How to Lose a Customer for $12
It’s been a few months since I hired a movie from my local Video Ezy store. We’ve been collecting the Stargate SG-1 series on DVD and have been chipping away at those. Up to season 8 now, so we’re nearly done. I’ll be hiring a few movies once we’re done as I’ve got a bit of catching up to do!
But I won’t be going back to Video Ezy.
You see, I had a couple of late returns. Nothing major - 2 movies that were returned a day late. One day late.
Didn’t think too much of it until I received a threatening letter from Video Ezy. Followed by a letter of demand from this mob called Entertainment Recoveries.
Now get this - it’s all over $12.
If new release movies are $6 each, in the month after we finish with our Stargates we would probably have spent $48 with them. That’s 4 times the amount of the late fees, in 1 month.
Now, for the sake of $12, I’ll never go back.
What business would permanently distance a customer over $12?
Think of it this way. Even if I only hire 2 movies per month (which is pretty conservative) that’s $156 in a year, or 13 times the amount of the late fee. Pretty good chance of hiring more than 2 movies a month, mind you.
I don’t understand the marketing logic behind this. Sure, if I hadn’t actually returned the movies I can understand the legal threats.
(And to top it off, I now have a $15 “Administrative Charge” as well. Give me a break!)
And I love this bit too - notice at the top of the excerpt above? I have a “Member Number”! I’m a member of Entertainment Recoveries now?
When you add it up, just 20 people with $12 late fees can keep 2 junior staff employed for a week at their store. Assuming they get all $12, which they wouldn’t when dealing with a debt collector.
I see the business move to get more money, but it’s a stupid move for such a store in a small town.
I had a friend who has worked at Blockbuster, Civic and Frenchville movie world before becoming a shrink! (haha)
None of those stores would have bothered to take even a $100 fee this far. Blockbuster hardly ever pursues non-returned movies and games at all.
I vote 1 blockbuster :)
Oh and as another spit, I keep getting SMS’s from Videoezy - they say to opt out, reply ’stop’ - and I do. Then I get another SMS saying I’m off their list only to get more SMS’s a few weeks later! And I’ve only hired one movie from them in my lifetime.
Comment made on 3/11/2006 @ 11:00 am
That’s a fair call, except if they get that $12 - that’s the end of the income stream. So those those 2 juniors lose their jobs at the end of the week anyway because the customer won’t be back.
And would you believe I’ve had the same trouble with their SMS messages too…
Comment made on 3/11/2006 @ 11:41 am
If only what JC wrote were true. I recieved the same letter from ER just recently but it was not in relation to Video Ezy but rather Civic.
The silly thing is I would only have been more than happy to pay any late fees had I known they existed in the first place. All it would have taken is a simple call or notification that I had fees outstanding the day or so after and I would have arranged a time to pop in and pay them.
I am in the same basket that I simply have not rented anything for several months, and this letter does nothing to convince me to stay as a loyal customer. Rather once I have this issue sorted I will promtly cancel my membership, I do not respond to bullying tactics.
Comment made on 21/11/2006 @ 7:45 pm
If u haven’t been in for several months, are u a loyal customer?
Comment made on 19/12/2006 @ 8:14 pm
i had a mate a few years ago who used to work for this E R crowd and he told me that the $15.00 administration fees that tack onto to your account is actually illegal because they dont provide a break up. He also said that they also charge the video store another $15.00 when they collect the debt. What a scam ? They also have something to do with the Video Ezy group. Sounds like a lot of in breding to me.
Comment made on 26/12/2006 @ 10:58 pm
So they charge the video store $15 to collect $12?
Now that’s funny! :)
Comment made on 27/12/2006 @ 10:29 am
I got a phone call from this E R company the other day asking me to pay $52.50 in late fees. I know that I only owe $30.00. The really weird thing was this guy had a really heavy Indian accent and when I asked him where he was calling from he told me India. So I told him if he wants his $52.50 he can come around to my place and pick it up. He didn’t sound really happy about that. How can this E R company give my account details to a call center in a third world country without my consent. Can anyone advise who I should lodge a complaint with as this can’t be legal.
