woods1110 0 Posted December 14, 2004 Share Posted December 14, 2004 http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,141455,00.html Blockbuster to End Late Fees in 2005Tuesday, December 14, 2004 DALLAS  Blockbuster Inc. (search), the nation's biggest movie rental company, plans to eliminate late fees on games and movies as of Jan. 1. Blockbuster announced Tuesday it will continue to set due dates, with one week for games and two days or one week for movies. But the company will give customers a one-week grace period at no additional charge, starting on New Year's Day. Renters who want to keep movies or games longer can buy the products, less the rental fee. Or, Blockbuster says customers can return products within 30 days for credit to their accounts, with a restocking fee. "Doing away with late fees is the biggest and most important customer benefit we've ever offered in our company's history," John Antioco (search), Blockbuster Inc. chairman and chief executive, said in a prepared statement. "So as of the first of the year, if our customers need an extra day or two with their movies and games, they can take it." Officials of the Dallas-based company also said Tuesday they expect continued softness in the rental industry and flat operating income in 2005 compared with this year before the estimated $50 million costs of marketing and implementing the late-fee elimination policy. Blockbuster said it has tested the new program in some markets and found increased rental transactions and retail sales offset the decline in revenue resulting from eliminating late fees. For the full year 2005, the company projects that late fees would have contributed approximately $250 to $300 million to operating income. But it said that is expected to be offset by growth in revenues due to increased store traffic, less promotional and marketing activity and an increased focus on operating expense management. Blockbuster has more than 4,500 company-operated and participating franchised stores in the United States. Wow, thats huge... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUloggerhead 2,241 Posted December 17, 2004 Share Posted December 17, 2004 Another reason is this company: Netflix.com The owner started this company after being assessed a huge late rental fee from a Blockbuster store. One monthly charge. The discs are mailed to your house, you keep them as long as you want & return them at your leisure. You order on-line & can even make a queue of the movies you'd like to see. They even give you the return envelope for mailing them back. The only catch is you can't have any more movies out than what you've contracted for. We've been renting movies from them for a little over a year now. It can't get any easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Auburn85 432 Posted December 24, 2004 Share Posted December 24, 2004 For a new release movie it used to be $3.49, now it's $3.79 Can you say insurance for late fees? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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