I hate losing my temper in public, but sometimes you just gotta.
I put two movies in the Blockbuster drop box some time before noon today, when they were due. I t was close, but I know it was before noon because I got gas down the street from the Blockbuster and the receipt says 11:50. I paid at the pump, and it takes about 30 seconds to get to Blockbuster from the gas station.
I went in tonight to rent a movie, and they tried to charge me $8.46 in late fees. It seems the movies did not get checked in until 5:00 pm. We went round and round, with me explaining that it is not my fault they are lazy and slow with the check-ins, and we were making no progress, when the guy finally made his fatal mistake. He looked at me and said:
“It is your responsibility unless you hand them to an employee inside.”
Meaning, of course, that the movies are late because I screwed up and trusted the metal security drop that they want people to use.
He then tried to meet me halfway with the late fees, at which point I said “Why don’t we do this? Why don’t you go fuck yourself?”
And thus ended my last commercial experience with the Blockbuster Corporation.
michael
I worked there for many years…In another state.
@ noon each day they are supposed to empty the drop box to ensure that everything that comes in afterwards is post-noon.
So its your local Blockbuster. What dicks.
chess h
Dicks indeed. The guys at our local blockbuster are very flexible with that rule… I’ve dropped stuff off in the quick-drop box as late as 3pm and still not been nailed with a late fee.
Justin O.
Matters on the blockbuster….
Some aren’t managed all that great and suck horribly. I mean I hate blockbuster anyways because they charge outrageous prices to rent a single video or game, as does Hollywood video, when the mom and pop video stores charge as low as 99 cents, but the selection and inventory can be weak.
I’ve had many problems with Blockbuster in the past as I’ve been a renting freak…. I rented there so much when I was young that I used to try and screw them back sometimes.
You know what really sucks….if you happen to leave your rentals checked out a little longer if you don’t have that movie pass thing….they’ll charge your damn credit card account without notice if you used a credit card to setup your account. BASTARDS!
Justin O.
BTW if you want a good flick to check out this weekend….
Look for Wonderland, just watched it tonight and it was a really good movie, which is a true story which reminds me of the film Auto Focus with Greg Kinnear and Willem Dafoe. Wanted to see Wonderland for awhile since Val Kilmer’s last, The Salton Sea, which was awesome.
Marble
Have you tried Netflix?
Dean
No, it is NOT just John’s Blockbuster.
Having moved relatively recently, we’ve frequented three separate Blockbusters, and EVERY ONE OF THEM has had the same problem. And having been in there ~Noon, I can tell you that they most certainly do NOT empty the bin at Noon.
Jon Henke
Netflix all the way, Cole. My wife uses it, and I haven’t had to go back to Blockbuster since.
…which is good, because they did something similar to me. They’re losing their ass now to business models like Netflix.
Fine by me.
urgatorbait
Just use Movie Gallery, thier whole system is one hellava alot better than blockfuster. Besides I have stock in Movie Gallery :)
CadillaqJaq
I had a similar experience with Blockbuster in Boulder, CO.
Here in colorful Cadillac, we have a pair of huge Mom & Pops that keep our local Blockbuster’s ass in line… ;) to the point where on their big exterior sign they are advertising lax late return policies. Jeeze, what a crappy way to run a business.
Jeff G
I hurled my razor-edged card — ninja-star like — into the fat, stunned, pimply face of a Blockbuster employee 4 years ago.
At $4.99 for a rental plus late fees charged willy nilly, I said fuck it. Now I just buy the damned DVDs.
Dave_Violence
who goes to Blockbuster any more? I haven’t rented from them in many, many years. Their selection isn’t that good. Plus they’re expensive. Kim’s video in NYC charges $1.50 if you bring the film back the same day you’ve rented it (they’re open until midnight).
Aaron
Didn’t Blockbuster lose a lawsuit because of shit like this?
SteveMG
That dammed Bush. Stuff like this didn’t happen during the Clinton year.
You handled it well, though (ahem).
Just kidding. Stuff like this drives me nuts too. I get a gun and get on the roof of my house. Neighbors don’t like it; but it works for me.
