Reader G is a little ticked off at Redbox because he reserved a new release using Redbox.com, headed over to the kiosk to pick it up and found that some angry person had smashed the touchscreen. No big deal, he’d just call and get a refund, right? Apparently not. Redbox only offers “free rental codes” that G says he can’t use on reserved DVDs. This kinda bugs him.

G says:

As I got to the redbox there’s usually a person or two waiting in line to rent, but this one was abandoned. As I got up to the machine I knew why, some angry renter decided to punch the touch screen, completely shattering it. As a result nobody could rent, return or pickup online reservations at the machine, though it was still on, you just had no way of interacting with it. I called the 800 number for redbox posted on the machine while driving home and had to wait over 15 minutes just to reach someone on the other end to report the problem with the machine. Im sure I was not the first to call in about it but I wanted to have my account credited back for the two movies I would not be able to rent.

Whats odd is that when pulling up the account the rep brought up the fact he could see I rented from them 32 times before. Not sure why it was relevant unless they provide customer service based on the amount of times you rent from them.

If so, apparently I don’t rent from them enough.

The rep at first told me he would be able to give me two free rental codes, but would not refund my money for the two movies I was not able to rent. I explained to the rep that I would have to drive roundtrip back to the machine and waste a lot of gas and would just prefer to have my money back, and that the codes were useless to me since you cannot use the codes online to reserve movies meaning I wouldn’t be able to get the new releases I wanted.

The rep then stated, as if he was doing me a big favor, he would give me three free rental codes instead of two. I again explained I just wanted my money back since they couldn’t provide me with the service I wanted but he refused and said he would just send the codes.

Sure, it’s only a couple dollars, but do they have the right to keep my money when they didn’t provide the service I paid for? The codes they had given me are pretty useless to me since I cant reserve the movies I want online with the free rental codes, and the other redbox in my town doesn’t carry the movies either. The worst part is the broken machine, which who knows how long its been like that, is still showing up online as functioning and able to take reserves it cannot provide.

Hmmm. Yes, sure enough Redbox.com says it won’t take codes on any movie that was reserved on-line.

Bummer.

Are Redbox kiosks often broken? We’ve never used one. Is this something that happens a lot?

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.