Why you shouldn't ever give a video store a valid credit card.
And by followon, why you should never use RedBox.
For the first time in a long time, I've got a credit card which is still valid at my local Blockbusters. Normally, when signing up to a video store, I'll do it at the end of my card's life, then cancel it the next day and get a new one issued from the bank. I've always been wary of video stores having credit card information - they have no valid reason to require it. Anyway - my fears have been confirmed. I noticed an odd charge on my bank statement this week - a $1 ding from Blockbusters. I've not been late on a return, nor underpaid for a rental, so I did some sleuthing. Blockbuster ding your card on file with them for $1 hold every time you rent from them, then release it when you return the movie. It's a small enough amount that most people would never notice, but it's not mentioned in their terms and conditions and it's a highly dodgy practice. The only reason I noticed it was because my statement was issued whilst I had a rental so before the charge had been released. ie it still showed as a $1 debit. What's even more dodgy about this is that I didn't give them my card for that rental - I paid cash.
For the same reason, I'd never use that RedBox thing. There's nothing to stop them issuing charges to your card for no reason once they have the info, and you can't go cancelling your card and getting a new one each time you rent a DVD from a red box. The bigger problem with RedBox (and NetFlicks and all those other "convenience" places) is that there is no physical person you can go and complain to when they stiff you for money for no reason. I mean you can talk to someone who can't speak english in a call centre on the other side of the world, but at least with a store you can go in and speak to an actual human being.
Anyway - I just thought it worth posting.
For the first time in a long time, I've got a credit card which is still valid at my local Blockbusters. Normally, when signing up to a video store, I'll do it at the end of my card's life, then cancel it the next day and get a new one issued from the bank. I've always been wary of video stores having credit card information - they have no valid reason to require it. Anyway - my fears have been confirmed. I noticed an odd charge on my bank statement this week - a $1 ding from Blockbusters. I've not been late on a return, nor underpaid for a rental, so I did some sleuthing. Blockbuster ding your card on file with them for $1 hold every time you rent from them, then release it when you return the movie. It's a small enough amount that most people would never notice, but it's not mentioned in their terms and conditions and it's a highly dodgy practice. The only reason I noticed it was because my statement was issued whilst I had a rental so before the charge had been released. ie it still showed as a $1 debit. What's even more dodgy about this is that I didn't give them my card for that rental - I paid cash.
For the same reason, I'd never use that RedBox thing. There's nothing to stop them issuing charges to your card for no reason once they have the info, and you can't go cancelling your card and getting a new one each time you rent a DVD from a red box. The bigger problem with RedBox (and NetFlicks and all those other "convenience" places) is that there is no physical person you can go and complain to when they stiff you for money for no reason. I mean you can talk to someone who can't speak english in a call centre on the other side of the world, but at least with a store you can go in and speak to an actual human being.
Anyway - I just thought it worth posting.
Comments