Comment made on 28/12/2006 @ 10:47 am
I owned a Civic video store back in 04/05 and used this Entertainment Recoveries for them to collect my debts. They came to one of our franchise meetings and gave a presentation to all the owners of the stores. A few of us decided to go with them and it turned out to be one of the worst business decisions I ever made. They would send us e-mails every week of how well they were going on our collections and it was looking pretty good but every month I would get a statement in the post and I always owed them money which I could never work this out. After ringing them on four seperate occaisions I finally got a return call only to be told that they can’t send me a combined statement for all my collections as I wanted to see all transactions from the day I started using them. I kept pushing them on this point and only through shear persistance that I got a combined statement. ( which they iniatially said they could not do ) To my horror it showed that I had paid them $5,200.00 in administration fees which I knew nothing about. When they finally returned my call to find out what was going on they told me because I didn’t sign a contract with them they were able to charge me administration fees even though they eventually agreed that they never told me about them in the first place at the franchise meeting. They flatly refused to give me a refund. It seems like the only ones that wins with debt collectors is the debt collector themselves. Not only were my customers out of pocket so was I. As you can imagine I felt totally ripped off and it put me off ever using debt collectors again.
Comment made on 4/1/2007 @ 2:12 pm
In response to Michaels comments I got a phone call also from an Indian guy regarding an alleged debt owed to my local Video Ezy store . He said he was calling on behalf of Entertainment Recoveries and wanted me to give him my credit card details over the phone. I told him you have got to be joking and just hung up. As if anyone in their right mind would give out credit card details to someone in a third world country over the phone. After hanging up I wondered how he got all my details, he even had my date of birth and knew where I lived.
Comment made on 9/1/2007 @ 1:16 pm
I’d just like to add that all Video Ezy stores (Or most anyway) are franchises, and are, for the majority, all independently owned, some by those above that chose to persue late fees of $12 through debt collection. Most stores do not conduct like this. Also, the SMS is not run by Video Ezy, rather by a third party group. Most stores also do not participate in this as they know it is a pain, and the company that was used seems to have this sort of problem. It is likely that they guy who owns the store you are dealing with is not an active participant in the day-to-day running of the store, and serves just as an owner, who will follow anything that they are sent information about. It’s either that, or this video store, like MANY video stores in Australia, are in financial trouble, and they need to persue those small amounts to stay open for another month.
I would also like to add that video stores are owed an obscene amount of late fees (Most in excess of $500,000 - More than the value of my house).
Altough when you signed up to become a member of Video Ezy you signed a legally binding contract stating that you would 1) Return your movies on time, and 2)Pay off any late fees occured on your account within 14 days, so the store has every right to persue the amount, especially when you think that the video stores themselves are given a short period of time to pay off their bills.
Comment made on 13/1/2007 @ 11:35 pm
I agree with Brendon on comment 10. Any Video store who is using a debt collector who charges Administration fees of $15.00 on top of the $12.00 debt is either totally deperate for a dollar or an idiot. Either way they wont be in business too long.
Comment made on 16/1/2007 @ 12:53 pm
@ Brendan,
I run a small business myself: I totally understand the need to get paid. Not disputing that at all. What puzzles me is pursuing $12 in this manner will cost them substantially more in lost revenue - they failed to consider my lifetime value as a customer. If I owed $100 I could understand it. Even if I owed $50. But $12?
Surely, a better method would have been to send me a letter saying if I come in and rent 2 new releases this week they’re wipe the debt.
1. They will have got $12 off me (new releases being $6 per night)
2. I will have spent much more with them in the following months.
The method chosen has alienated me, rather than built an loyalty or encouraged repeat purchases.
That seems like a poor business decision.
Comment made on 16/1/2007 @ 6:17 pm
I had a mate who used to manage a Video Ezy store and he said Entertainment Recoveries were a rip off. His store only used them for about 6 months but they really stuffed things up by sending out the wrong letters to all his customers . The video store didn’t even get a choice of what debts they wanted to be chased up they just came in and took all the debts. Next they he knew was that he was getting up to 30 phone calls a day at the video store getting abused. He also said that Entertainment Recoveries never paid his video store any money for collecting debts as the video store always owed Entertainment Recoveries money. Go figure?
