Blockbuster to end Late Fees


Warndalyn

Warndalyn

Postmaster General!!!
Blockbuster to end late fees

04:02 PM CST on Tuesday, December 14, 2004


It's a blockbuster announcement from Dallas-based Blockbuster, the nation's largest video and game rental business: no more late fees.

"Late fees are a thing of the past," said Blockbuster Chairman and CEO John Antioco in a statement released this morning, calling this the "biggest and most important customer benefit we've ever offered."

(The policy change will go into effect on Jan. 1. The policy change will go into effect on Jan. 1.)

There's still a one-week deadline for returning rented games; the due date remains two days to one week for rented movies. But Blockbuster will now give users a one-week grace period with no additional fees.

After that, however, the rental will end and the product will be considered "sold" to the customer.

The company said its decision to change its rental policy was based on testing in markets across the U.S.

Blockbuster has been facing increased competition from rental store alternatives, including rent-by-mail offerings by Netflix and Wal-Mart, pay-per-view options from cable and satellite providers and even downloadable video from Movielink.

Blockbuster said it anticipates that lower revenues from the elimination of late fees will be offset by a higher volume of rentals.

The company's stock closed at $8.80 in trading on Monday.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcon...s/stories/121404dnbusblockbuster.ad63971.html
 
Read the small print, they will charge you for the price of the movie after 1 week past it's due date.
 

Those movies/games can be kind of expensive. My partner couldn't close on a house until he paid for a tecmo bowl game we rented in high school, it was about 10 years late. :eek:

It cost him $90, I think.
 
Fiyah said:
Read the small print, they will charge you for the price of the movie after 1 week past it's due date.
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"A customer will have a one-week grace period after a rental due date. If a movie or game is not returned during that week, it will be automatically sold to the customer. If the item is then returned within 30 days, the customer can get a credit to his or her account."
 
Venom Skywalker said:
"A customer will have a one-week grace period after a rental due date. If a movie or game is not returned during that week, it will be automatically sold to the customer. If the item is then returned within 30 days, the customer can get a credit to his or her account."
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Exactly, I read everything, Fiyah. They still give you the grace period to return it...this will help me out. :tup:
 
SU's Finest '93 said:
Exactly, I read everything, Fiyah. They still give you the grace period to return it...this will help me out. :tup:
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But they will still get your money after the 1 week late grace period. They will not return it back to you but give you store credit. How many people will lose their money and have to settle for that store credit? I bet you won't be paying the price that they bought the movie for but the price they set for that movie. Can you imagine paying $22.95 for a used movie? How many times will people rent the movie and forget to return it before that 1 week grace period expires? Blockbuster is already collecting over 250 million dollars in late fees, that cost will now now escolate becuase more people will hold onto the movies longer since there is not a (so-called) late fee.
 
Chile, I know some folks that'll keep a movie for 2 mths so, this will help some people. I think their cheating themselves out of alot of loot, personally.
 
oh well, I don't forget about Blockbuster movies, when I rent them. I usually don't even have late fees, but every now and again, I'll be a day late. I would never keep it longer than that 1 week grace. When I rent movies, I usually watch them the same night I rent them anyway, then take em back the very next day. I've made a habit of it.
 
i have learned my lessons with renting video's. thank GOD for icontrol. i will not rent another movie. hollywood video hit me for 200.00 out of my cking acct because of a movie i turned in into the drop box but it was never cked. i called raising hell with corporate and they told me there was nothing they could do. fugg em. i would rather buy the movie from the door.
 
dSWACizJSU said:
i have learned my lessons with renting video's. thank GOD for icontrol. i will not rent another movie. hollywood video hit me for 200.00 out of my cking acct because of a movie i turned in into the drop box but it was never cked. i called raising hell with corporate and they told me there was nothing they could do. fugg em. i would rather buy the movie from the door.
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Wow..I worked at a local video rental store in college and even WE had a video survalliance system for just that reason. No matter when you dropped off at video they had it on tape.
 
Yep they had to make them cameras just for me..... when I was younger working at Blockbuster, I use to love to check the drop box.... it was far away from the store closer to the main road. I use to crack my window to my car and while I was bringing the tapes back up to the store, I would take whatever movie/game I liked and throw it in my car window..... then go right back in the store and call the customer telling them there movie/game was late. They would argue saying they dropped it off, I would tell them that we didnt have it in the drop box.

Thats how I use to get all the John Maddens, Grand Theft Autos, NBA Lives, and any movie I wanted. You better start WALKING your movies in, instead of using the drop box.
 
dSWACizJSU said:
i have learned my lessons with renting video's. thank GOD for icontrol. i will not rent another movie. hollywood video hit me for 200.00 out of my cking acct because of a movie i turned in into the drop box but it was never cked. i called raising hell with corporate and they told me there was nothing they could do. fugg em. i would rather buy the movie from the door.
Click to expand...
:smh:


DAHILL said:
Yep they had to make them cameras just for me..... when I was younger working at Blockbuster, I use to love to check the drop box.... it was far away from the store closer to the main road. I use to crack my window to my car and while I was bringing the tapes back up to the store, I would take whatever movie/game I liked and throw it in my car window..... then go right back in the store and call the customer telling them there movie/game was late. They would argue saying they dropped it off, I would tell them that we didnt have it in the drop box.

