effectively accused of stealing and lying by rude shop assistant but I'm innocent.

StormWarrior

I am so furious right now! About 2 weeks ago I rented 2 DVDs, 300 and Shrek, from Blockbuster videos in a town a few miles away from my house. I was allowed to keep them for a week, but took them back before the week was up. My sister drove me to the video store and waited outside while I went in and handed them to the bloke behind the counter. I then browsed the ice cream selection for a few minutes before getting back in the car. Since then my mother rented 2 further videos with the card that we still have, and when she took them out no mention was made of anything being amiss.

It's now nearly 2 weeks later, and I have just recieved a very rude phone call. Someone phoned up and said she was Katherine calling from Blockbuster video, and 300 and Shrek are now very overdue. I told her they had already been returned within the time frame. She very rudely told me they had not. I explained that I had dropped them in myself and so knew for sure that they had been. She said she can't find them, and demanded that I go in and explain myself to the manager. I aksed to speak to the manager on the phone and Katherine said she wasn't in until Thursday. I said I would phone on Thursday. Katherine said in a very rude tone of voice, "Go on then but she's just going to make you come in anyway."

I said, surely they wouldn't have let us take any more videos out if the old ones hadn't been returned. Katherine said, "Well, they would have told you when you took the new ones that the old ones were overdue." I said, no, they never said anything since the old ones were returned! Katherine hung up on me while I was still speaking.

I am so angry. She was very rude and I have certainly returned the videos. I don't know what to do, I do not want to pay to replace videos that I have not lost. Also, it's not fair if my family are banned from using the store in future. Can they take legal action to make me pay for the videos? How can I prove my innocence? Maybe they will be able to find me returning them on a CCTV tape?

py2006

I wouldn't worry about this to be honest! Somebody obviously forgot to put them through the system when you handed them in. It happens from time to time.

And if a customer insists that they returned them on time then thats it. They either amend the account if it is showing any arrears or the just write the thing off. I used to work in a video store!

StormWarrior

Are you sure? Katherine said she can't find the cases or anything, although they have about a million copies of each one so I don't know how she can say that.

MagicMarker

OMG! You might want to go to a solicitor about this as it's a very serious offence!!! This could go on for years!!!!

Seriously, if this is all you have to worry about in your life then you're doing alright. Just tell the manager that you brought them back! Nothing will happen!

unreggd

Katherine is what i like to call a retard

Go back and box the head off her


They should defo have CCTV so check that out

Dont pay for the DVDs, you know you brought them back!

There was actually a scam goin on in Xtravision, a girl was tellin people their DVDs were overdue, but was pocketin the money herself!
Could be a similar thing to that

StormWarrior

I have never said that this is my only problem in life but I do not need hassle that I do not deserve, nor can I afford to pay for 2 brand new dvds plus fines that I don't deserve.

spinandscribble

tbh i'd make a bit of a fuss about the way this snotty woman talked to you to the manager, mention cctv footage and forget about it.

Cathmandooo

Go see this manager and make a complaint about this Katherine, in fact go higher than the local store manager and write a letter of complaint to the head office about this girl in case shes in some sort of cahoots with the manager to scam people out of money.

_JOE_

I would advise you to write everything down whilst it is fresh in your memory and bring any relevant material to your solicitor. If you go to a local solicitor it will not cost too much, and many have first consultation free. From experience, I have seen cases such as yours settle quite early as it is obvious there is no satisfaction from your communication thus far...

Del2005

I know of a few video stores where people used to reach in and take the returns out of the drop boxes, which where nearly always full cuase the staff where too lazy/busy to empty, or if people left them on the counter they'd just lift them. I always made sure to push them all the way into the box or hand them to a member of staff behind the counter. Stick to your guns and they'll write it off.

I was hit with a €100 bill when I went to rent a DVD once. Told them I never rented the DVD's, wasn't even in the country at the time, and no-one else had my card. They just put a card only rent on my account.

dudara

unreggd wrote: »

Katherine is what i like to call a retard

Go back and box the head off her

unreggd We do not tolerate insults or the advocation of violence in this forum. Please take the time to read the charter. Further posts in this vein will result in a banning

Lollipops23

i'd certainly bring this to the attention of the managers. Let the manager of the branch know first, quote this Katherine woman to them. If they are unhelpful then bring it further <b>and</b> the consumer authorities. Apart from accusing you of stealing with no proof whatsoever, she is beyond unprofessional.

