I am an employee of a Movie Gallery store and have noticed a trend not just at my store but at many others. Movie Gallery has a subscription service called PowerPlay where you sign up with a credit or debit card for a monthly fee to rent movies in the store, well...
Everyone who has wanted and tried to cancel the renewal charges have been charged on their cards even after canceling. The paperwork clearly states that you may cancel in the store or by phone and will not be charged. We've (employees/manager) had customers cancel a week after joining (you have to cancel at least 7 days before the renewal date in store) and we've personally canceled the subscription, but these customers come in showing us their monthly charge even nearly 3 weeks after canceling. There is no powerplay still on the account, and the records in the computer indicate that it was cancelled, but the money is still withdrawn. Even employees who have bought powerplay have fallen victim to the charge.
Now we have the phone number to deal with, 1-8-speak-to-us for people to call when they want to cancel within the last 7 days of the first month of powerplay, BUT, not only is there almost always a one hour wait on the hotline, but we've had customers and employees who have waited the ridiculously long wait and gotten in contact and had them cancel their subscription so there will be no charges on their credit card... and they still received charges.
I'm tired of dealing with the angry customers (who have a right to be, they did just get scammed) and I'm tired of being held accountable for pushing powerplay and selling to a ridiculously high goal just to keep my job. I highly suspect this is happening everywhere.
Seriously, do not get powerplay on your credit or debit card, you will be screwed if you try to cancel it.
Nobody Knows
United States of America#2Author of original report
Sat, February 06, 2010
Movie Gallery has filed for Chapter 11 again and it's also good that they recently switched managers over to hourly pay. As a result, managers of closing stores will not get severance. You can go to the store locator at movie gallery dot com and scroll down through the listings of stores to see which of the 700+ are closing.
Jason
Winchester,#3Consumer Comment
Sun, January 31, 2010
Well some of you may know or not know, but as of 1/27/2010 it was reported that Movie Gallery / Hollywood Video will possibly filing for Chapter 11 protection once again. I have been told that the continued charges are as a result of computer issues however this is not an isloated event like previously stated. It happens everywhere. Why not try to rip off consumers before they file so their executives can fatten their wallets and screw everyone else. I have tried calling the customer service line and yes it is a 30 minutes wait everytime. I used to like Hollywood Video but ever since Movie gallery took them over, down the tubes with that company. i feel sorry for all the employees who have told me that they can lose their jobs for not selling enough powerplays weekly. I really feel sorry for them.
Kathey
Houston,#4Consumer Comment
Thu, January 28, 2010
I cancelled Power Play in store and received a receipt evidencing cancellation in December 2009. The receipt states no further charges to be made after 1-4-10.
My credit card was CHARGED $27.05 on January 5, 2010.
There is definitely a problem with Hollywood Video/Movie Gallery regarding charges AFTER membership is cancelled.
Flynrider
Phoeix,#5Consumer Suggestion
Wed, January 27, 2010
"Customers are suffering huge overdraft fees that the banks and the customers have to resolve themselves."
That's not how it works. If a company makes unauthorized charges which result in overdrafts, that company will have to make good on those charges. It is their responsibility to ensure that a charge is valid before they submit it. The bank is not going to resolve this with the customers, as it is not the bank's problem.
Customers that have been negatively affected by unauthorized charges should first ask the charging company if they will take responsibility for their actions. If they will not, a quick trip to the local courthouse to file a small claims action is in order. If there is compelling evidence that the customer was charged in error, the company will be ordered to make good on their obligation, as it was their error that caused the problem.
Nobody Knows
United States of America#6Author of original report
Wed, January 27, 2010
It has happened to everyone who has canceled so far, by phone to the official 1-8-speak-to-us number or in the store. Movie Gallery hasn't given us permission to refund the customers either. Customers are suffering huge overdraft fees that the banks and the customers have to resolve themselves. It's not fun when a customer points the finger at employees saying they promised it was possible to cancel the membership and all we can do is shrug our shoulders and listen to irate customers. We shouldn't have to take the blame and consequences for this.
Dan Ahlers, Director of Support Ser
Wilsonville,#7UPDATE Employee
Tue, January 26, 2010
Movie Gallery apologizes to customers whove been affected by some technical issues weve had with billing for our PowerPlay program, which resulted in some credit cards being charged after a customer cancelled their membership in the program. While this affected only a small percentage of our PowerPlay customers who wanted to cancel, please be assured that we have taken steps to correct the data processing issue that caused it, and we are now reaching out to each affected customer to ensure the situation is made right.