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Movies Media Your Rights Online

Blockbuster Sued Over Late Fees Claim 650

Posted by Zonk from the read-the-fine-print dept.
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."
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Blockbuster Sued Over Late Fees Claim More

Blockbuster Sued Over Late Fees Claim

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  • Price Point (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Klar ( 522420 ) * <curchin@g m a i l .com> on Saturday February 19, 2005 @01:35AM (#11720672) Homepage Journal
    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 (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Mark_MF-WN ( 678030 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @02:07AM (#11720810)
      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 (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Jah-Wren Ryel ( 80510 )
        I stopped going to Blockbuster and Rogers Video after I found out that they perform their own censoring and scene-removal on films.

        Well, you are pretty stupid then because they don't do that.

        The worst Blockbuster has done is refuse to carry NC-17/unrated versions and thus put pressure for the studios to release R-rated cuts. IN the last year or two, that policy seems to have ended as I've seen a number of NC-17 and unrated DVDs are corporate owned blockbusters, including "The Dreamers" and "Y Tu Mama Ta

      • Re:Price Point (Score:5, Insightful)

        by siliconjunkie ( 413706 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @03:36AM (#11721101)
        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 (Score:3, Interesting)

          by rikkards ( 98006 )
          Um. Most movies try not to get the NC-17 rating. It is the kiss of death as it means when the movie is released to the theatres a large demographic is not supposed to see it (barring sneaking in to the theatre). Seems like the sweet spot in ratings is about PG-13; not too low in the ratings to look like a Disney film and not too high to block potential viewers from seeing it. If there is anyone who is being swayed in releasing an R rating rather than NC-17 it would be the Producer.

          However, Blockbuster has

    • and another important point: (Score:5, Informative)

      by antimatt ( 782015 ) <xdivide0@gmail.com> on Saturday February 19, 2005 @02:21AM (#11720874) Homepage
      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.

    • Re:Price Point (Score:3, Informative)

      by Eil ( 82413 )

      I have to agree. Most people never think to shop around for video rentals, but you'd be surprised what kind of value you can find just looking around. My wife and I got tired of Blockbuster's steep prices, short rental periods, and constantly out-of-stock new releases. So we tried Hollywood Video; same crap, different store. Finally, we ended up renting from a place called Family Video. Their rentals are only $2 and they never run out of new releases. They're a really decent chain, give them a shot if they'

    • Re:Price Point (Score:5, Insightful)

      by screwballicus ( 313964 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @06:49AM (#11721517)
      For that matter, as far as movies go, call me crazy, but what ever happened to the public library? At present, if I want to watch any of hundreds of major titles, aside from Blockbuster and the rental chains, I have the option of taking it out from [i]either[/i] the downtown Toronto Public Library or the University of Toronto's A/V centre. How available a wide array of DVDs are through public channels will depend on where you are, no doubt, but here they're readily available.

    • Re:Price Point (Score:3, Interesting)

      by the_ed_dawg ( 596318 )

      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.

      Blockbuster actually ran a test marketing campaign in my area (Lafayette, IN) where they allowed one night rentals for $2.00 on new releases and $1.00 on older movies. My wife and I were renting movies all the time because we always watch the movie the first night. Basically, it was like they dropped the price by half. When I went in after Christmas (after the no late fe

  • Gasp! (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 19, 2005 @01:35AM (#11720673)
    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?

    • Re:Gasp! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by critter_hunter ( 568942 )

      They're not just making "borderline misleading statements" though. They are burying the information about the late fees very deep indeed (at least in the online advertisement). The initial Flash ad does not have any "certain condition applies" warning or somesuch - if you follow the "click here for more info" link, you get a customer service contact form and a link to their FAQ. The FAQ does contain a link to information pertaining to the restocking fee, but a) it is badly placed (it's the last question in

    • your rights online... (Score:4, Funny)

      by Cryptnotic ( 154382 ) * on Saturday February 19, 2005 @04:38AM (#11721265)

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

      You have the right to use Netflix, which doesn't suck.

      • Netflix Rocks (Score:5, Interesting)

        by HangingChad ( 677530 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @09:17AM (#11721893) Homepage
        We dumped all our satellite premium channels in favor of Netflix.

