http://www.latimes.com/business/custom/cotown/la-fi-block19feb19,1,6080229.story?coll=la-headlines-business-enter&ctrack=2&cset=true

New Jersey wants Blockbuster Inc. to hit the pause button on its "No More Late Fees" marketing campaign.

The state sued the nation's biggest video rental chain Friday, alleging that the late-fee claim was fraudulent because customers could potentially get stuck buying movies they failed to return on time.

Additionally, California officials confirmed that they were part of a separate probe into the matter by 37 states. The task force was formed last month amid concerns that Blockbuster may be violating consumer protection laws.

"It comes down to truth in advertising," said Tom Dressler, spokesman for California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer.

The New Jersey lawsuit alleges that consumers aren't being told that overdue rentals are automatically charged at the full sales price if not returned by the eighth day. Even when customers return a movie within 30 days and are not docked the full amount, they are still hit with a $1.25-per-DVD restocking fee.

The suit also contends that Dallas-based Blockbuster failed to tell consumers that some of its stores don't participate in the program. New Jersey is seeking up to $10,000 for each violation.

"We believe the advertisement campaign is deceptive and misleading," said Atty. Gen. Peter C. Harvey. "It asserts there are no more late fees, which leads the public to believe it will not take any fee of any type. And that is simply not accurate."

Blockbuster denied that its late-fee campaign, which started Jan. 1, was deceptive.

"The fact is there are no longer late fees at Blockbuster, and we are surprised that the New Jersey state attorney general never directly contacted us about this," the company said.

Blockbuster went on to describe its program as "terrific," adding that "we've received tremendous feedback from both our customers and employees."

The company initiated the policy to address what has long been one of the biggest customer complaints. Rival Netflix Inc., an online DVD rental service based in Los Gatos, Calif., has exploited that dissatisfaction to grab market share.

Blockbuster shares rose 4 cents to $9.12 on the New York Stock Exchange

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I can't believe how STUPID people are. If you don't like the way BB does things, DON'T FREAKIN' GO THERE!!!!!!! :mad:

That commercial is extremely misleading. I had to get online and search for an article before I understood how it worked. Lying scumbags.

I hate Blockbuster. I just get movies from Netflix or a local video store.

:rofl: This is what they get. Blockbuster sucks anyway.

blockbuster doesn't suck. At least the one I go to doesn't suck! But people need to realize that no matter WHAT the promotional thing is there's always going to be a catch! come on.

You get 7 days extra after the due date to return it. That's up to 14 days to have the movie. If you can't watch a movie in 2 weeks, well then there's a problem. That's PLENYY of time to watch it and return it.

I haven't been in a Blockbuster in about 5 years.

I dont go to video shops.I have my cable tv.

I dont go to video shops.I have my cable tv.


Yea I get direct TV so I can order any movie I want so I don't have to deal with rude salesclerks and other crap. Plus no late fees. :lol:

Good, they're a pile of crap for not making it clear what the whole deal is. I'm glad I wasn't hired by them.

We don't even have Blockbuster anywhere around here, so I don't have to worry about that problem. Netflix is a much better solution anyhow.

My roommate and I now use Blockbuster Online. It's much easier.

That reminds me, I think I still owe a late fee at my local Blockbuster.

Yeah the commercial is very misleading. I knew there was some catch.

But people need to realize that no matter WHAT the promotional thing is there's always going to be a catch! come on.
It doesn't matter, they don't tell you that you'll still be charged until they charge you. they have to let you know that somehow beforehand. it's pretty much false advertising, which obviously is against the law.

Blockbuster sucks. There building one right down the road from the mom and pop video store I work in now and it'll put us out of bussiness. **** BLOCKBUSTER!!!!!

Blockbuster does suck. I haven't rented or bought anything out of there since the mid-90s. Those high ass prices! I don't see how they are competing with Wal-Mart, Circuit City, and Best Buy. I go to all those places for movies.

I just think people are TOO picky.

well, I still like BB. I've been going to the same one for years and ALL the workers are very friendly. I never had any problems, so I guess I've been fortunate.

I only wish that Blockbuster pays dearly for treating their customers like suckers.

I don't go to video stores much, if I wanna see a movie I usually buy it on DVD

I don't go to video stores much, if I wanna see a movie I usually buy it on DVD

BB has DVDs too. Actually now pretty much all they have are DVD's. It's just that people still call them "Video Stores" because we're used to that and have been calling it that name for years. I'll never get used to calling it a "DVD store" even though it has only DVD's.