Looking for a way to stop the hemorrhaging, Blockbuster is offering a clever little promotion to lure mega-movie geeks back into its dusty aisles for one more fling. The Summer Escape Pass offers all-you-can watch for $10 a week.
rentals
Tenant Sued After Using Twitter To Complain About Moldy Apartment
By 7.28.09
If the the puiblic didn’t read Amanda Bonnen’s Twitter feed before, they will now, thanks to a defamation lawsuit brought against her by Horizon Group Management in Chicago.
Are Blu-ray Netflix Customers Paying Extra Because The Discs Keep Cracking?
By 7.6.09
Do you rent Blu-ray discs from Netflix? Have you had any show up with a crack on the outer edge that makes the disc unplayable? Victor just wrote to us that he’s received several Blu-ray discs lately that are damaged, and he’s wondering if it’s just him or part of a wider problem.
Rent A Truck From U-Haul If You Want To Stay Put
By 6.24.09
Chris and his wife moved recently. To do so, they rented a truck from U-Haul. They planned ahead, booked their truck in advance, and did everything correctly. They just had the audacity to request a truck that wasn’t located an hour away from their new home. This was apparently too much for the U-Haul infrastructure to handle.
"Help, I Fell For The Apartment Rental Credit Check Scam!"
By 6.3.09
Since posting an article about Craiglist apartment listing scams a month ago, we’ve heard from lots of people who fell for the scam. If you’re one of them, here’s what you need to know.
Car Rental Tips From A Pro
By 6.2.09
Reader P. works for one of those big national car rental companies, on the customer service front lines. She has some insights for how to get on the good side of car rental employees, how to make sure the car you ordered ends up where you need it, and the potential hazards of online reservation systems.
"Homeboy Hookup" Scammer Rips Off Renters
By 5.22.09
Apartment scams are the new hotness. Can’t do housing scams anymore because no one can afford a house, so it’s on to rentals. Insert “Merce,” a guy is ripping off renters saying he’s got the “homeboy hookup” and can get them into a rental cheap and with free gas an electricity, but he doesn’t actually own the properties. Fox NY investigates in this video.
Blockbuster Busted For Overcharging Customers, Must Pay $300k
By 5.19.09
What do you do when the foundation to your business is crumbling and bankrupcty lurks like the Grim Reaper just outside your drop box? If you’re Blockbuster, apparently you charge customers more at the register than what’s displayed on the product, at least in California.
Landlord And Service Tech Call Tenant A Nerdy Dipshit
By 5.18.09
The wireless Internet connection at Ari’s new apartment isn’t very useful. Neither is his landlord, or the support tech who’s supposed to troubleshoot this kind of stuff.
By 5.15.09
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If we owned a Blockbuster franchise, we’d seriously think about just renting out the space to a bunch of Redbox kiosks. Blockbuster reported a 42% drop in revenue for the first quarter of 2009, which CEO Jim Keyes blamed on people going out to watch movies at theaters instead. Regarding the Redbox threat, Keyes said they hope to have 3,000 kiosks functioning by the end of the year. Redbox, on the other hand, has about 12,000. [Reuters]
GameFly Accuses US Postal Service Of Breaking, Losing, And Stealing Its Game Discs
By 5.6.09
Late last year we pointed out that GameFly, a Netflix-style program for video games, was beginning to develop a reputation for rotten service and slow turnaround. It looks like the United States Postal Service may be partly to blame, at least as far as GameFly is concerned. They’ve filed a complaint against the USPS over lost, stolen, and damaged discs, as well as discriminatory treatment when compared to Netflix and Blockbuster.
U-Haul Forgets Customer, Forgets Guarantee, Then Forgets Extra Day Agreement And Threatens Criminal Charges
By 4.20.09
Consumerist reader Dionicious and his brother tried to rent a trailer from U-Haul over the weekend. First they were faced with a closed location, then they had to ask before the company followed through on its $50 “Right Time, Right Location” guarantee. They hoped that was the end of the screw-ups, but the next day an angry employee called and threatened to file criminal charges against the brothers. Too bad there’s not some sort of $50 “We Threaten You, We Pay” guarantee.
Take A Peek Inside A Netflix Mailing Facility
By 4.7.09
You might want to hum a little of the Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood theme song music as you click over to Boston.com to view these photos of what goes down at a Netflix facility. We like how they all wear red tees—they’re like Netflix elves merrily providing DVDs to the nation. (Maybe they just did it for photo day, though.)
Hertz Holds Your Rental Hostage For Cash Deposit, To Be Returned In 2 Weeks
By 3.6.09
Ryan’s wife is currently traveling alone with their 3-month-old son on the way to an unexpected funeral near Salt Lake, Utah. Despite the fact that she paid for the rental up front as part of an Orbitz package, the local Hertz jerks are refusing to give her the car unless she goes to an ATM and brings back $200 cash, which they say they will mail back in check form a few weeks after she returns the car. Even Hertz says this isn’t their policy, but they can’t seem to stay on the phone long enough to help Ryan and his wife.
Blockbuster's Stock Nosedives On News It Is Investigating Bankruptcy
By 3.3.09
Blockbuster’s stock just dropped 79% this afternoon after Bloomberg published a story that said the company hired the firm Kirkland & Ellis “to evaluate restructuring options, including a possible pre-packaged bankruptcy.” Blockbuster says they’ve only hired the firm for “refinancing and capital raising initiatives,” and that they do not intend to file for bankruptcy.
