Company information:
Hollywood Video
United States
www.hollywoodvideo.com
Today I went to the Hollywood Video located right up the road from where I live like I usually do (almost weekly) and will never go there again.
First we were told that had over $8 in late fees from some things that we rented at least 2 months ago. I am never late with my movie because I drive past this location almost daily anyway. Plus, in the many times we have rented since then, we have never been told that we had any late fees.
Then we got the same candy we also get that they put into special bundle pricing and were charged full price (almost double) what we usually pay and what they have advertised. We were informed that they changed which candies applied for the bundle. That would be fine but there is no signing to tell you that things have changed or anything telling you which candies do apply to the special pricing.
We paid it any way and also rented a video game with a free rental coupon that was in a mail-out ad. We then left after paying.
We got home and took out the receipt to put it away and noticed that we had been charged $.25 for a play guard fee on the game. This fee is optional on all games and movie rentals. I know this because not only have I been renting games frequently from this same location, but also because there is a sign sitting on their registers stating this. ("Add play-guard on your rental for an additional $.25.")
We then returned to the store to tell them that we did not authorize that charge and that we wanted our money back. The employee then told us that it was a mandatory charge on all of the game rentals for next generation gaming consoles. Again, this is obviously a lie because of my previous experiences and the sign that was clearly sitting right in front of my face.
The employee was also very unprofessional in dress. He was wearing a black polo shirt with a design on it. The shirt was un-tucked and faded. I had to ask him for his name because he was not wearing a name tag. He was wearing nothing identifying him as an employee what-so-ever.
He told me his name was Collins. I am only assuming that this is his last name. I know from previous jobs that employers should identify themselves by their first name. Sounds to me like he didn't want us to know his name for fear of our complaints.
So after being stolen from, lied to, and given horrible service, I will never go to Hollywood Video again. Which is actually a huge inconvenience since I now have to go out of my way to a different rental store. Have emailed their corporate complaints office and am awaiting their response.