Comment made on 10/2/2007 @ 7:28 pm
I have recieved a late fine from ER now totalling $38.80 including the pathetic $15 ‘admin fee’. I am so mad. I will NEVER use ANY video ezy’s again. Does anyone know if I do not pay this, if i can be liable for any more, or if I actually can get sent to court over this matter?
Comment made on 3/4/2007 @ 12:01 pm
Felicia, mine was due on the 12th October last year, and nobody has followed me up.
Based upon that experience I wouldn’t loose any sleep over it.
Comment made on 4/4/2007 @ 10:42 am
I reckon the E R crowd is just a scam. I’ve gotten 2 calls now from an indian call centre for an alleged debt of $300.00. The funny thing is that i was never as member of that video store but they had my date of birth , phone number and address. I told the indian guy to proove it was me who rented by getting me the membership application form I supposidly signed and i havn’t had a phone call until last week where some other Indian guy started asking for the 300.00 again. When i told him of my previous talks with someone else at his call centre he said he knew nothing about it. Just goes to show if you pay peanuts you get Indians. I might also add that the last guy I talked to had such a heavt accent I could barely understand what he was saying. I advise any other consumers who recieve a call from an Indian call centre asking for payment by a credit card to hang up immediately.
Comment made on 13/4/2007 @ 12:25 am
Okay…a couple of points:
1) Return your movies on time and there is no problem
2) Video stores should offer an extenstion service (mine does) as well where you can ring up, extend your movies and pay a couple of bucks next visit
3) If you must return them late then pay the fee straight away (you are given at least a month before these letters are sent anyway… plenty of time)
These are in the contract that you signed when you became a member… so maybe try playing by the rules next time and save all the trouble…
regarding the sms thing… the only sms i have received are for overdues. I see no problem with them reminding me to return my movies.
Comment made on 19/4/2007 @ 11:11 pm
I got a series of letters from Entertainment Recoveries about 6 months ago and every time I got the letter I would ring the phone number and I always got an answering machine. I left my details for a call back to discuss the account and they never called me back, they just kept sending letters. In my view they are not a professional company. What sort of business provides a phone number and never answers the phone and never returns calls.
Comment made on 29/5/2007 @ 1:33 pm
If you think this ER company are dodgy check out there competition Video Defaulters. They keep a data base of debtors and share it with other stores that ’subscribe” to their service.
Comment made on 18/6/2007 @ 8:13 pm
I just got a letter in the mail stating I owe Video Ezy $857.65…from a year ago!!!!!
It states it is a final notice…however I have never recieved a first notice or anything stating that these where overdue.
Apparently the videos are 87 days overdue…
I was not contacted during the 87 days to state that I had DVD’s and that they where overdue…
I never got a call..or anything stating there was an overdue amount…nor during the 87 days a call..
So did they want me to keep increasing the overdue limit????
Comment made on 20/6/2007 @ 1:11 pm
I just got an entertainment debt recoveries letter. From a place I used to live, apparently I had a couple of video’s overdue (over 9 months ago). It says ‘Final Demand Notice of Intention to Commence Proceedings at Local Court’. They have even added an example of court proceedings. Is this serious or are they just harrassing me over a crime I can’t even remember committing? Do they take you to court for $70.00. I am really upset as I have always paid my bills and got videos back on time. I WILL NEVER USE VIDEO EZY AGAIN!!!!!. Does anyone have any experience with these letters or do I have to pay for something I don’t think I ever did?
Comment made on 21/6/2007 @ 11:16 pm
Horatio,
I have heard of them taking people to court, but if you think you didnt even hire the movies call them or visit the store and exspress your concerns.
Comment made on 24/6/2007 @ 5:50 pm
Hey! I have a problem with a Video Ezy store which has closed down. They say I owe fees of $84 which is for a DVD that I hired and when i got it home it was faulty. It was a two night hire so when I took it back to swap it they said they would extend the time. Apparently the employee didn’t note it in the computer so now they want their money. I have received three letters from a mob called Goddard and Elliott in Melbourne. I have contacted them and they don’t want to know about it. Video Ezy head office don’t care they say it is up to the individual owner. Does anyone know if a verbal agreement is binding or do I have to pay? I have never had late fees before and I use to hire regularly. I will NEVER use a Video Ezy store again.