        Now instead of watching the same cheap movies over and over we have a great selection that includes foreign films, documentaries, TV (including British TV series), special interest and, somewhat ironically, the series from the recently disposed premium subscription channels.

        I couldn't imagine going back to anything as primitive as a video store, especially Blockbuster. *urp*

    • Re:Gasp! (Score:3, Informative)

      by shokk ( 187512 )
      Gee, they only have the information for the new service at the counter. It clearly says in FAQ format that if you keep the movie for 8 days past the due date that you have purchased the movie. If you're too irresponsible to return a movie before 8 days are up, you should get into their Freedom Pass which will be cheaper in the long run than buy every movie you decided to view but didn't have time to actually view.

      With enough people in my family watching movies, I only watch a movie once a week, but we ar

    • Re:Gasp! (Score:3, Insightful)

      by drooling-dog ( 189103 )
      Yes, please stop questioning our Benevolent Corporate Overlords. Don't you realize that Welfare Mothers are driving Cadillacs?

  • Why do we need a lawsuit? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by ravenspear ( 756059 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @01:36AM (#11720685)
    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? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by timeOday ( 582209 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @01:39AM (#11720699)
      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? (Score:5, Informative)

        by BrynM ( 217883 ) * on Saturday February 19, 2005 @01:46AM (#11720723) Homepage Journal
        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.
      • 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.

        I agree (I love Netflix!), although it isn't as simple for them as just eliminating the fees.

        New releases cause a huge problem for brick-and-mortar rental places. In the store owner's perfect world, you have one copy each of 2,000 movies, and every night people come in and get the movies they want and leave. But 99% of your customers don't want on of your 2,000 movies. They

        • It's a bit hard for me to sympathize when I can pop a $0.49 blank into a $69 writer and make my own DVD any day of the week.

          I'm not actually advocating Blockbuster burning its own CDs, just pointing out that the physical media itself is extremely cheap. (So cheap that DIVX tried to make a business of "renting" by selling self-destructing discs.) If people are leaving the video store empty-handed (or with a $0.99 old release), both the rental store and the studios are losing money. If the studios' prici

    • 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.

      Why? Baskin and Robins claims free ice cream on halloween, and you do get free ice cream. Many resturants claim free refills on coffee and sure enough they have free refills. I get free coffee at rest areas on the highway. Even those cheesy some see our property and get a free gift adverts after listenin

    • Re:Why do we need a lawsuit? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by anthony_dipierro ( 543308 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @09:18AM (#11721897) Journal

      If we've reached the point where a company can advertise the end of late fees when it actually charges a late fee (just calls it a restocking fee), all without being subject to a lawsuit, then we have reached a new level of stupidity in the legal system.

      I'm sorry, I'm a big believer that some of the disclaimers we require are ridiculous, but saying you don't charge late fees when you do is just wrong.

  • Phone reminders (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Brian Brian ( 849676 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @01:36AM (#11720686) Journal
    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.

  • Well... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday February 19, 2005 @01:36AM (#11720688)
    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.

  • a way to purchase? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by tsioc ( 787745 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @01:40AM (#11720701) Homepage
    I'm thinking that if they priced it right, this could be one way to sell dvd's and games. You can rent all you want, if you like it, keep it.

  • Truth in advertising (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Mistlefoot ( 636417 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @01:43AM (#11720711)
    Let's see.

    I can get a free cell phone almost anywhere. 3 years and $2000 later it's paid for.

    I can buy a car at 0% interest....but if I pay cash it's $$$thousands$$$ less than if I do credit.

    How come none of these advertisers are sued? Does the government really need to protect me against the cost of a DVD because I didn't read the fine print while ignoring far larger issues?
    • How is it cheaper to pay cash if you get 0% financing? I guess you're assuming they all have some sort of rebate offer that you can't get if you do the 0% thing? You also have to consider that you can invest the cash and pretty easily get a 10% or so return on it.
      • Because you have buying power when you're paying the full amount in cash. I have no idea why this is, honestly, but I know it to be true. If you finance a vehicle, even with 0%, you'll pay close to sticket price. One of my close friends came into a small inheritance (trust fund really), and bought a new Durango with it. As he paid cash, he bought the car (fully loaded, with every possible option; including 5.7L hemi, GPS, back-seat video, block heater, AWD, Satellite radio, etc), for just slightly more
    • I can get a free cell phone almost anywhere. 3 years and $2000 later it's paid for.

