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."

Comments

Re:Why do we need a lawsuit?

[BrynM]

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.

and another important point:

[antimatt]

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

Finally

[serenarae]

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.

Sorry to break it to you...

[Hamster Lover]

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.

Quote from Blockbuster's Website

[DavidD_CA]

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.