SMG
chopare
Same thing happen to me in Clearwater, Fl. I will never do business with them again. Sad thing is when Blockbuster opened all the mom & pop stores closed one by one.
Josh P.
Justin, that must be why they don’t even let you sign up for a new account anymore unless you use a credit card. My wife tried to sign up with a card connected to her checking account…but the morons wouldn’t give her a blockbuster card and wouldn’t let her rent anything…
IXLNXS
I suggest a mail in to corporate headquaters with a hyperlink to this article along with another to the comments. Then sending this article to friends, and other bloggers ask others to share their horror stories with you, and BlockBuster.
Would make for a nice ongoing email corporation thing, and they might send you freebies to shut up and go away.
After all what you are saying is the exact reason I quit using blockbuster. Maybe they need to know the things that lose customers.
JohnO
John,
Watch your credit card statement carefully. My Blockbuster automatically charged it after I didn’t pay the late fees. (Yes I did rack up the late fees. I just didn’t feel like paying them).
mark
I had a similar experience with Movie Gallery. They tried to charge my credit card like JohnO said.
Ricky
DirecTV, baby.
You don’t have to leave your chair & it’s cheaper.
Jane
Contest, taking the fight to the moonbats: funniest Letter to the Editor ever composed and submitted.
Jeff
I know Comcast cable is only in the Northeast, but Comcast on Demand is the best when it comes to getting movies.
Plus, the new Sopranos episodes get posted right after midnight Sunday night/Monday morning, so you can watch it and FF through all the boring shit, which has been most of the episodes this season.
coastygirl
I will NEVER do business w/ Blockbuster, here’s why..
Years ago, I returned 2 videos into their dropbox, on time. Somehow they managed to tack on something like 2 WEEKS of late fees, and then turned me into Telecheck for it! Try writing a check anywhere with a Telecheck “red flag”. All because some some jerk didn’t do their job.
10 or so years later, and I’m still pissed…
dave
I once dropped a tape (heh. tapes. remember those?) through a Blockbuster drop slot and they claimed they never got it back and tried to charge me for the whole thing. I refused to pay and wrote letters and made calls very high up the blockbuster until I finally got hold of some guy who ordered the store manager to perform a complete store inventory. Sure enough, the tape was located. The apology I got was rather lame- I was hoping for a few free rentals or something.
I wonder how many people aren’t as persistent and pay for incompetence like that.
Oh, and I’ll echo all the NetFlix recommendations. That’s the way to go.
andy
You *HAVE* to go inside and use the dropbox there. Blockbuster is so asinine it hurts, so you need the extra ammo of being caught on their surveillance tapes. I suspect that occasionally a pimple-faced ass decides they want a copy of a certain movie, and so they skim one from the outside dropbox.
Josh
Blockbuster will either charge your credit card or send debt collectors after you. I have had phone calls from collectors over the late fee of a single movie, which, oddly enough, was rented at the same Blockbuster John does (did) business with.
Rick
Same thing happened to me, I dropped Blockbusters and went to a local Mom & Pop video store.
Why does Blockbusters fund anti-gun propaganda and in the same time rent out violent gun themed movies??
hln
Netflix, dude.
I had something similar happen with the late fees, and I paid by check. Also in the envelope was my Blockbuster card cut into tiny pieces.
And I’ll not go back.
hln
ScrapOfCat
It isn’t just blockbuster. I have the exact same problem constantly with King Soopers.
At this point, no matter where I rent, I always take them to the counter and have an employee check them in. If enough people do that, they might reconsider the whole “the customer is always wrong” thing.
CadillaqJaq
I’d earlier posted where our local Blockbuster is being out-competitioned by the Moms & Pops… Blockbuster’s exterior sign reads: Ask about our “Hate the Late” policy.”
Apparently one outlet got the message.
David Poe
Hollywood Video is less than a few blocks from Blockbuster, so I’ll gladly go there instead. Late fees suck there, too, but it’s closer to $3 than the $6-$10 bucks I got stuck with at BB. Plus, the people actually know what’s going on.
