's new policy will dissuade Hollywood Video from trying to follow suit, something I originally thought they were going to do.

[Misanthrope]

All of this reminds me of the "You didnt see the scam!!?" scene in casino. Something like this was bound to happen, why is people surprised?

[Psychocandy]

A quick question. Does anyone really...REALLY...REALLY need to keep a movie more than seven days? Is it not just a tiny bit possible that such an individual is being just the tiniest bit lazy? Or just being awkward because they get off on confrontation?

[chilli pepper]

Originally posted by Mr. Fred Krueger
You're not alone my friend. Though they are a bit on the expensive side, I love Blockbuster (especially after they stopped combining the Action and Horror section).

Stopped? Since fucking when? It still says ACTION on the spine of the exorcist dvds, the hellraiser dvds, the halloween dvds and all sorts of other horror stuff in my neck of the woods, but, its good to know this small, but horribley dumb thing isnt happening in some places.

[The Postmaster General]

To me, it's like renting a car, and the agents says you can keep the car as long as you like.

Then when you bring it back, you are screaming, because they charged you for extra days, "What the fuck? You said I can keep it is long as a like!?!?!"

This does not equal a scam, and nothing will come out of these lawsuits.

I've been one of the biggest opponents of Blockbusters late fee policies for YEARS and have especially complained about their protocol of automated dialers calling your house after you've called the store and told them you'd be late.

But, really, this "End of late fees" thing is probably the BEST THING Blockbuster has done since they started renting out videos. I'm not so sure what you guys would do at Unique Video in Tampa, where they only rent hard-to-find videos, and charge you $80 is a movie is more than 2 days late, and the store is only open a few hours a night. But guess what -- no one turns in the movies late!!

Hey, you read the contract, you make the deal. No one can scam you if they are providing full disclosure on everything. I mean, this deal isn't even fine print -- It's spelled out.

And just as a reference point here -- when I first saw these commercials, I immediately knew that it meant something like keeping the movie at PPV price, or something to that effect. Like Misanthrope it's unusual to hear that people are acting shocked, or surprised about this. All I'm adding is: ESPECIALLY since all the info was given in advance.

[XvoorheesX]

I went into blockbuster after I heard about the "no late fees" thing, asked them what the catch was, and she told me that if I didn't bring it back eight days after it's due back I'd have to pay full price for the movie. I said thanks, picked up my movies, they gave me a pamplet with all the info, and now blockbuster is the only place I go to.

It's less of a scam if you use some common-sense.

[jeo4]

Originally posted by XvoorheesX
I went into blockbuster after I heard about the "no late fees" thing, asked them what the catch was, and she told me that if I didn't bring it back eight days after it's due back I'd have to pay full price for the movie. I said thanks, picked up my movies, they gave me a pamplet with all the info, and now blockbuster is the only place I go to.

It's less of a scam if you use some common-sense.

Scam or not, it's still misleading and/or false advertising. I'm not in the habit of taking movies back late. Haven't taken one back late in many years, actually. But I still see no reason to give a bullshit artist like Blockbuster my business because they weren't clear or thorough in their advertising campaign. Call me old-fashioned, but that's just bad business.

[XvoorheesX]

Originally posted by jeo4
Scam or not, it's still misleading and/or false advertising. I'm not in the habit of taking movies back late. Haven't taken one back late in many years, actually. But I still see no reason to give a bullshit artist like Blockbuster my business because they weren't clear or thorough in their advertising campaign. Call me old-fashioned, but that's just bad business.
Maybe my store is different from others, but they told me everything up front, and didn't try to hide anything. People should realize that they won't just let you keep the movies forever, and I'm sure there's fine print of at least an asterix on the ads.

It may be watered-down false advertising, but I don't consider it a scam by any means.

[Shockwave]

I say they were asking for this, its a great program, so why sugar coat it so much?

Fact is, they ARE misleading people and needed to put all the facts about it out front.

Great idea, TERRIBLE execution.

[The Postmaster General]

Sounds like another thread complaining of a Blockbuster employee screw-up. Only this time it's not a clerk, it's someone in the marketing division.

We're climbing the ladder!

[CMAGUS]

Well there has to be some limit to how long you can keep the damn movie.If there was never any late fee's people would go rent films and never bring them back.I know the Blockbuster by my house makes you buy the dvd if your film inst returned in 30 days which I think is more than fair hell 30 days late the fee's are more than the movie itself.

[Jess]

Originally posted by Psychocandy
A quick question. Does anyone really...REALLY...REALLY need to keep a movie more than seven days? Is it not just a tiny bit possible that such an individual is being just the tiniest bit lazy? Or just being awkward because they get off on confrontation?

I AGREE! When one rents a movie, does he or she not have the intention of watching said movie that night or even the following day? Generally, one rents a movie because they're in the mood to watch one, so why keep a movie for a week? You're not going to rent a movie on Monday just so you can watch it a week later, that's bull.

And as an employee at a video store which is NOT Blockbuster, I'm so sick and tired of people asking if we're doing what they're doing. I'm also sick of calling people and telling them that they haven't returned our movies yet. I'm also sick of people yelling at me when they have late fees. Is it my fault that you lack responsibility? No, it's not. SO DON'T YELL AT ME BECAUSE I DON'T CARE ABOUT YOUR REASON, JUST RETURN YOUR MOVIES ON TIME. Please. And thank you.

Although don't let my shouting fool you, I too can be sympathetic towards those who return their movies late. They just better make sure to catch me on a good day.

[MichaelMyers77]

The point is they charge it to your account after 8 days or so. Now blockbuster knows full well you don't want to keep the movie you rent. However they also know that some people will be dumb enough to actually pay for it without asking questions. It's a gimmick to make more money.

[Grim H.]

It's this kind of crap reason that I stopped renting from Blockbuster, even before this new policy was formed. I've been renting my movies at the library now for years. The advantage: It's free, and late fees are no more than a few pennies. I don't need to spend $8 to rent a movie for 2 days when I can get them for a whole week for free.