Comment made on 29/6/2007 @ 4:36 pm
Erin,
Did you advise Video Ezy Head Office that the store had closed.
Comment made on 5/7/2007 @ 9:03 pm
In response to John and that Video Defaulters crowd with that pesky data base of theirs. I got busted a few years ago when I moved from my home town in Geelong in Victoria up to Cairns in north Queensland, some 4000 k’s away. I’m the first to admit that I am pretty slack when it comes to returning videos on time and i did owe a few stores in Geelong a fair bit of money when I left. Can you imagine how embarrased I was when I went to join up at a video store in Cairns and they knew all about my bad record in Geelong. Can’t get away with anything these days. Doh!
Comment made on 20/7/2007 @ 10:00 pm
I got a letter from ER with a fine, i paid it and now received a new letter from Legal & commercial asking me to pay it again. Why would my Video Ezy store change Debt collectors?. Now that Ive paid it once there is no way in hell im paying it again. Seems like their double dipping to me.
Anyone else have incidents similar to this?
Comment made on 25/7/2007 @ 10:39 pm
entertainment recoveries are a bunch of tossers. I got a letter too. not imoressed and I wont be paying the so called “oustanding debt”
Comment made on 26/7/2007 @ 3:00 pm
Oh, and if anyone is interested, the owners of Entetainment Recoveries are Craig Conly (managing director) and Mike Clemetson (operations manager). Check out Mike’s MY Space page. So called Christians?I think not. So why is Hillsong being investigated for tax evasion? Are these the people you wish to do business with?
Comment made on 26/7/2007 @ 4:23 pm
Entertanment Recoveries are shonky I agree. If you have a debt listed with them you can’t even make a phone call to discuss the debt. Check out their web page under contact us. You can only write to them. Looks like its a two bob shonky company that aren’t even prepared to put their phone number on their letters. I chucked my letter in the bin.What sought of business do they think they are running when they wont provide a phone number.
Comment made on 30/7/2007 @ 5:18 pm
How do you know that Entertainment Recoveries are being investigated for tax evasion and who told you they are a christian organization? ( Sounds like they may be going staight to hell ) Nothing more than wild allegations at the momement. Some proof would be nice please. I went to the Entertainment Recoveries web site ( pretty light on for content ) and no mention of them being a christian based debt recovery agents.
Comment made on 31/7/2007 @ 11:07 pm
The way entertainment recoveries work is that the video ezy store sends them data each month is which the manager enters into their computer system. This generates a report of customers who have been inactive for more than 30 days and who have late fees ranging from $20 to $2500. The reason why they send letters out is to remind customers of the late fee. ER is not some dodgy backyard organisation. They get alot of abuse from customers who are too cheap to simply pay a late fee.
From a comment above - when you sign up as a member you sign a document that says you will return your dvds and pay any late fees that mount up.
Imagine what it is like for a video store owner when rental revenue is decreasing because people are downloading of the internet. A brand new DVD costs a store owner around $25 depending on the distributor. If the store only get 5 copies of this movie and idiotic customers keep them overdue for even a day that store has lost alot of potential revenue - hence the reason for ER.
The best way to deal with any late fee letters that you do get is to simply call the Video Store or go into them. THEY WILL DO A DEAL. They want you to come back into their store to continue renting. The VE store has a much easier way of getting in contact with ER than we do.
Comment made on 1/8/2007 @ 1:15 am
What sought of business is a video store who starts chasing customers who owe 20.00 and has not been in the store in the last 30 days. Sounds like a recipe on how to lose a customer to me. If I ever got a letter from my local video store saying pay up 20.00 or else I would never return. I frequently go more than 30 days between visits to my video store and I always pay my late fines. Seems to be pretty heavy handed and not good for customer relations. I wonder hay money people go away for christmas holidays that have a small debt and are away for 6 weeks. How many customers could you lose by such a heavy handed approach. Doesn’t sound like good business to me.
Comment made on 1/8/2007 @ 11:08 am
That’s interesting info Joanna - Things must have changed though as I only owed $12.