Toots

They should have you on CCTV returning the videos. When you ring to speak to the manager on Thurs, tell him/her about this Katherine b!tch and inform them that you will be making an official complaint to their head office. Honestly I don't know where these people get off, it's a DVD ffs!!:mad:

As regards them forcing you to pay etc, I seriously doubt it'd happen. I had a similar situation when my Dad rented some dvds for my lil sis and we forgot to bring them back for over a month. We brought them back and asked how much was owed on them (thinking it'd be like E50 or something) we were told we owed E188!!:eek: He said there was absolutely no way he was paying that or anything close to that. Spoke to the manager who said they could bring it down to E150. He told them he'd go home and think about it, and never went back. 2 years later and still haven't heard anything!;) (This was chartbusters but I assume they're all the same).

Like py2006 said, someone just never put it through the system. Maybe it was Katherine herself and the boss is on her ass now to find the thing so she's trying to put the blame on u:p

dudara

Moved to Consumer Issues

dudara

smellyanus

_JOE_ wrote: »

I would advise you to write everything down whilst it is fresh in your memory and bring any relevant material to your solicitor. If you go to a local solicitor it will not cost too much, and many have first consultation free. From experience, I have seen cases such as yours settle quite early as it is obvious there is no satisfaction from your communication thus far...

Uuum...it might be cheaper (and a little less hassle) to just pay the fine.
Although that isn't what I would advise. Go in and tell the manager that katherine is an auld cow, leave them in no doubt that you returned the dvd's and demand that they check their cctv.
I saw on another thread in here somewhere that you are entitled to any cctv footage you appear on.

Then when they apologise tell them you want a years free rentals for your inconvenience

europhile

Love your handle, SA.

mikemac

Back in the day when you could rent consoles (not sure if they still do that ), someone hired a Playstation in my name and never returned it.

I had the manager of the store repeatedly calling me and my parents as I was 15 at the time.
He even called to the house trying to get it back and I was interviewed at the local garda station. My parents were present as I was a minor.

In the end they just checked the CCTV and verified it was me but I don't know why that wasn't the first thing they did.

I was too young to do anything. Contact management OP and sit back and wait for the vouchers you'll get as compensation

Slice

Go into the shop and see if they accuse you of stealing the DVDs to your face. If they do tell them you will take them to court for slander and also harassment if they don't drop the issue and that will get them off your case pretty quickly. Follow it up with a letter to head office to the same effect.

Dave!

Tell them to check the CCTV.

Job done. Forget about it.

antoinolachtnai

It's not slander unless she said it to someone outside the company other than yourself.

(even then it's not necessarily slander.)

I would ring head office. I would tell the contact in head office that you want to meet with a regional manager or above to discuss the way you were treated. Tell them that time is of the essence, because you want to deal with this issue before the relevant cctv logs are overwritten. If the local branch rings you again to say anything other than 'We're sorry and we apologise unreservedly', say 'I am dealing with head office regarding this matter.'

If you don't get satisfaction from the regional manager, ring the office of the Ireland/UK CEO. If you don't get satisfaction there, ring the US head office.

Writing down everything that happened including details of times is a good idea.

If you want, you can obtain the CCTV tape using the Data Protection Act, assuming you know at approximately what time you left the tape back.

John Mason

I had a similiar experience with my local video shop, i had returned DVD's late due to a sudden death in the family. I went in paid the fine there and then . About a year later i was getting renting another DVD and the man told me i owed monies. I told her i had paid the fine, anyhoo, long story short, i stood my ground and told him the obviously the person had pocketed the fine money and i was prepared to bring the police in to it.

He agreed to let it go - so i would say stand your ground and if necessary, call the police or a solicitor

Davidth88

I had a similar thing at a video store. Got a very rude phone call saying a DVD I had returned was late.

Now as I had rented 2 and they were only asking about one , I knew I had returned them , indeed I remember handing them to a person.

I suggested they may have replaced it in the wrong place or something , they said ' thats impossible '.

The person on the phone was so rude I went went down to the the store and demanded to speak to the mgr.

