Heat

I can't find a movie I rented last week (and haven't watched), it is due back on Thursday.

I called the store and told them that I may have lost the movie. After asking what movie it was (it was a documentary called "Naked States"), she said that late fees would add up, but that after a month or two my credit card would be charged $15 and the late fees would go away (MSRP for this documentary is $25).

Does that sound right? If I am charged the $15, I don't owe any late fees ($2.99 / week)?

If all I owe is $15 I would be happy, especially since eventually I am sure that I will find the documentary and I will have the DVD.

dvde

I could of swore they charged full retail for lost disks. I don't know how they figure the late charges if you lost a movie.

Groucho

Did you only lose the movie, or just the box? If you have the box, put an old AOL disc in there and go back complaining because the disc wasn't right.

dvde

That's a pretty good trick! I would try it sometime, but I hate to rent from Blockbuster. Ooooh maybe I will try it.

spyzdope

Just be glad it isn't like losing a VHS movie. Thanks to rental pricing you could end up owing $100 or more for a lost VHS tape.

hugeworm

Anyone know what they would charge if you lost something like a raging bull or scarface dvd that is out of print and worth a descent amount of money?

diacritic

Won't work. BlockBuster always checks to see if the correct disk is in the case when they hand it to the customer. It is probably the strictest policy the workers must follow.

Heat

The darn thing is just gone. No box, no DVD.

I'll do one last search tomorrow, then go to Blockbuster and talk with the manager, see what he says.

This documentary sells for ~ $13 from DDD.

dvd-fanman

Speaking from when I worked there in Summer 1999 at a Corporate Owned Store:

If you have lost a DVD and admit it to Blockbuster off the bat, they will charge the highest price that THEY sell the DVD for in their computer. It will be charged to the credit card that you have on file with them to rent. You'll then be off the hook. Some store managers are also nice enough then that if you find the DVD within a few weeks or so, they will accept the DVD back in stock and credit you the charge that you paid.

If you leave it go, you will eventually receive a notice saying that you have $XXX.XX amount in late fees and if the store is not contacted to take care of the charges that you will be charged the full amount of the DISC as WELL AS the late fees that have accrued on your account.

If they are unable to charge your credit card in the computer they will also attempt to contact you regarding a new credit card number to charge. Sometimes people would ignore that, and then the account would be permanently frozen and turned over to a collection agency.

Stores usually call customers when they have a disc go over into a late fee period. Remember that corporate stores at least do not charge late fees by the day, but by rental period.

spyzdope

I guess I would talk to the manager and see what he says. If it's gonna cost you more than $15 or so, then you could buy it from DDD and take the disc itself back to BBV and tell them that you lost the case.

The worst thing is when you return a movie and then an employee swipes it or misplaces it, and then the store tells you that you owe them for a movie that you returned. Suprisingly, it is more common than you think. I had it happen at hollywood video several years ago for a video tape, but since they didn't have my SS#, I didn't pay them and just gave up renting there.

odisn

I worked there for several years as a store manager (before I regained my sanity) and everything dvd-fanman posted is correct. Unless of course they have changed their policy in the last couple of years. Just be thankful they do not charge late fees by the day anymore.

retihsuhnt

This is what is written on BBV's website: "Any rented item not returned to the proper BLOCKBUSTER store within 10 days after rental may, at the option of Blockbuster, be converted from a rental to a sale. Member is responsible for the full retail price of the unreturned item plus all rental and extended viewing fees and other related charges arising from the rental prior to the conversion to a sale."

There you have it from the horses mouth, but remember the customer is always wrong when it comes to Blockbuster Video. I worked at a corporate owned store in Eugene, OR where even if we (as employees) found the movie on the shelf we were to get the customer to pay the late fee. One of the biggest reasons I left that company was because they would always blame the customer for their own stupidity.

renaldow

The problem with that is that if he buys it and takes it back, he will be out the cost of the DVD from DDD as well as all of the late fees he has incurred from BB. It's cheaper if he just pays BB the $15.

Heat

The buying it from DDD and returning only the disk would be only if BB wants $30 or more. I'll take another look in my car, if it's not there I'll stop by BB tonight and pay the piper.

If I am only out $15, I will be very happy with Blockbuster for being fair about it, especially if they refund the money if I ever do find the DVD.

I wonder if the DVD is any good, since it looks like I may own a copy. (documentary called "Naked States", about a photographer who takes nude photos (tastefully done, I guess) in each of the 50 states, with people from that state as the model).

majorjoe23

I once lost a video game and they only charged me 9.99. Often they'll just charge you what they would sell it for if it went on sale as a PVD. It might depend on the manager though.

Troy Stiffler

Why not just buy it from DDD and talk to the guys there and tell them you lost it, but got a replacement?

On second though, do what Groucho says. That guy is never wrong.

calhoun07

If the manager does the transaction right, and puts the movie on your account as a "LOST CHECKIN," the computer will automatically sell the movie to you at the same price they would sell it for previously viewed. They don't charge full retail for lost items any more. If they charge you any differently, complain.

Heat

Well, last night, right before I left work and was going to go to Blockbuster, my wife called to tell me that she had found the movie (it was under a toy on the highchair, the highchair is rarely used anymore).

So I watched it last night and returned it this morning, it was due by noon today.

Very interesting documentary (Naked States), which follows a photographer as he takes nude photos in each of the 50 states over a five month period in 1997. Some of them were very nice photos. As far as nudity goes, I have never seen so much nudity in a movie (individuals, and groups of 2 up to ~ 1,400). It wasn't an erotic nudity, it was just nude people in non-sexual poses, if that makes sense. Men, women, of all adult ages, and all body shapes. Oddly, the group that he had the most trouble with (getting the group to pose the way he wanted) was a nudist colony. Definately worth a rental.

Thanks for all of the help. I guess I will never know what Blockbuster would have done, but as stated above, per a phone conversation, they were just going to charge me $15 and no late fees. If that would have happened I would have been very pleasantly suprised. Of course, I was even more pleasantly suprised when my wife found the movie and I didn't have to buy it.