The biggest issue with all of this, is that if video stores are struggling, surely encouraging people to come back would make more sense than letters of demand.
Maybe you’ll get a few dollars, maybe you won’t.
But you certainly won’t see those people back in the door renting from you again.
Comment made on 1/8/2007 @ 11:56 am
I’ve had a similar experience, Blockbuster in Wollongong (Fairy Meadow)
A $11.50 in late fees and a $15 in admin fees
I sent a check for the $11.50 and a letter asking under what law they could claim an admin fee.
I’ll let you know how it goes….
Comment made on 2/8/2007 @ 8:14 pm
I am a debt collector ( commercial agent )and have been for more than 15 years and I can confirm that debt collectors are prohibited from adding any fees onto debts that they collect. It is against the law. If you have been a victim of a debt collector adding additional fees onto debts report them immediately to your consumer affairs department in your state. Some debt collectors who are really sneaky don’t even tell you that you have been charged additional fees they just send a letter asking for a certain amount which includes additional fees. This is a highly illegal practice and should be reported promptly. A debt collector who has been found guilty of this illegal practice will be forced to refund to all debtors all additional fees that have been charged. Some debt collectors have even been audited in the past and have had to re pay hundreds of thousands of dollars. Looking at the letter at the start of this blog, it appears that Entertainment Recoveries have added fees onto their second letter of $15.00 bringing the total up to $27.00. It also appears that they have not advised the debtor that they are paying an additional $15.00 in fees in the second letter. It only takes one consumer to report them and they will be forced to refund all unlawfully collected fees. How much money has this Entertainment Recoveries company swindled out of debtors over the years? My advice dont pay and report them.
Comment made on 2/8/2007 @ 11:11 pm
I’ve worked at Blockbuster for a few years now. It is a shit place to work. And the pay is shit too. We NEVER get debt collectors! We have customers owing thousands of dollars in overdue fees, but we still dont get debt collectors on to them. And somethign over a small $12 fee, thats outrageous. To them, $12 is an hours work fro a senior staff member, they wouldnt even bother. I’ve heard a few bad complaints about Civic and Video Ezy, mainly with overdues. Yes, people will no doubtdly complain about Blockbusters procedure with overdue fees too, but we dont go as far as getting debt collectors or sending letters to people who owe $12… The overdue fee goes onto the membership, then it is up to the customer to decide if they want to pay the whole thing at once or pay it off. One way or another, we’re still getting the fine back, it just may not be the second the items are returned, like Video Ezy seem to be trying to you. If i was you, I’d rip the paper up, never return and join a membership at another video store. $12, then turning into $27… money hungry mongrels. Dont give it to them.
Comment made on 5/8/2007 @ 8:06 pm
I have run a video store for many years and am amazed that honest people always pay on return of late movies and the rest claim all sorts of things - more and wilder excuses than kids who don’t do their homework. There are a lot of dishonest people out there who don’t seem to care about the way they disadvantage other movie renters and rip off honest retailers. Usually, the louder these customers get, the more dishonest they are. Video stores keep good records and have great security cameras. Lying ain’t going to work. They really don’t need the hassles of bad customers, they cost more than they are worth. They do however go the extra mile for their good and regular customers.
If someone does not return an item, does not pay extended rental fees, and does not change their contact details after moving address or getting a new phone no they should not blame the store for contacting them immediately. Reminder calls and letters are staff intensive and cost money, so an admin fee is justified. Why should honest customers pay with higher fees for dishonest ones.
Claiming you didn’t know doesn’t wash - if you go into the store, have your return scanned in, you can fix your debt on the spot and discuss issues. you will more than likely be offered a discount too if you apologize.
If after 2 letters and several phone calls you do not return items, or do not pay after a reminder letter, than it’s time you got your affairs in order. Imagine if your employer or bank was that sloppy paying you, or your pocket money depended on you being organized?
There are a lot of wingers out there, but they only have themselves to blame.
Debt collection is a last resort and in the face of the cumulative amount of fees owing from dishonest persons a necessity for any business from medical practitioners to retail. We could of course only sign up people with credit card details or direct debit from bank accounts - which would exclude the winging lot in the first place because they never have any spare money 2 days after pay day.
