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This topic comprises 2 pages: 1 2
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Topic: Blockbuster's "No Late Fee" policy = SCAM
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 07-09-2005 10:28 PM
I'm sure that most people here heard about Blockbuster Video's advertising campaign where they proclaim, "NO MORE LATE FEES!!
According to the Pennsylvania Attorney General and the A.G. of 47 other states, it was a scam.
www.attorneygeneral.gov
It turns out that, while Blockbuster Video CLAIMS to not charge late fees, they just charge your credit card for the value of the movie you rented if you don't bring it back in 7 days. If you bring it back in less than 30 days they will refund your money but they will charge you a "Restocking Fee".
quote:
Blockbuster “No Late Fees” Program Settlement
Pennsylvania consumers may have heard of the recent settlement reached by Attorney General Tom Corbett and 47 other states with Blockbuster, Inc. The settlement resolves allegations that Blockbuster’s “End of Late Fees” program and related promotion efforts failed to adequately inform consumers of the terms and conditions of the program, including the fact that consumers could incur new charges for overdue movie rentals.
What Does the Settlement Mean?
Blockbuster has entered a legal settlement, filed with the courts in 47 states and the District of Columbia, in which it agrees to stop engaging in business practices which the states maintain were deceptive and misleading. The agreement also requires Blockbuster to implement changes to the in-store materials promoting its “No Late Fees” program and to clearly and conspicuously disclose the terms and conditions of the program in future advertising. Additionally, the settlement requires Blockbuster to comply with state Consumer Protection Laws in the future and pay the states’ costs to investigate and settle this matter.
What about Restitution?
Under the settlement, Blockbuster must provide restitution to any consumer who did not understand the terms of Blockbuster’s “No Late Fees” promotion and, as a result, paid restocking fees or were charged the purchase price of a rented game or movie and have not been refunded those charges by Blockbuster. Restitution will be a one-time refund of the consumer’s first payment of additional charges under the “No Late Fees” program. Consumers must file complaints on or before April 28, 2005.
Complaints may be filed:
» With the Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection by calling 1-800-441-2555
» By sending a complaint directly to Blockbuster’s Texas headquarters at:
Blockbuster, Inc.
ATTN: Steve Krumholz
1201 Elm Street
Suite 2100
Dallas, TX 75270
» With your local Blockbuster store
Any consumer who rented a video from a Blockbuster store in Pennsylvania prior to the complaint deadline and who incurred sale or re-stocking charges because they did not understand the terms of the ‘No Late Fee” policy but did not learn of these charges until after April 28th may still file a complaint within seven days of becoming aware of the charges. Blockbuster will honor these complaints for up to six months, or until September 25, 2005.
If you have a problem relating to a movie rental or the purchase of another good or service, you can call the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection toll-free HOTLINE number, 1-800-441-2555.
Hey, honey! Let's stay home and make it a "Blockbuster Night"! ![[fu]](graemlins/fu.gif)
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Bobby Henderson
"Ask me about Trajan."
Posts: 10973
From: Lawton, OK, USA
Registered: Apr 2001
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posted 07-10-2005 01:36 AM
I must agree the Blockbuster Video "no more late fees" campaign was a bit misleading -or even a scam. It seems like another one of those dumbassed American sales droid money making schemes developed while in drunken stupor on a country club golf course. "We'll take advantage of American laziness, make money from it, improve the stock price a little and get a big fat bonus" (then take a big gulp of beer and try to chip out of the sand trap).
However, I really must play "devil's advocate" on this one. Did the general public forget about something called personal responsibility? Most video stores give you 5 whole days to watch a DVD before you have to return it. That's more than enough time to watch a 2-disc title loaded with a ton of extras. IMHO, you pretty much have to fall victim to a serious brain fart to keep a 5 day rental past a week.
The folks filing lawsuits may have forgotten the early days of video stores where you had only 1 night to watch the show. If you didn't bring it back on time, you got to pay the full rental price for each extra night you kept the tape.
In those days most video stores were mom and pop shop operations that didn't have 377,888,886 copies of the damned movie in stock. So they were pretty serious about getting that tape back and diligent in charging fines to cure the laziness of a few renters.
The problem still exists in the largest of video stores when it comes to independent film releases and older "catalog" DVD releases. No store keeps lots of copies of those movies in stock. I recall having to raise some hell at a local video store to get to rent the only copy of "Ghost in the Shell" they had. Some dummy rented it and simply forgot he had it in his house. Or maybe he just wanted to keep it and hope the store would forget he had it. Those kind of folks need to pay the full freaking price for the DVD. Hell, after awhile even most libraries will charge you the full price to replace a book if you forgot you still had it.
I'm not the only one who hates it when a title you want to rent is never in stock -mainly because one asshole out there won't return the damned movie. I think some people keep the movies on purpose and just don't go back to the video store all to try to avoid the late charge. After so many days, charge their damned credit card for the price of the movie.
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Randy Stankey
Film God
Posts: 6539
From: Erie, Pennsylvania
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 07-10-2005 10:26 PM
My point was not about whether people are lazy, nor was it about whether people should have to pay for bringing a rented movie back late. (They are... And, they should.)
My point was that the ad was so misleading that 48 states and the District of Columbia saw fit to sue them in court on behalf of the general public.
I've seen some cases where a few states' A.G. sue then the ad gets retracted but when 49 out of 51 A.G. gang up on a company it's because they smell a rat.
Frankly, I don't go to Blockbuster very often. When I rent movies, it's from the local grocery store. (Wegmans.) or from another video place that's near my house. I just don't care for B.B.
quote: Adam Martin
The original Blockbuster campaign made it look like they were going the way of Netflix
That's exactly what I thought too.
I saw their ad a few months ago that proclaimed, "No More Late Fees!! No More Late Fees!!" I saw some news items in the paper and on N.P.R. radio that covered the story. NONE of them said anything about the fee structure. Like Adam, I thought they were trying to go toe-to-toe with NetFlix. Later on, after they retracted their original ad, I saw their replacement and noticed the fine print that talked about the 7-day grace and the "Restocking Fee".
I thought, "Aha! THAT'S how they do it!... They get to keep your money in their bank account for a month!"
If they ring up 1 million extra sales a month, that's $30,000,000.00 extra dollars they can have in the bank. (Assuming the average video costs $29.95.) Even if they have to give all that money back they:
1) Still get another $30M coming to them for next month's sales.
2) They get to keep the interest that $30M made while it was in their account.
Even if they only get 1% interest it still adds up to $300,000 per month. Maybe Bobby is right. It's nothing more than a "Stupid Tax".
But, not fully disclosing the terms of a new agreement to your customer(s) then using THEIR money to pad your bank account is playing dirty pool!
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) The policy is very lenient. You pay, what 3.99?, for a week, and can keep it for 30 days more for only $1.25 (the restocking fee). No other brick-and-mortar shop has a fee structure like that. Even the public library charges more for overdue media. From what I read, their thinking was that if you really like the movie, go ahead and keep it. Kind of a try-before-you-buy deal. This thing was completely not a scam, but there are just dumb people who thought they were getting a free lunch. Did they honestly think that they could rent a movie for a few bucks and NEVER have to return it?
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