Hollywood Video Wrongly charged me for video we returned months ago Lake Stevens Washington
I was sent a notice regarding a late fee on a movie we had returned on time back in November 2007. I called reg: letter. I spoke with Tom the manager of Lake Stevens Wa, Hollywood Video. "He told me the movie was not there and I was going to be charged for the movie and plus some." My bill already said $40.17 for a movie I did not have! I stated we had returned the movie and did not want to be charged for something we already returned and would be consulting a legal service regarding this charge. He was rude and said fine and laughed. I feel I have no recourse and will have to pay for this movie that we already returned. It is not about the money as much as it is about the principle. I physically returned the movie so, where is it???? I feel as a customer that this could be done over and over again and we HAVE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING WE DON'T Have!!!! Please take note and if anyone has advice on what we can do I would love to hear it. At this point is about principle.
Angela
lake stevens, Washington
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Nick
Austintown,Ohio,
U.S.A.
CORRECTION ON PART PF YOUR POST
#3UPDATE Employee
Wed, November 05, 2008
IN YOUR POST YOU STATED THAT THE TEENAGE EMPLOYEES OF THE STORE CAN CHARGE YOUR CREDIT CARD OR TURN YOU INTO COLLECTIONS AND THE DROP OF A DIME.....NOT TRUE ANYMORE CORP HAS ERASED CC INFO AT STORE LEVEL AND THE COLLECTIONS DEPARTMENT HANDLES TRUNING PEOPLE INTO COLLECTIONS. AS FOR THE OTHER INFO A FEW BAD EGGS MAKE IT HORRIBLE FOR THE REST OF THE STORE MANAGERS WHO TRY TO DO WHATEVER THEY CAN WITHIN POLICY FOR THE CUSTOMER THEY ARE MAKING IT HARDER AND HARDER. WE CAN NOT EVEN VOID LATE FEES FOR THEM ANYMORE WITHOUT GETTING QUESTIONED BY LP UNLESS IT IS FOS IF THEY WERE JUST LATE WE WILL GET WROTE UP IF WE VOID THEM. IT IS A SHAME THAT THIS IS NO ALSO OUT OF OUR HANDS BECAUSE OF PEOPLE WHO JUST VOIDED EVERYTHING FOR EVERYONE AND KNOW EVERYONE HAS TO SUFFER.
Andy
Casa Grande,Arizona,
U.S.A.
Par for the course
#3UPDATE EX-employee responds
Fri, August 15, 2008
My response is probably too late, but I advise you to call the corporate toll-free number and have them put you in touch with the District Manager for the area. The DM will solve the problem if the Store Director fails to do so - that is their job.
As an ex-Store Director for Hollywood, I regret to see customers treated this way. I always assumed good faith with my customers and as a result, I had one of the top stores in Arizona and many loyal customers. It was worth eating a couple free rentals or even the cost of a movie to get that loyalty.
Unfortunately, a lot of employees right up to the management level get skeptical about customer claims because they can't see the big picture. They let that skepticism spill over into their customer interactions which should never happen.
When a movie is "lost" and the customer claims to have returned it, they are usually acting in good faith. I rarely had a customer lie to my face about returning a movie. So, something happened, and it's the store's job to figure out what happened, NOT THE CUSTOMER'S. Maybe the movie was not checked in properly and is sitting on the shelf. Maybe the barcode came off the movie so the store could not check it in and it got shoved into a drawer somewhere. Maybe the case was returned empty and the store did not or could not contact the customer (happens ALL the time). Maybe the movie was returned to the wrong store (also happens more than you'd think). In each example, the customer believes - KNOWS - that they returned that movie. But in each example, their account shows otherwise.
This is the intersection where customer loyalty is either gained or lost. If the manager busts his/her butt to figure out what happened and resolves the issue, the customer will be retained. If the manager insists on being "right" and charging the account, the customer is lost. The store makes its $40 but loses untold hundreds or thousands in future business. As I said, most customers are acting in good faith and it's easy to sniff out the few who are actually trying to rip off the store.
The store staff has frightening control over customer accounts once you enter into that contract, and it IS a contract. When you signed your rental agreement, you agreed to be charged the full price of a movie if it comes up missing and you can't prove you returned it... and who can? Teenaged clerks making minimum wage can submit you to a collection agency or charge your credit card at the touch of a button by certifying that you didn't return a movie. When I took over my first store, I had customers who were actually accustomed to walking in, watching staff check in their movies, and then having a manager sign the receipt certifying that they were returned. Who knows what gauntlets these customers had to navigate in the past.
I expect you are renting from Blockbuster or Netflix now as Hollywood's reputation has continued to go down the drain after Mark Waddles sold out. It's too bad.