As far as debt collectors are concerned, if they act inappropriately, you need to complain to the appropriate authorities. Video stores don’t always know how exactly they operate as they may not be totally transparent. If you go to the store and pay your fees, you will most likely never have to worry about any of this in the first place.
Another issue is remembering where you hired and to return to the correct store. We have a shelf of other stores titles, we call them, but nobody collects the them. Don’t expect us to do that for you.
Don’t give your rentals to a mate - 9/10 times they do not return them to the correct store.
Do not let others use your account, you will still be charged the fees as you signed the paperwork.
Be grateful for the SMS or phone call from a store, even if it is incorrect - it costs you nothing and means the store is trying to minimize your cost. Why complain. Of course you cannot put a stop to reminder calls., they are there to help you get off your butt.
As far as ER is concerned, I would never deal with those guys as they never answered my email queries. As far as their competition is concerned, they swallow 50% of what you owe the store, so if you owe money, the admin fee should be double what you owe for the store to get a fair deal.
We all have to eat, and no-one wants to be underpaid for services. If you paid your dues, video store staff would have less work and could be paid better. And now I will turn my attention back to the 99% of wonderful movie lovers who make every day at work worthwhile and help forget the dishonest badly behaved minority.
Comment made on 10/8/2007 @ 3:13 pm
The emerging online providers like Quickflix (www.quickflix.com.au) do not charge late fees and deliver the movies to your door. I just checked their website and they seem to be eating into the video store customer base with customer growth exceeding 100 per cent. It’s little wonder when you hear these late fees horror stories
Comment made on 10/8/2007 @ 3:27 pm
Actually that’s incorrect. They don’t have access to the same wide range at the same time as the video store has. The cost is higher too and there is a lot of inconvenience and planning involved. Video stores cater for people who want to browse and make spur-of-the-moment decisions depending on what they feel like. Most of the business is latest new releases which quickflix does not offer.
If you don’t return the on-liners, you don’t get new stock. So you keep paying subscription for the same movies you have been hanging onto for weeks too. Some video stores have a subscription model too for those who cannot get organized and it is a zillion times better, because you can get what you want when you want and don’t have to wait. You can book and late fees are only charged on new releases but at a lower fee.
Horror-stories only happen because people do not communicate with stores and let things slide. It’s just like not paying your phone, water, electricity and gas bill. When the car runs out of oil the engine seizes up and that costs a lot to fix. Extended rental fees are peanuts compared to the cost of that. You can’t blame anyone else for that either and you can’t claim the oil got stolen either like the person on today tonight who seems to have been robbed of rental DVD’s twice.
Comment made on 10/8/2007 @ 4:24 pm
I agree with meercat. I used to subscribe to quickflix and spent a lot more money not getting what I was in the mood for , ending up at my local Video Ezy anyway. I now subscribe to their program and can pick up new ones as often as I like. But then I always almost return on time. Guess I am organized.
Comment made on 10/8/2007 @ 4:28 pm
Quickflix and Telstra on line movie order service doesn’t even get close to what a good video store has to offer. I’ve gone back to my local video store. I can get what I want , when I want it and if I return it to them when I am meant to I pay $5.00 . In the USA their are plenty of online movie companies and they only have about a 5% market share versus the local video store with 95%. Long live the local video store I say.
Comment made on 10/8/2007 @ 11:25 pm
Its been a month since I sent my cheque for $11.50 (see comments above), no answer from Entertainment Recoveries yet, so I assume thats the end of it.
Thanks meerkat, can I get the name and address of your video store so I know never to shop there. If dishonesty is not returning a video on time and then not visiting the video store for a couple of months, then I guess I should take steps to never darken your doorway with my criminal behavior…
Comment made on 2/9/2007 @ 9:33 am
I’ve owned a number of video stors in the 20 years I have been involved in the industry and warn all other video stores against using Entertainment Recoveries. To put it bluntly, they are useless and divisive. I have been asking them for many months to produce a statement of all the recoveries for my stores and they tell me their is no such report. They are either lying or incompetant. Either way I caution all video store owners to stay away from them. They don’t even bother returning my e mails anymore
Comment made on 3/9/2007 @ 1:38 pm
Hi Frank,
I work in the debt collection industry and we have several clients who are ex Entertainment Recoveries clients. They all have the same comments as yourself. We had one client who asked them for the same report you did and it took them 3 months to produce it. Now thats what i call customer service.