While I was there , I was looking at the DVD's sitting behind the counter, and lo and behold sitting in the wrong pile was the one I had ' failed ' to return.

I got a apology and a credit for a free rental anyway.

Stand your ground

Slice

It's not slander unless she said it to someone outside the company other than yourself.

It is slander if the accusation is made in front of other customers

seamus

It's not a big deal. Speak to the manager on the phone, tell the manager that the girl who was speaking to you is an idiot and that you're not wasting any more time on this. Don't mention legal or any other bull**** - the "L" word is a pox on this country, you shouldn't use it unless you actually plan to follow through. Otherwise you're just being another frivilous suing idiot with the rest of them.

If the manager insists on attempting to suspend your account then tell him to shove his account up his arse and go to Xtravision or chartbuster.

In the event that it does go to court, you have your own evidence of going in and your mother's evidence of going in (and not getting a warning). The shop will have erased the CCTV, won't have done a stocktake in months and therefore won't be able to disprove your evidence and the judge will throw out the case and order blockbuster to pay your costs.

Red Alert

seamus wrote: »

It's not a big deal. Speak to the manager on the phone, tell the manager that the girl who was speaking to you is an idiot and that you're not wasting any more time on this. Don't mention legal or any other bull**** - the "L" word is a pox on this country, you shouldn't use it unless you actually plan to follow through. Otherwise you're just being another frivilous suing idiot with the rest of them.

I think nowadays only legal threats are good enough to deal with some people.

Cabaal

antoinolachtnai wrote: »

If you don't get satisfaction from the regional manager, ring the office of the Ireland/UK CEO. If you don't get satisfaction there, ring the US head office.

Most likely pointless contacting the states, as like most company's operating in Europe you';ll often find that they can be separate from their US operations, stick to dealing with the Irish and/or UK head office.

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Think a dose of reality needs to be inserted at this point. Are you really going to contact the states, or sue this company, just because some muppet on min-wage acted like a muppet?

Sign up with somewhere like http://www.screenclick.com/ and suffer no more late fees, dodgy sales assistants etc

antoinolachtnai

Well, the OP has been badly treated. It's all very well to say the OP has choice in the marketplace, but they don't really. Xtravision is part of Blockbusters and Chartbusters is the only alternative which may not suit the OP.

The op obviously feels bad about this.

Slice

Often the threat of legal action is sufficient to get a company such as Xtravision off your case

antoinolachtnai

I agree that it is better not to threaten legal action until very late in the game. The reason is that once you threaten legal action, the other side may (or at least should) put the matter in the hands of their lawyers and not enter into further direct discussion or correspondence.

Of course if they threaten legal action against you, that's another story. But they haven't done that yet.

Electric

I had a similar run in with a video store. Rented 2 DVD's, returned them thought nothing of it until I went to rent out more only to be told that the 1st 2 were never returned and I now owed something like €90!

Stood my ground and told them I had returned them. They gave me the line that they double and the DVD's weren't there so I obviously must have them. As it turns out some muppet had put the DVD's back in the display covers and onto the shelf and never checked them off the system.

Talk to Blockbuster and ask them to check the display covers.

I used to work in Chartbusters and there were always people coming in saying that they had returned on such a date and usually it wasn't a big deal we just had an amendments book to sort all those little things out.

I would make a written complaint about this Katherine one though! She sounds like a right muppet how dare she speak to you like that

Cabaal

Roundtower2 wrote: »

Sign up with somewhere like http://www.screenclick.com/ and suffer no more late fees, dodgy sales assistants etc

I'd have to agree, people are talking out there arses regarding getting solicators involved,

Speak to the manager and remain calm and don't start being abusive, but in the long run if your not happy with the service then use another company...screenclick are pretty good and are much better value for money

*Page*

Let us know what you do...

my advise would be ask for a print out of your account.
then ask which staff member was on the day and time you dropped it back.
Get the shop to check the cctv while you are there and ask if you can go through it with them.
you should be on it and the rest is history. after everything is resolved hand in writen complant about the abusive staff member

dellas1979

Sorry, if you fail to return DVDs, you should be fined. Your Dad should have paid the €188 - thats scabby. Everyone else makes an effort to return videos on time or pay fines, why is your daddy exempt?