Thats how I use to get all the John Maddens, Grand Theft Autos, NBA Lives, and any movie I wanted. You better start WALKING your movies in, instead of using the drop box.
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:smh: :smh:
 
Blockbuster better had did something. Between Netflix, and On Demand, Blockbuster is slowly becoming a thing of the past. Hell, in a few years, there will be no such thing as a Blockbuster night.

NICE
 
I hardly ever go there anymore. The $4-$5 I pay for renting a movie can be 1/3 of the cost of owning the DVD by purchasing it from Wal-mart or Circuit City or Best Buy or wherever. Oh well...
 

I ain't renting *ish. That rode that late fee crap for too long. Once Netflix hit the market, they were too arogant to change their style before it was too late. I hope Blockbuster falls on its face.

When new movies come out on Tuesdays, they are on sale at Circuit City and Best Buy for $14.99. Give it a few months, then the movie is $9.99. Give it even longer, it becomes $7.99. If you have a good network of friends that wouldn't mind lending you DVDs, then you can watch the movies for FREE.
 
I stopped going to Blockbuster years ago, the same as JSTUS. With the hours I worked, I hardly had time to watch the movies I rented, and had a schit load of late fees. Sometimes, I just couldn't watch the movie period. To end of paying $13-$21 dollars in late fee's for a movie I never watched was too costly.

I then took the route of buying them, and came out cheaper in the end. My movie collection now is hovering around 350 movies, and I don't even think of Blockbuster anymore, at least to rent.

Netflix is the move for renters. $20 a month, no late fees, and you don't have to leave your home, and can get up to 4 movies at a time. You can't beat it.

Now that On Demand is up, and running. If you don't have anything in particular to watch, and you were thinking of going to BB, you can just hit OD, and watch any movie in the cable networks library, when you want to watch it, and at no charge for subscribers.

So long Blockbuster.

NICE
 
I haven't used Blockbuster since the early 90's. They tried that late fee crap on me when I turned in the movie in the drop box cause they locked the doors up early. I said It wasn't late and they refused to take the late fee off. Years later I did get a letter with a coupn for some free rentals due to a law suit they lost on these late fees. I still refused to use them, I rent most of mines from Hollywood Video, 5 day rentals for all movies.
 
Fiyah said:
I haven't used Blockbuster since the early 90's. They tried that late fee crap on me when I turned in the movie in the drop box cause they locked the doors up early. I said It wasn't late and they refused to take the late fee off. Years later I did get a letter with a coupn for some free rentals due to a law suit they lost on these late fees. I still refused to use them, I rent most of mines from Hollywood Video, 5 day rentals for all movies.
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hmmm, I've never rented from Hollywood Video before...maybe I should try them. Do they rent out the games for kids too?
 
I stopped using Blockbuster awhile ago. One reason was because they were overpriced and once they tried to say that I lost a movie; but it just so happens that they found the "lost" movie. Anyways, I use Netflix now. They have a extensive selection, and very reasonably priced. I tried Blockbuster online, but they are just like the store. They claim I didnt send back the movies, then had the nerve to send me broken dvds. That's alright though, I cancelled my account and kept the Day After Tomorrow. That'll teach them *****s.
 
Have you guys had a chance to check out the over dramatic commercial about this deal??? GEEEZZ!! What a bunch of bullshot!!! In a lot of ways the ad was letting you know that they weren't being true. It just goes to show you what some of these businesses will do to pimp themselves out and try to make us the consumer their ho's!
 
Dizzam!!!! lol Y'all are hard on Blockbuster eh? :confused:

I knew Blockbuster was destined for a severe downfall when they refused to change their old scheme. :shame:

Roughly 6-7 years ago, they had a schme in place where they'd mail you automatically if you had a late charge and they didn't increase the late charges, add interest, yaddi yaddi yaddi... :shame: Suckers! Insipids!!!! :smh: I had a~ 1.35$ late charge and I swear they'd sent me 7-8 notices indicating that I needed to either settle @ a store or send them the buck thirty-five. :confused: After the first month, I was truly amused. lol Ditto for #2-#7-8. All along, I'd done this quick guesstimation what the actual cost of notification was and determine that they were as backwards as all "L" out. They had appl devls who obviously had NOTHING else to do outside of attempting to convince the corp that they could turn a profit by aggressively going after late fees. :smh: Would've been a great idea if the late fee amts were > 20$ or some other 'pseudo-positive' float value. :shame:

When they wasted well over 10-15$ on paper, print, postage, machinery, et al to notify me of my 1.35 late fee, <b>that</b>'s when I knew they were going downhill. :tdown: :shame:

BTW, they're not the FIRST dumb corp to do likewise. :shame:
 
I'm suprised they are just coming up with this. they coulda been making the money long time ago. I don't rent movies no more. I just buy what I like and be done with it.
 
Their late fees ran me away and I'm not coming back at all. Why rent a movie for $4.32 when you can buy it for $7 to $15.
 
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