Comment made on 8/9/2007 @ 2:06 pm
If anyone is having difficulty getting in touch with Entertainment Recoveries here are the personal addresses of the Directors
Mike Klemetson- Northmead (details removed - editor)
Craig Conly- Castle Hill (details removed - editor)
If you cant get through the shonky automated phone service, maybe you can try their home numbers, after all they have ours, right?
Scumbag Central = Entertainment Recoveries
Comment made on 8/10/2007 @ 11:20 am
Inflation has gone up video ezy has just lost me as a customer over $15, my wife open and took the dvd out of the case and the dvd broke in half I just returned the dvd and the sales person said that will be a $15 replacement fee, I couldnt believe his attitude so I asked to see the manager of course the manager was on holdiday the sales person at video ezy rosemeadow said we check all dvd before we give them out, so I asked show me how you check them he got a dvd out dropped it on the floor and said see theres no cracks in them is this guy for real… none the less I intend following this up further I was all but short accused of breaking the dvd I wonder why? i would do that??? when I havent even seen the movie
Comment made on 13/10/2007 @ 9:51 pm
I used to work in a video store not to long ago and we used to use this Entertainment Recoveries company until my boss spat the dummy with the way they charge comission. If a video store sent through a debt for E.R. to collect for $100.00 and the customer keeps ringing E.R. leaving messages which they never return. The customer ends up back at our video store pretty pissed off that they never got a call back from E.R. and very agitated. To appease the customer my boss excepted $50.00 for total payment outstanding just to keep the peace. When my boss got his invoice from E.R. they charged our store commision on the $100.00 not the $50.00 that was actually collected. When my boss rang E.R. to complain he was told that he had no authority to accept the 50.00 as final payment at the video store. When my boss told E.R. that most of his debtors never get through to a living person when the ring E.R. he was told bad luck he still had to pay comission on the 100.00, not the $50.00 that was actually paid. Whats the point of using a debt collector that never returns phone calls from debtors and then has the cheek to charge comission to the store on $100.00 when only $50.00 was collected and our store does all the work.
Comment made on 26/10/2007 @ 3:09 pm
OMG… You get a late fee you pay it….. You break a dvd you pay for it!!!! Bloody whingers!!
And may i remind everyone that we generally dont get a hold of you because you havent been in the store for ages and most of the time have moved. You dont come back to the store because you have a late fee so there for you dont pay it so therefor you get a letter from debt collection on our behalf!!! Also who cares if you dont come back if you havent been back into the store for so long that u have been issued a letter from er then you were not really a loyal good customer anyway.
Comment made on 7/11/2007 @ 4:46 pm
If you go and have a look at the Entertainment Recoveries web site you can only leave a message and they say someone will call you back later. I’ve left 3 messages and still no return call. What sought of a debt collection agency can this be if they won’t even take your call. Unacceptable business practice in my view.
Comment made on 9/11/2007 @ 1:20 pm
I agree with comment above. I left 4 messages early this year and Entertainment Recoveries never rang me back. I even left two numbers for them to call me on. Pretty dodgy debt collector if they don’t ring people back who want to pay accounts.
Comment made on 23/11/2007 @ 3:05 pm
“”Re: 37 Meerkat’s Comment made on 5/8/2007 @ 8:06 pm”"
I found this site because i too have received a letter from Entertainment Recoveries for an outstanding fee of $53 today acting on behalf of Blockbuster video. Six days ago I was sent a letter from my local Blockbuster about an outstanding overdue fee of $38 which was the only correspondence I had recieved about the matter prior to today.
I don’t dispute the late fee from Blockbuster…i am guilty as charged and deserve to be brought to justice…and as ms vid ezy(i’ll take a punt that she may own or work in a video store) who’s frustration about the matter was very evident, curtly pointed out in her comments…i am also a once high frequency renter at this store(5-7 movies a week) that had not been back for well over a month because I knew of the late fees and did not have the means to pay them due to falling on a hard time financially….father please forgive my sins….It should be known that until this time i’ve been a long standing member at this store, often late but usually paying my fees on the spot.