Besides, there’s a mom/pop stores a few miles away with a deep selection on tapes and DVDs. $10 = 5 movies for a week. Not bad.
Justin O.
BlockBuster is owned by that damned Viacom.
They’ve had to have worked countless hours with lawyers to develope a scheme system on how to screw people over. They do have a Moviepass system now similar to Netflix which is actually ok. But me and my family have been screwed by Blockbuster countless times in the past. When I was little I remember an employee getting canned because of how long his hair was in Stockton,CA. HAHA. Now that’s jacked.
But yes, you can’t sign up with Blockbuster if you have a debit/checking bank card. So weak. You can use cable, phone, or car insurance statement though.
Just at Hollywood Video, you must use a credit card, nothing else. Damn, what happened to trust?
I mean I know things get stolen, but damn, I don’t think that badly.
Randy M.
Try this link if you don’t like blockbuster or netflix!!!!!!!! Share the wealth to success
dorkafork
Same thing happened to me (almost). $15 late fee because somebody on their side screwed up. Never again.
Steve
Netflix. They are great. I love watching movies (probably because I have no cable, no satallite, and no antenna on my TV). So I rent about 3 movies a week. At the local vid stores that would come out to about $50+/month, not counting late fees.
Now I do Netflix. No late fees, over 15,000 titles, television shows as well (well ones that have been out for a bit) and all for $22/month. Also, there is no going to the store. They mail the movies to me (they pay the postage) and I mail them back in the enevelope they provide (and they pay the postage).
You can even construct a nice ordered que so that you can have dozens of movies all lined up and ready to go.
Christ I sound like a freaking ad.
cj
3-5 years ago, I had this same issue with blockbuster. I think they rely on their customers not remembering whether or not they return the movies on time. After a couple of debatable late fees, I kept track, and sure enough, they were charging late fees for on-time returns.
Write to your state attorney general, and copy blockbuster. (I was pretty sure this was a company wide policy/tactic, not just specific to a local blockbuster). And yes, Blockbuster did settle a major lawsuit regarding this (not sure if it was national or specific to a few states). In any event, our local blockbuster outlets certainly cleaned up their act in the past coupla years.
But seriously — large corporations (Wal Mart, Blockbuster, etc.) simply cringe at the thought that you’re going to complain to the attorney general. Even if they’re white as snow, the amount of paperwork and bs must be a major headache. If you speak to a manager and tell them you’re filing a complaint with various state beauracracies, I find that the b*stards do a 180 and become very customer-service oriented.
Sue
I hate Blockbuster!!! The local one we had closed down, probably b/c they are such a horible video store. They literally harrassed me for months about $3 for a late fee that I told them I’d pay when I went there to rent again. I never did rent there again but I did pay it and let them have an ear full. They will actually put it on your credit for that little amount. I love the two we use now one is Holleywood Video and Video King where you can have over $20 in late fees and rent more and not have to pay anything at that time if you don’t want to. All Blockbuster’s suck!!
Trevor Coper
After losing this late-fee lawsuit I can’t believe they still do the same thing!! Hollywood video although too expensive does not charge for a full rental perion if you are just a day or even a few hours late. If I bring back a video late, my mistake, I expect to have to pay something, not another full period, how frustarating. Blockbuster will never get another penny out of me.
jason
please let me get something straight. All of you winey pricks need to chill out. i can certainly guaruntee you that your local bbv does indeed check their dropboxes at noon. the problem is that you lazy bastards wait until the last possible second to bring the movies back and dont drop them in the box until 12:15. well guess what, they’re not due at 12:15, they are due BY NOON!!!. And as far as people not letting you set up an account without a credit card, if you ran a video store and people came in and rented a shitload of xbox games or dvd’s knowing full well they were never going to return them, you’d require a credit card too. so the chill the “F” out. and about the whole blockbuster getting sued thing, the old late fee policy is why bbv got sued. the government of these united states apporoved the current policy b/c winey bitches like yourselves complained too much when the due time was midnight, so you have no one to blame but yourselves. if you only knew how much bullshit the bbv employees had to put up with you would not be so quick to trash them on the ridiculous websites like this one.