The Hollywood Video chain may have closed its doors and gone into bankruptcy back in March, but that’s not stopping the company from trying to squeeze a few bucks out of its former customers.
A Massachusetts company called Credit Collection Services (CCS) is sending letters all over the country telling people they better pay their rental late fees to the dead store — or else.
One problem: Customers are saying they either paid the late fees or never accrued them in the first place.
Messages to CCS and Hollywood Video — which exists now only as an uninspired website — were not returned Thursday.
Pay Up!
Angela Borrelli of Oxford used to rent games and movies from the Hollywood Video in the Big Y Plaza in Ansonia. She made it a point to pay any late fees she collected.
She was surprised to receive a letter from CCS about a month ago saying the company would report her to a credit bureau unless she coughed up $70.
Borrelli called the phone number listed on the letter to find out more information.
A CCS agent told her she never returned two games and a movie to Hollywood Video. The $70 included the purchase price for all three items, because she kept them, after all. She also owed late fees on the items.
Borrelli’s reaction?
“I couldn’t believe it. I knew I had already paid them. I remembered paying a late fee not too long before they closed,” she said.
The CCS debt collector was less than sympathetic.
“She told me I have to prove I didn’t have the items. I said ‘How do you do that?’ Have you ever rented from a video store? When you return a movie, they don’t give you something saying you returned it,” Borrelli said.
The CCS employee told her she could have asked for a receipt, Borrelli said.
Borrelli and the CCS collector went back and forth for a few more minutes. The debt was from October 2009. The Ansonia store had never called to tell her she had the merchandise, Borrelli said.
“She was really rude. I told her — ‘How ‘bout you prove I owe the debt?’”
David v Goliath
Borrelli hung up angry, frustrated, but undeterred.
“I was so certain I didn’t owe the money, it hurt,” she said.
Borrelli contacted People’s United Bank to access her banking records from a year ago.
Her October 2009 records showed a $21.20 late fee payment to Hollywood Video in Ansonia on her People’s debit card. The banking records also show she continued to rent from the store after making the payment.
Borrelli called up CCS again. She told them about her bank statements.
End of story, right?
Wrong.
“They kept trying to get me to pay the money,” Borrelli said.
Borrelli started to wonder if CCS was actually representing Hollywood Video — or whether this was simply a shake down scam.
By this time, Borrelli had also contacted the Better Business Bureau, who directed her to the Consumer Affairs Division of the state Department of Banking.
She relayed this info to CCS and told them if they wanted more info, they could talk to Richard Lalor, the state financial examiner assigned to her case.
The CCS employee asked whether Borrelli was giving them permission to talk to Lalor. Borrelli interpreted that as a stalling tactic. She ended the conversation.
Borrelli For The Win
Borrelli sent all her paperwork and information to Lalor, who drafted a letter on her behalf to CCS.
A short time later, Borrelli received a letter from CCS apologizing for the incident. They also assured her they would drop the issue — and the bogus debt would not show up on her credit report.
Borrelli said she’s grateful to Lalor for his assistance — and she’s thinking about framing the letter from CCS.
Others?
However, Borrelli said she was lucky — she had paid the late fee a year ago on a debit card, which made it easier to prove her case.
“What about all the people who may have paid with cash? How are they supposed to prove they paid?” she asked.
Ansonia’s Jane Barth, after receiving a CCS letter, forked over a payment. CCS told her she owed more than $200 because she never returned three video games.
Barth said she returned the games — but she didn’t have proof.
“I dropped them in the slot outside the store,” she said. “The (CCS) woman told me I should have asked (Hollywood Video) for a receipt.”
Barth, fearful CCS would report her to a credit bureau, was happy when CCS said they would drop the penalty to just $50.
“Right now, I’m not so happy,” Barth said.
Unfair?
Full disclosure: The author of this report also received a letter around Oct. 25 from CCS claiming that his family owed $125.46 for a few episodes of “Weeds” and a Super Mario Bros. Nintendo game. When reached by phone, CCS offered to cut the amount owed in half if paid immediately. The company has received a letter disputing the charges.
The last days of the Ansonia Hollywood Video were anything but organized.
The place was a mess. Everything was for sale — from display cases to the shelves lining the walls.
In addition, the Ansonia Hollywood Video wasn’t charging late fees.
Store employees in the Ansonia store said the payment of late fees were optional.
The store also used a mind-numbingly complicated “PowerPlay” membership system that allowed customers to pay a monthly fee to receive discounts on rentals. If you were a member, you weren’t subjected to due dates or late fees.
The store also kept customer credit cards on file, which were to be used if customers didn’t pay.
Complaints Go Viral
The Hollywood Video/CCS threats aren’t just happening in the Valley.
There have been a smattering of news reports across the country.
A consumer website, Complaints Board, has a Hollywood Video category.
Consumer Affairs is full of complaints about Hollywood Video and CSS.
A post from Nov. 10 urges consumers to contact their state attorney general’s office about the issue.
The Valley Indy did just that on Friday morning.
On Friday afternoon, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal issued the following statement:
“My office is reviewing reports of potentially aggressive credit collection practices targeting former Hollywood Video consumers. Consumers have reported wrongly receiving notices that they failed to return merchandise to Hollywood Video — currently in bankruptcy — and now owe questionable fees and costs. We are seeking details from the collections company, Credit Collection Services of Massachusetts, to determine the basis for these claims.”
Click here for information on how to report a problem debt collector.
