Blockbuster Sued Over Late Fees Claim

DesiVideoGamer writes "CNN has a story about Blockbuster's violation of New Jersey's consumer fraud act in which they made false claims in their "No More Late Fees" campaign. New Jersey Attorney General Peter Harvey filed a lawsuit today in hopes that Blockbuster would stop misleading their customers into thinking they could keep their movie rentals as long as they want without penalty."

Price Point

[Klar (522420)]

These services seem like good deals on the outside, but when you really look at the prices they charge, better deals can be found elsewhere. I'd like to see a decline in the high priced rental stores like Blockbuster, and a move to lower priced store with good selection. In my town, there are several small convenience stores that do very good business renting DVD's for cheap prices($2 Canadian after tax compared to the $6ish the Blockbuster charges). One store in particular always has many copies of all the new movies, plus tons of older ones. Plus, having the movies at a convenience store gives the added benefit of a large variety of snack foods to fill up on.

Re:Price Point

[Mark_MF-WN (678030)]

How about a move away from censorship? I stopped going to Blockbuster and Rogers Video after I found out that they perform their own censoring and scene-removal on films.

It's bad enough that the movie industry waters everything down into mindless pap without the video store trying to decide what I should and shouldn't view.

Re:Price Point

[siliconjunkie (413706)]

I stopped going to Blockbuster and Rogers Video after I found out that they perform their own censoring and scene-removal on films.

Blockbuster does not actually censor the films themselves, but they are a powerful player and have exerted their influence in order to get directors to release "R" version of certain films rather than the "NC-17" unedited cut.

However, I think you are wrong about Rogers. The Rogers Video on Lonsdale in North Vancouver has an adult video room with full fledged porn, so I'm fairly certain they are not cutting scenes from "Boogie Nights"

Re:Price Point

[Jah-Wren Ryel (80510)]

That's not true. Just proclaiming that don't doesn't make it so.

You do realize the irony in your statement, right? I spent 10 minutes in google and google grou[s looking for supporting evidence of your claim about "Black Sheep" and not find a single mention of it.

Did you compare the video of the Black Sheep you rented from Blockbuster with one from another source? Changes between the theaterical release to the official home video release happen all the time. For example, see Terminator 3 -- the widescreen DVD is missing boobies that were shown in the theater and are, oddly enough, on the fullscreen version (and it ain't open matte). But it doesn't matter if you got your DVD of T3 from BBV or Amazon, they are all the same content.

So far lots of hearsay, but zero supporting evidence for the "censorship happens" side. This is an old urban legend that most likely is the result of confusing Wal-Mart's getting specially edited versions of music CDs and using guilt by association to apply the same reasoning to BBV's DVDs (BTW, while Wally World may still do this with the occasionally ultra-popular but 'offensive' CD, they have never done it with DVDs.)

As I've purchased over 500 used DVDs from Blockbuster since 2000 I have just a little more knowledge of this topic than most.

and another important point:

[antimatt (782015)]

The no-late-fee policy only applies necessarily to corporately owned stores; the privately owned ones are not required [tennessean.com] by Blockbuster Inc. to honor the new system. Mind you, some are, but it is voluntary on the part of the respective owners.

Gasp!

[by Anonymous Coward]

An advertiser using borderline misleading statements in order to sell a product or service? I'm shocked, SHOCKED!

By the way, what, exactly, does this have to do with my rights online?

Why do we need a lawsuit?

[ravenspear (756059)]

I mean if people today are so dumb that they think Blockbuster's commercials meant they could just keep rental movies forever then we have reached a new level of stupidity not equaled in quite a while.

Re:Why do we need a lawsuit?

[timeOday (582209)]

With netflix you can... can't you?

I think keeping a deposit equal to the max number of rentals for an account, and doing away with due dates, is a pretty good idea.

Re:Why do we need a lawsuit?

[BrynM (217883)]

With netflix you can... can't you?

Yes you can. I had one rental for three months. Not a peep or complaint from them - I did pay my usual monthly charge though. This is major benefit of the Netflix business model. They did the accounting and see that if I pay the monthly fee, who cares how long I have the movie. I can only have three at a time, but if I want to hold onto one until I want to see it I can.

Phone reminders

[Brian Brian (849676)]

My local Blockbuster kept calling multiple times a day when I decided to press the new policy. By shear nagging alone I gladly returned the movie.

Re:Phone reminders

[[e-mail] (114827)]

By shear nagging alone I gladly returned the movie.

I also would return the movie if someone was coming after me with scissors.

Well...

[by Anonymous Coward]

Fuck, I'm just glad they got rid of those commercials with the hamster and the rabbit. Fraud is nothing compared to how annoying those lil' fuckers were.

Re:Well...