      Because those ads tell you there's a contract required (usually just a 1 year contract, but hey the phone IS free, the service isn't.

      I can buy a car at 0% interest....but if I pay cash it's $$$thousands$$$ less than if I do credit.

      I'm going to assume that's because the car dealership is taking off the amount of money they'd be charged by the bank. Or they're giving you a discount equal to what you would have paid in

    • You are a sucker, then. (Score:3, Interesting)

      by tgd ( 2822 )
      You need to shop around. Hell, get your free phone and pay the $150 cancellation fee if your money management skills are so bad its somehow going to cost you $2000.

      If you buy a car telling the sales guy "I want a payment of $x a month" or "I want the zero percent financing" you've already broadcast "sucker who can't manage his money" to the sales guy in blazing lights. Last car I bought I took the 0% financing, knowing exactly what the alternate discount was if I didn't take it. And the dealer made $400 on

  • Oh really? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by FireballX301 ( 766274 )
    Yes, it IS a news-flash, you CANNOT keep movies you've rented, forever.

    But since when have advertising campaigns been free of ambiguity and deceit?

  • The Blockbuster Plan from the horse's mouth! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by MadWicKdWire ( 734140 ) * on Saturday February 19, 2005 @01:54AM (#11720757) Homepage
    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!!!
    • You said it yourself.

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

      A Couple days, not an entire fraking month.
    • The problem is that particular guy. When I was told about the new plan, it was made clear to me that after seven days I would own the video, and would have 30 days after that to return it. The restocking fee wasn't mentioned, nor did it need to be, because that has been their purchase return policy since day one.

      Everyone posting here needs to calm down, put your spleens on hold, and look a that the situation objectively. I had a problem with this as well, until I put my brain in gear. The problem is that p
      • My best friend works at BlockBuster, and I was hanging out when they were getting all their corporate propaganda for the new No Late Fees, and they actually have a little handbook that says 'Customer says X, you say Y' -- and there are about 3-4 levels of the customer having to ask for details before they're supposed to hand them over. They're supposed to give as ambiguous and non-informative answers as possible until the customer practically gets irate.

  • Cable ISPs did the same thing (Score:5, Interesting)

    by freeweed ( 309734 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @02:07AM (#11720811)
    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! (Score:5, Funny)

    by renehollan ( 138013 ) <{ten.eriwraelc} {ta} {nallohr}> on Saturday February 19, 2005 @02:38AM (#11720934) Homepage Journal
    "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 (Score:5, Informative)

    by serenarae ( 154753 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @02:39AM (#11720936) Journal
    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.

    • When you say "work" (Score:5, Funny)

      by garwil ( 841790 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @05:18AM (#11721361) Homepage Journal

      I think you meant to say "worked"

      Signed,

      Your Area Manager

      ;)

    • Re:Finally (Score:4, Informative)

      by Michael Spencer Jr. ( 39538 ) * <spam@NoSpam.mspencer.net> on Sunday February 20, 2005 @12:03AM (#11726858) Homepage
      I'd like to add to what you said. I work for a major credit card processor (First National Merchant Solutions), and according to Visa/Mastercard regulations, any of these full-retail-price charges could be charged back.

      Merchants are not allowed to use Visa/Mastercard for collections purposes. They can't charge you "punitive fines" without your approval and authorization.

      Here's an example: suppose you stay at a hotel. You agree to pay for your room stay, but while you're there you get drunk and trash the place, causing $500 in damages. You leave before anyone notices the damage, so nobody had a chance to bill you.

      The hotel owner decides to bill your Visa card for the amount of the damages. While it may be true that you owe the hotel owner $500, you never gave the hote owner permission to take that $500 from your Visa card. Because of that you can talk to your bank, tell them you didn't authorize the charge, and get the money back. (You can then go to jail for whatever crime you committed, or write a check for that same amount of money...but we're just talking about Visa/Mastercard's world here.)

