February 19, 2005
-
Sometimes one wonders whether there's anyone at these companies with any sense.
At the moment I'm thinking of Blockbuster. The state of New Jersey has filed suit against them, alleging their new "The end of late fees" promotion violates that state's consumer protection laws.
Blockbuster is both surprised and grieved at the charges.
Can't think why. It's a bogus promotion. The late fees haven't disappeared, simply been changed. The current plan automatically charges the replacement cost onto the customer's credit card if a rental is returned over a week past its due date, though it's refunded - less a $1.25 "restocking fee" - if the rental is turned back in.
That's not a bad plan, actually, and I appreciate the extended grace period, but why claim there are NO late fees when that just isn't true? Charging for the replacement cost (full retail, from what I gather) sure feels like a fee to me, and ditto for the restocking fee.
The biggest drawback so far, though, is how difficult it's made it to rent a new movie. A woman ahead of me last week complained to the clerk she'd been trying to find "Ray" since its release, but it was always checked out. Come to that, I was renting "Friday Night Lights" even though it was Thursday and we wouldn't watch it till the following evening; we'd tried to get it since it'd come out and it was always gone. Finally there were a couple available so I snagged one, figuring it didn't matter if the Two Day Rental might be a little late being turned back in.
After all, there are no late fees.
Comments (9)
I just saw that piece on the Today show. The program is goofy, but to have a lawsuit? Come ON!
And it's not a "late fee," Anne. As that nice lady (with the droopy face) said, "If you keep a movie longer than 9 days, we just assume you want to buy it." How reasonable is that?
Actually, I don't think it's unreasonable at all. They have to have SOME protection for themselves in this program, and that you can return it for a "restocking fee," is pretty darned cheap. And if it really is explained as you rent the movie, your consumer rights have not been violated at all.
BTW, Jason and I were watching this together, and his immediate comment on seeing the attorney general from NJ was, "Don't you expect that guy to have cloven feet?" (The ears were rather - unfortunate.)
(blushing...)
me<><
Didn't see him (the NJAG) on TV...read the story at online news sites like CNN and Dallas Morning News.
And naturally BB has to have some stick with which to prod dilatory customers into returning the movie or game.
That's what the late fees, after all, were designed to do in the first place, true? And basically it's what the threat of the charged replacement fee is meant to accomplish, isn't it? To get the movie or game returned?
If both the traditional late fee plan and the new plan result in monetary outlay to the customer, and both are intended to have the same effect, then I sez they're the same thing, only with differing details.
Sorry. Point disallowed.
But Cindy's point is pertinent that there's no material damage to the consumer if the policy is disclosed at the time of rental. The most they're guilty of is misleading people who are disabused before any cost could possibly be incurred. So a letter from the AG informing Blockbuster that their advertising technically violates the law might be in order, but ISTM they are being punished under "consumer protection" for something that nobody needs to be "protected" from since it doesn't actually cause any harm.
To be fair, Don agrees with you...he says there are big signs all over and it gets tiresome, the clerks are so anxious to make sure he understands.
I wouldn't have called it a consumer protection offense...more of a "truth in labelling" or some kind of "bait and switch" thing.
My primary point was simply that when I first heard about it, I knew in my bones it was going to wind up being a PR disaster for BB.
And apparently I was right.
At the very least, the ads on TV seem to indicate that there are no late fees, as if you never had to pay a dime, no matter how late the movie came back. How does Netflix do it? There's is a $20 a month subscription, and you can choose three movies at a time. They ship them to you in postage paid sleeves, you watch one, you send it back, postage paid. You get another movie. No time limit at all, from what I understand.
Us? We go to Hollywood Video, where we pre-pay a $9.95 subscription, and we can select just about any of their movies (the newest new releases aren't immediately available on this program). Three at a time. Five days to watch em.
Oh no! I have three movies to return! OhNOOOOO! sheesh. They were due back last night by midnight. yikes!
Heidi, how Netflix does it is that you pay the $9.95 per month no matter what, and you can never have more than X (3? 5? something like that) movies out at a time.
So, theoretically, someone could borrow the max number, and never return them -- but what good does that do? You have five movies sitting around your house, you're paying $10 a month, but you can't rent any more movies unless/until you return them.
Er, $20 for Netflix, that is.
It's $17.95 a month for Netflix. Jason uses it - it's a great bargain for him. He's a movie freak, works hours that mean he'd be watching Jerry Springer or something else when he gets home from work at 7:30 am and wants to chill for a bit before going to sleep. He's always got movies coming and going. You can return them one at a time, which is cool. And their library is huge. I've asked him to get movies for me from time to time - never stuff that's current, and they always send it in a day or two. I think it's great if you watch movies at all.
And yes, it is true that they charge you that amount if you keep the DVDs moving or not. But how convenient and cheap for people like Jason. It's perfect for him! A fie on Blockbuster and their ilk!
me<><
OK, I've been doing a bit of research (things are slow around here today) and it turns out that Key Limes are Key Limes....but they are not from Florida, nor do they grow there naturally. They grow in Mexico and other warm places, and the juice concentrate is brought into the country, as is the crop. There was at one time a crop produced in Florida, but weather wiped it all out, and the only Key limes that grow in FLorida are pretty much in folks' backyards.
So there you have it children, I was wrong and will go suck a...Key Lime. I'm disappointed in the critters, though; I expected more of a thrill in Experiencing a Real Key Lime. For my money, I'll stick with the regular kind. Oh, and by the way, they are not ripe until they are yellow!
Comments are closed.