I was so pissed off that I had been sent these letters and that the price had skyrocketed that I Googled “disputing entertainment recoveries” to seek information about the company and determine a strategy to avoid paying the fees with out it affecting my credit rating or going to court as ER so boldly threatens.
After reading the 50 comments on this site my entire perspective on the matter has changed significantly. The experiences and points of view expressed lead me to believe that Entertainment Recoveries may be making threats, distributing confidential information and passing on charges that may not be deemed as acting within the boundaries of the law.
This may or may not be true but but the fact remains, had i not received their letter, i would not be actioning the matter with the urgency i now am. So regardless of their methods and perhaps lack of integrity, they did gain my attention urging me to take action and not disregard the matter as I had been due to it being such a small amount. Clearly for providing that service they should be compensated, i do not believe that $15 is a fair and just charge to pass on without prior notification.
I was intending to avoid paying the late fees if i could because I thought the letters and charges were outrageous! After reading both miss vid ezy & Meerkat’s comments I now feel ashamed to have entertained that thought at all. Most Video stores are franchises and probably run by average people like you and i who are just trying to make ends meet, not by wealthy multi-millionaires.
I am happy to pay the $38 because I owe it and truth be said, would have eventually paid anyway, i always do, besides Blockbuster is the closest store to my home and has the best range of videos so my 9yo son always tells me. What I’m not happy about is paying the $15 charge that ER is attempting to charge me for their involvement or that they will make $30 from the transaction whilst Blockbuster will only make $22 or 58 cents/dollar from my debt to them.
After reading all on here I am going to go down to my video store to seek out and apologize to the owner or manager and offer to pay them the full amount inclusive of the $15 charge so they can be compensated for having to follow up on my lack of action, but only IF they can call off the ER people from further action. If this can be accomplished, my Blockbuster will likely have a customer for life from me(not perfect, but who is?) and I will feel better knowing that they they have been compensated and the matter is finished. Failing this I will dispute the charge that ER has imposed through the ACCC to determine it’s legality and abide by the advice that they provide, paying ER if i have to.
I’d again gain like to thank Meerkat for his comments. They made me realize that I should not hold the video store in contempt for trying to retrieve funds they have every right to recover; that by not doing so I am one of many who add to a significant debt that may or may not be the difference between their a business being successful or a failure; and that in the future, regardless off the circumstances, I will contact any store i owe money to and discuss the options available to avoid this issue again…they are after all only small business people attempting to make a living. This is Australia and we should all give them a fair go.
Denis08
Comment made on 2/4/2008 @ 4:47 am
Well, can you beat $115! Interesting that I have not heard of this fine. A Video Ezy fine of $15 for video/s from God knows when plus $100 costs. I have not lived at the address much over a number of years. I have rarely hired and paid fines which were even more rare! I received a letter of intention to court proceedings to recover from barristers Goddard Elliott (Glen Waverley Vic). They said they intend to and if successful will garnishee wages, seize property or whatever. Nothing more than robbery if you ask me. Is it a scam for video Ezy and these so-called barrister to scam and divide those excessive fees? Anyway I have asked for proof. It will be interesting if the alledged date conflicts with an overseas stint. How if there is proof I will pay the $15 but not this ridiculous trumped up fee!
Comment made on 2/4/2008 @ 12:52 pm
Video Sleazy and gang!
Comment made on 2/4/2008 @ 1:06 pm
Don’t worry about paying fees to Goddard Elliott if you never got any of their previous corro as I had moved address some 18 months earlier. When I got a debt notice from them and rang them up and explained that, they took all fees off. They were actually very reasonable. I think the trick to all this is to make contact as soon as you get any letters. This stops all the fees ect.
Comment made on 7/5/2008 @ 4:13 pm
Yeh video defaulters are lame, they try an charge 100’s of $ on a couple of missing dvd’s.
Just don’t pay and get someone else to do your hiring lol. No small community video store would dare use it tho as you could end up blacklisting a community icon which will anger everyone.
You keep the stores in business, make a good choice.
Comment made on 23/6/2008 @ 9:58 pm