      In this case, Blockbuster will try to argue that your signature on the rental agreement authorizes them to charge your card. For *this particular sale* though, when you left the store you understood you would be charged only a rental fee. I believe whatever authorization you gave on your contract doesn't actually protect them as much as they think it will.

      So if you charge back one of these charges from Blockbuster, you aren't saying "I don't really owe Blockbuster money", you're actually saying "I might or might not owe Blockbuster money, but either way, they do not have the right to take that money from my Visa/Mastercard account. Ask me to write a check or pay cash instead."

      If they bill you the cost of a game ($50.00), that costs them at least 75 cents in credit card processing fees, probably more. So they *have* to charge some kind of restocking fee, or else that "gentle reminder" when they charge your card will *cost* them money when you return the game.

      Above all else, though, keep this in mind: if someone charges your card for punitive damages or fines/fees you did not specifically agree to, you can file for a chargeback. Talk to your issuing bank.

      Understand the difference though:
      "You owe me $500 for tearing up your hotel room. Pay me now or I'm calling the police." --> "OK, fine, charge my card." -- in this case there was authorization, so no chargeback.

      Hope this helps!

      The opinions in this post are my own, and may or may not also reflect the opinions of my employer, First National Merchant Solutions. I did not actually have the phone-book-sized Visa/Mastercard regulations manuals in front of me when writing this, so I might be wrong. The "hotel" example came straight from our chargeback department, though, so I'm *very* sure the theory behind this post is correct. This is not banking advice -- your situation may vary, so talk to your own banker for situation-specific banking advice.

      --Michael Spencer
      Stop Code 3270
      First National Merchant Solutions
      1620 West Dodge
      Omaha, NE 68197

  • it's not stupidity (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Ka D'Argo ( 857749 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @02:54AM (#11720978) Homepage
    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.

  • Not surprising (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jgarzik ( 11218 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @03:08AM (#11721028) Homepage
    I blogged about this [blogspot.com] earlier today. Two key points:
    1. Claiming "no more late fees", especially in a big splashy ad campaign, and then charging you a fee 7 days later, is false advertising. Plain and simple. I'm with the state A.G. on that one. They deserve this lawsuit.
    2. BlockBuster makes serious revenue on late fees (or whatever name you wish to call them). Someone on another claimed that 40% of their revenue is late fees, though I did not check this. Anyway, BlockBuster is not going to just give up that huge stream of revenue.
    Claiming "no more late fees" was just a bone-headed idea. Hopefully B.B. will see that before too many Attorneys General look their way.

  • Quote from Blockbuster's Website (Score:5, Informative)

    by DavidD_CA ( 750156 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @03:20AM (#11721063) Homepage
    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.

  • They've NEVER charged late fees! (Score:3, Funny)

    by tuxedobob ( 582913 ) * <tuxedobob AT mac DOT com> on Saturday February 19, 2005 @03:43AM (#11721119)
    They just made you pay money if you didn't bring it back it time!

  • Hopefully CREDIT CARDS are on the chopping block! (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Viewsonic ( 584922 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @03:55AM (#11721150)
    If there is ever a cause for a state to go after fraud, its after Credit Cards. All that fine print usually invalidates anything you can do.. Miss a bill on your car payment even tho its not on your credit card bill? They raise the rates to 25%.

  • Explaining the policy (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Repton ( 60818 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @05:08AM (#11721337) Homepage

    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?

  • People forget (Score:3, Insightful)

    by jwcorder ( 776512 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @08:15AM (#11721714)
    Most people seem to forget that if you want to keep the movies as long as you want, they have an unlimited rental plan just like Netlfix. This is only for people who sometimes keep their movies over a few days. The only people bitching are the same people who think they can keep a library book for 6 months.

    The majority of their rentals are 5 days. You get a week in addition to that. If you can't stop by the video store on your way home to drop your movies off in 12 days, they should charge you.

    Or better yet, go back to the old policy and autodraft late fees from the customers. See which policy causes people to bitch more.

  • Bunch of whiners! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Stone316 ( 629009 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @08:45AM (#11721804) Journal
    My god, i've never heard a sorry bunch of whiners complain so much before over something like this. I go to blockbuster a fair bit, mostly for the kids and I love this program. With a very busy schedule its very easy to be late a day or two if you have the movie for a week. The late fees add up really quickly.