[soft_guy (534437)]

Those ads are gone? They played a major role in my decision to cancel my subscription to cable and not watch TV anymore.

The Blockbuster Plan from the horse's mouth!

[MadWicKdWire (734140)]

When I was at Blockbuster recently, the customer in front of me asked about the "the end of late fees". This is exactly what the employee told the customer, word for word...

"This lets you keep the rental for a couple of days extra, just to allow you extra time."

That was pretty much about it, nothing about the restocking fee, which was just appeared on their price list one day. Nothing about after 30 days, we charge your credit card on file for the rental value of the rental.

The reason for the lawsuit is simple... they changed the way they do their rentals, because they suspect that you could accidentally forget aobut the rental and then keep it too long, but then since they will debit your credit card, by the time you find out, it's too late.

Now, here is the problem, you were NEVER told about the restocking fee or the 30 days late we charge you. That is down right wrong. They should tell you EXACTLY what will happen. Even in the commerical, there are no little words at the bottom of the screen or some crazy fast talking guy.

It's riding VERY close on false advertising, but it is the end of late fees... they just have restocking fees and purchase charges!

THANK [Fill in god of your choice] FOR NETFLIX!!!

Cable ISPs did the same thing

[freeweed (309734)]

For years, they advertised, in large capital letters, UNLIMITED INTERNET ACCESS.

After they oversold an insane amount, realized they were going to lose their shirts, they started introducing bandwidth caps. All while still advertising UNLIMITED INTERNET ACCESS.

It's sad that we need lawsuits and regulations to deal with this sort of thing - but I'm sorry, don't advertise something in 100% plain english if you're not going to follow through.

Blockbuster just rolled this campaign out in Canada, and I've been waiting to hear the catch. Call me a hopeless optimist, but NO MORE LATE FEES means, in English, that if I return a movie LATE, there will be NO FEE as a result of my returning it late. Looks like NO MORE LATE FEES just means DEFERRED LATE FEES.

Morons. They deserve whatever they get. This is about as ethical as advertising $25 cars - with small print explaining that there is a $25,000 processing fee.

Own it on DVD Today!

[renehollan (138013)]

"You're under arrest!!"

"WTF? For what??"

"Criminal Copyright Infringement!!"

"Huh?"

"You posted millions of copies of Star Wars III on the intarnat!"

"Yeah... so?"

"That's copyright infringment! You'ze goin down!!"

"Ah, no. I own it."

"???"

"I own Star Wars III. I can do with it what I want."

"Er, no. You may own the DVD, but not the movie. You're coming with us."

"No, I own the movie. I followed the TV ad: 'Own it on DVD today!' By 'it', they mean the movie. So, I own the DVD, and what's on it, the movie."

"Tell it to th' judge!"

later...

"Your honour, I own the movie. Look at the TV ad that caused me to buy it."

"You have a copy of that ad?"

"Sure, watch!"

"GUILTY!"

"WTF, er, I mean, why, your honour? I own the movie, no?"

"The movie, yes. You're guilty of copyright infringement for showing me the ad that says you own the movie. You don't own the ad. Take him away!!"

Finally

[serenarae (154753)]

I work for Blockbuster as a manager. I think it's about damned time someone started complaining. They've been engaging in deceptive business practices for years now. I'll outline this new policy for you guys:

You have 7 days after the due date to get your movie back. This means, if it's due monday, get it back the following monday by NOON.

If you fail to do this, you will get charged the retail price (unless it's been out for awhile) of the dvd, game, or vhs.

Bring it back before 30 days (this is where they get really shady, because even I dont know if it's 30 days late or 30 dates after the 7 day thing), and you will get a full refund minus a $1.50 "restocking fee"
This fee is supposedly charged to cover the cost of sending you a bajillion phone calls and postcards reminding you that your stuff is due. Mind you, there's a glitch in the system at the moment that will still call you even if your stuff has been returned. (I might also add that you should call us if you get that call and know you brought your stuff back. It may be on the shelf NOT checked in)

If you don't bring it back before the 30 days, you are STUCK with the movie. Come in and get your cover art, you're entitled to it. There is no way you can get your money back after this point.

So, ending this long reply. No matter what, unless you get your movie back within two weeks (most of the time), you're still getting charged.

Hope this helped you out... I hate this company.

it's not stupidity

[Ka D'Argo (857749)]

For those that say "to think you'd never have to return it", its not stupidity. Blockbuster specifically advertises on tv in prime time commercial slots NO LATE FEES, with no extra wording such as "Other details apply" or the ever lasting Read the Fine Print.