Toto Wolfcastle

dellas1979 wrote: »

Sorry, if you fail to return DVDs, you should be fined. Your Dad should have paid the €188 - thats scabby. Everyone else makes an effort to return videos on time or pay fines, why is your daddy exempt?

I agree. Fair enough if you've brought back the DVDs and are being accused of not doing so, like the OP. You shouldn't have to pay in that case. But if you just don't bother bringing them back for a month, then you should have to pay.

StormWarrior

I am currently trying to get in touch with customer services to explain the situation. I don't care about not being able to rent from there anymore, I wouldn't rent from them again after this anyway. I simply do not want to pay for fines and replacement dvds, or get in legal trouble or a bad credit rating or something because I don't deserve it.

Mr. Incognito

bad credit rating? legal trouble? over two unreturned dvd's? get real mate.

I would just go into the store and talk to the manager.

January

dellas1979 wrote: »

Sorry, if you fail to return DVDs, you should be fined. Your Dad should have paid the €188 - thats scabby. Everyone else makes an effort to return videos on time or pay fines, why is your daddy exempt?

The fact that dvd rental companies charge extortionate prices for not returning dvd's on time. 188 euro for 30 days is roughly 3.93€ per day. That's ludicrous!

Toto Wolfcastle

adrieanne__x wrote: »

The fact that dvd rental companies charge extortionate prices for not returning dvd's on time. 188 euro for 30 days is roughly 3.93€ per day. That's ludicrous!

Well if I bring back a DVD late I'm charged the cost of a night's rental because I've had the DVD and extra night. It kind of makes sense, although I do think the price of rental is a bit expensive. (There might be a reason for this, I don't know.)

OP, I hope you complain about this Katherine one. She obviously has no concept of customer service.

tvnutz

No one is going to take legal action,when customers mention legal action it just takes away any credibility they had,you know they won't do it,you would want to be mad to pay legal fees over dvds.

Secondly,the video store will never take legal action either,not over missing dvds. It just won't happen,it is common for tapes to me misplaced by staff,or for someone else to rent on your account if the account is not cardholder only.

Complain about the one that rang you,to Xtra-Vision customer services at their H/O. The store manager will then be told about the complaint. Then go into the manager about the dvds,explain exactly what happened,that you dropped them back,that you have always returned tapes and they should sort it there for you. Beyond that nothing will happen.

parsi

@tvnutz - good sensible points.

ct5amr2ig1nfhp

I had a similar problem with Xtravision. Long story short, I asked them to show me the CCTV. It was a dummy camera :rolleyes:.

That was the end of that.

Cabaal

adrieanne__x wrote: »

The fact that dvd rental companies charge extortionate prices for not returning dvd's on time. 188 euro for 30 days is roughly 3.93€ per day. That's ludicrous!

It very well might be in your view, but you agreed to use of there products and services and as such your bound by there Terms & Conditions, if the item wasn't returned you were in the wrong....

If you don't like what the video shop charges then why did you bother using there services to start with?

3.93€ per day is still cheaper then the normal nightly fee for a new release so their actually being pretty good about it in my view.

Slice

I thought the policy in most places is not to charge you any more than the cost of replacing the lost DVD?

antoinolachtnai

That could actually be quite a bit, 75 or 100 euros anyhow.

the cost to the business has also been incurred in the sense that they couldn't re-rent while you had it out. This is definitely a fair point if you have an in-demand title which would be out nearly every night.

The economics of the dvd rental business are actually quite strange if you investigate them.

a.

*Page*

So the out come (since today is thursday...isnt it)

seamus

Slice wrote: »

I thought the policy in most places is not to charge you any more than the cost of replacing the lost DVD?

This is usually far more expensive than buying a DVD in a shop though, as the cost is around €80 afaik.

You have to see it from the shop's point of view. If you are holding onto the DVD, then you're possibly denying someone else from seeing it and therefore denying that income to the shop, particularly if it's a popular rental. So the shop charge you. Fair game. In the case of €188, it would probably make more sense to cut a deal and charge half of that or something.

dudara

Slice wrote: »

I thought the policy in most places is not to charge you any more than the cost of replacing the lost DVD?

Rental DVDs are more expensive than the retail versions we buy. This is to cover the extra royalties and rights that are generated by numerous people viewing the film.