    Maybe they didn't do a great job of explaining the program for customers but blame is a 2 way street here. All their signs refer to the phamplets available at each cash (and throughout the store) which explains the program in detail.

    The way it is now, you have around 37 days extra to keep a movie and return it for the same cost as 1 day late fee before the program. I swear to god some people here can complain about anything.

    One person above was paying their monthly fee to netflix and kept one of the movies for 3 months. You could have bought the damn movie but you'll complain about blockbuster?

    Yikes...

    • Re:Bunch of whiners! (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Anita Coney ( 648748 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @09:14AM (#11721879) Homepage
      First, did you read the links above?! Blockbuster says, without an OUNCE of ambiguity, that "there are no more late fees." It has a link to "find out more" and that link is DEAD!

      Here's a scenario, what if the pamphlets and the dead links said you had to turn over your first born child?! Would that be fair too?

      The fact is that Blockbuster COULD have put the fact that you've bought them after a week on their signs AND on their website. How difficult is it to say, "There are no more late fees, after a week, you've bought it!" The ONLY reason that did not do something so incredibly simple is because they want to deceive their customers!

      The fact that Blockbuster did NOT say that means they were committing fraud by omission.

      I agree that consumers have to take some responsibility, but when a company says "no more late fees" but then charges you 20 bucks automatically after a week, they are screwing customers over!

  • Am I alone here (Score:4, Interesting)

    by PK_ERTW ( 538588 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @09:53AM (#11722056)
    Hey Slashdot

    I have a question: am I alone here in thinking that I actually like Blockbusters(BB) new policy? Now, let's make things clear, I am from the club that thinks that BB is evil. I don't like how they use their corporate clout to force censorship, they are over priced, and they are abusive to their underpaid staff.

    Whrn I saw their new ad campaign that said you could keep your movie for an extra "day or two", immediately I thought the worst. I figured that on day three they would charge you for all three days missed and continue to abuse you. When I read the deal (look it up,I am not gonna explain it here) I thought it was extremely fair.

    Lets be clear, you are still renting something, and you are expected to return it. If you do not, they do have to restock it. They may have to buy a new copy. It will require paperwork. These things take an employees time, who is being paid money.

    I use Zip, so I am still not about to switch, but if I really want to see something, or I need to rent a movie for whatever reason, I would consider using BB. I would like know that if I like the movie, I can just keep it, and I can return it at my leisure without having to worry about things. A week is a long time people. A month is even longer, and an extra $1.75 for those 3 weeks isn't that mutch.

    pk

    • I like it too! (Score:3, Interesting)

      by Omega ( 1602 )
      I don't know about everyone else here, but I didn't find anything deceptive about this at all. And I really enjoy the new policy.

      First off, every news story I read or heard about the "no late fees" policy explained the caveat that it didn't mean you got to keep the movie forever, no strings attached. I guess I'm naturally distrustful too, so I even read the FAQ's about it on their website [custhelp.com]. They all said you got 1 week past your due date gratis. After that you automatically "bought" the movie, and it w

  • Dream for me (Score:3, Interesting)

    by null etc. ( 524767 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @11:35AM (#11722676)
    This is a dream come true for me. I hate lawyers, and I hate corporation who pull shit over the public, but I love lawyers who sue corporations who pull shit over the public.

    I signed up for a Blockbuster account, just so I could rent some videos to test out my new HD television. I recently moved to this area, and Blockbuster was the only video store around.

    I signed up because of their "no late fees". After I filled out my application, I was handed a small piece of paper with likewise small text, stating that the videos had to be purchased at market price if beyond a 6 days late. Then I looked up and saw the price of $4.29 per rental. I was fumed.

    So I voted with my dollars and never rented a video there. I now drive back to Philadelphia to rent from TLA, which has supperior selection, prices, and deals.

  • The only thing that really changed... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by dotgod ( 567913 ) on Saturday February 19, 2005 @12:21PM (#11722992)
    is that Blockbuster extended the due date by a week and changed the late fee to $1.25.

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