ckolchak

so i'm doing the math ("30 days into $19.95....hmmm. not bad...) But since i didn't take into account their Lewis Carroll-like definition of a 5 day rental, i'm now stuck w/ about $30 worth of late fees.
there should be some kinds of laws against evil corporations seducing the witless.

RobCA

What's their definition of a 5-day rental?

Mark McLeod

I believe it's like 4 days, 5 nights, therefore technically if you return it on the 5th day, it's already late.

MrBEAViS

It includes the day you rent them on, but they have even extended it to even being due the next day by noon. It is the one thing at blockbuster that did not bother me, what are you talking about?

MrBEAViS

Actually, if he can return it before noon, it isn't late. I don't know what time it is there, or if it was due tonight but they are closed or what. He may still have a chance.

ckolchak

if i go in at 11:30 monday night and check something out
it should be:
mon-tue = 1 day
tue-wed = 2 days
wed-thrus = 3 days
thurs-fri = 4 days
fri-11:30 sat night = 5 days

but they do it this way

monday=1day
tue=2days
wed=3 days
thurs=4 days
fri (before noon, no less)= 5 days

anytime after noon and it's counted late.

wedge

You've got it wrong ckolchak.
If you go in on Monday, it is:
Monday- first day
Tues- second day
Wed- third day
Thur- fourth day
Fri-fifth day
Sat-due by noon this day

criptik28

Yup. Basically, they extended the return period an extra 12 hours. It works as wedge said because they treat a Monday evening rental the same as a Monday morning rental - it's not their fault if you go in at 11:30pm. Ideally, you'd rent something on Monday morning, then you'd have until Saturday noon to return it. That's five full days, plus an extra half day.

Tyler

its utter Bull sh!t . i stopped being their b!tch a few months ago. now i just buy the dvd when they come out for 19 instead of blockbusters 4 plus the 15 dollars of late fees and i get to keep the dvd!

monkey

i am a b*tch.

ckolchak

Yup. Basically, they extended the return period an extra 12 hours. It works as wedge said because they treat a Monday evening rental the same as a Monday morning rental - it's not their fault if you go in at 11:30pm. Ideally, you'd rent something on Monday morning, then you'd have until Saturday noon to return it. That's five full days, plus an extra half day. [/B][/QUOTE]

i dunno...maybe my store hasn't gotten the memo yet. or i could be even more out-of-it than i realized. as much as i hate blockbuster (they bought out one of the truly coolest video chains here a couple years ago and the first thing they did was sell off all oddball, obscure titles you couldn't find anywhere else...buy 'em out and get rid of what made them unique- asap) i can't really blame them if i have 9 things out and can't keep track of when they were due.
i really don't think they've institued that extra half day in this neck of the woods, though.

i guess the point of my post was: even though i seem to always walk away pissed off (...Guarantied!)...i still go back for more.
am i whipped or what?

Gizmo

Wow, did you keep the movie for 4 days more then?

lodger_001

i almost did that 30 dvds in 30 days for $19.xx deal. Then i found out that you have to rent 1 dvd per day for 30 days. too much trouble. their 'rewards' program was better for me. for every new release you rent you get a free 5 day title. only works on monday-wed though

Pasolini

ok, you people need to learn how to count.

when you are taught to count days, you don't count the day you are starting with. Period. end of discussion.

i.e., what is 1 day, starting from today? It's the 24 hour period, STARTING NOW, and ending at 11pm Tomorrow night. That's 1 day. Tomorrow is Sunday. However, by 11pm Sunday, Blockbuster will consider that your SECOND day of rental. In fact, they originally (and might still) call it EVENINGS.

Yes, it's nice they changed it to 12 noon the next day (likely due to pressure from customers who hate this horrible definition of days, or from the fact that HOLLYWOOD VIDEO loudly advertises the fact that they rent for 5 'real' days). But who drops off movies at 12 noon?? I stopped renting from them due to this policy. That's my justification for the higher price of purchasing, is no late fees.

dave955

While we might discuss whether calling Blockbuster's rentals a "5-day" rental is appropriate, to the people who rack up late fees, I have to ask: don't they tell you exactly when the movie is due when you rent it? At my Blockbuster when I was using the 30-day pass, they not only told me, they also gave me a receipt for each movie that listed the rental date and IIRC the due date.

Scheherazade

Well they DO say, this movie is due back by so and so at such and such. The thing I don't agree with is if you're an hour late then they charge you for another 5 days. This has been a contreversial topic for a while though and I believe there are actual cases where movie rental places have been sued for over the top late fees.

Our local Video Update all the sudden quit accepting movies that were due that day by closing if they were returned overnight which was not good. Especially when I returned 5 of them one night then went back to rent something else and had a huge late fee. But that's what they said would happen, they were just being nice before and not charging. A little warning would have been good though

Of course not charging huge late fees would have people keeping them for days and days and it'd be impossible to find some movies... kinda like a few books at the library I've been waiting for but have been due back for months.

It sucks when I'm on the receiving end of a late fee, but I have to say I like being able to go in and get a movie that might otherwise still be on someone's coffee table if it weren't for them.

~Scheherazade

nightliner

It sounds like I might be an exception, but in my 30 period, I rented 26 movies and didn't pay a cent in late fees.

clemente

For those that can't count, my store has a sign that tells you the exact date of the week that your movie is due back at the store.

Oh, and try to get your movies back on time....then no late charges.

JaxComet

I've never had a late fee with them and really find it hard to feel sorry for anyone who has. Why is it so hard to return your movies on time??? The one time I was checking out and three out of the four people in front of me had late fees to pay...

dodobird

Suck it down.

MrBEAViS

If you guys can't keep track of a date, then you shouldn't be renting movies. They aren't going to keep track of the exact time every person rented the film, so they can tell when they were due. Do you guys really need FIVE days to watch one movie. When I rent something, I usually go home and watch it. If I rent two movies, I either watch them back to back or fit additional time in. Don't rent more than you can handle, or learn to read that little sign on the exit door that tells you when they are do. They even have a little diagram on the back of the cover. Also, I am sick of people factoring in at least one late fee every time they are calculating prices of rentals.

Kenwood

Moving to Store Forum

Gizmo

Exactly, the day of returns is printed on the recipt, told to you by the clerk, and theres a little sign in the back that they use as well. The 30 for 30 is a great deal. Rent a movie, watch it THAT nite, and return it the next day when you rent another movie.

samurai7

I have a solution to your problem. Stop renting from Blockbuster. They are the bullies of the movie rental industry and think they can do whatever they darn well please. They threaten to not carry movies if the studios don't do what they want and slap "Only for Mature Viewers" labels on anything that does not have a MPAA rating, regardless of its content. There policies stink and in short, they suck.

nathanbrzl

Do you think a company that is making almost half of its quarterly profit from late fees is going to change the way that they do business? The only reason that I rent from Blockbuster is so that I don't have to buy ever kids movie and video game that comes out and if I happen to have any free gift cards.