Now with that in mind, if I actually used Blockbuster I would go in, and rent a new release movie for whatever X amount they charge. Now within common sense Blockbusters "NO LATE FEES" policy they have advertised, they CAN institute a policy that say within 30 days you must return the video, but within those 30 days you WILL NOT be charged late fees. And they could throw in some clause such as if the video is not returned, your account is forfiet. No late fees doesn't mean "keep forever" but it means that if you forget or just don't give a fuck like most common people when they rent a movie, you won't be penalized for it.

Is that ok? No, of course not. People shouldn't automatically assume you can keep it forever after "Renting" it for $5. HOWEVER, Blockbuster is in the wrong here. They blatantly advertised NO LATE FEES. In their ads, they never mention you must sign up for some special monthy deal or pay a monthly fee, they just say NO LATE FEES. A nickel and dime lawyer could win this case of Faulty Advertisment in court quicker than OJ was aquited.

Quote from Blockbuster's Website

[DavidD_CA (750156)]

Just out of curiosity, I went to Blockbuster's website to see what they would advertise.

Sure enough, they have a huge banner ad saying "The end of late fees". There are no asterisks, fine print, or other disclaimers.

However, if you click on the "Terms" button at the bottom of every page, you get a few pages of legal text such as their privacy policy, copyrights, terms regarding their Online Rentals, and .... terms on their In-Store Rentals. Lo and beyold:

IN-STORE MOVIE AND GAME RENTAL TERMS. As of Jan. 1, 2005, movie and game rentals are due back at the date and time stated on the transaction receipt. There is no additional rental charge if a member keeps a rental item beyond the pre-paid rental period. However, if a member chooses to keep a rental item more than a week after the end of the rental period, Blockbuster will automatically convert the rental to a sale on the eighth day after the end of the rental period. Blockbuster will charge the membership account the selling price for the item in effect at the time of the rental, which is either (1) the retail price charged by that BLOCKBUSTER store for the product if sold as new, if the product is not available for sale as previously rented product at that BLOCKBUSTER store at the time of rental, or (2) the selling price charged by that BLOCKBUSTER store for the product if sold as previously rented product, if the product is available for sale as previously rented product at that BLOCKBUSTER store at the time of rental. The selling price will be discounted by the amount of the initial rental fee paid by the member at the time of rental. If the member returns the item within 30 days of the sale date, Blockbuster will credit back to the membership account the amount previously charged to the member's account or the member's credit card, as applicable, for the selling price of the item, but the member will be charged a restocking fee. All rental items must be returned to the proper BLOCKBUSTER store. These rental terms are subject to change without notice at any time. Participating stores only. Rental terms and policies may vary in franchised locations. Additional membership rules apply for rentals. See store for full details.

Explaining the policy

[Repton (60818)]

Quote from TFA:

The company said it was "surprised" that Harvey did not contact company officials to allow them to explain the new policy.

The average customer doesn't get any special explaining... If they're judging an ad campaign, how can they judge it, save by looking only at the campaign?

Re:Well, it is worse--

[aztektum (170569)]

You're telling me that you can take the time to browse their selection, wait in line to check out and sit on the movie anywhere from 14 to 44 days, but you can't find 5 seconds in that time to slip it back in their drop box?

Re:Well, it is worse--

[DAldredge (2353)]

The problem is the damn ads say NO LATE FEES...

Re:Truth in advertising

[barc0001 (173002)]

Depends on the car company, and when you buy. I got a 0% loan on a 2004 model car when they were trying to offload them because the 2005s were coming in a month. I negotiated the sale price first, then we talked financing. The final price never changed, regardless of if I was to buy it outright, do a large down payment, or nothing up front. So I opted for nothing up front, 0% over 5 years (they wouldn't go for six, dammit!) and that was that.
I think they were a little shell shocked by how quickly I nailed everything down finances-wise because they tried to sell me on a stereo upgrade for "only $17 a month". Hmmm. $17 a month x 60 months. $1020 for an "upgrade"... I'm thinking.... no.

Re:A rant...

[ColaMan (37550)]

If you're up to some fiddling, play DVD's on your PC with mplayer, or get a mythTV box going and (using it's internal DVD player/ripper module) jump straight to the movie, without the ads.

Then, just for **extra spite value**, rip and compress it to your hard drive, so that every time you play it you can say, "Yeah! Take that Blockbuster, you FUCKERS!"

That's what I do... and frankly, it feels good every time I do it.

Sorry to break it to you...

[Hamster Lover (558288)]

but you can FAST FORWARD through the commercials, if fact if you keep the FFWD pinned, so to speak, it only takes a moment to get to the main menu. I agree that it is utterly frustrating that you cannot "skip" the commercials, but not as bad as you make out. I have yet to see a DVD that does not permit fast forwarding through commercials, if that's even possible in the DVD standard.

Note I have only viewed the Canadian version of Shrek 2, which contains both English and French audio tracks, so the American version might be different.