BBB cautions consumers about Hollywood Video late fees
Roanoke Times file photo
Former customers of the defunct Hollywood Video are reporting that debt collection agencies have contacted them seeking payment for late fees that they do not owe.
At least a dozen customers in Southwest Virginia have filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau Serving Western Virginia against Universal Fidelity, based in Houston, Texas, and West Bay, based in Rhode Island. Both represent Hollywood Video, according to a news release from the BBB.
Hollywood video shut its stores three years ago and filed for bankruptcy two years ago.
Universal Fidelity has a “C” grade with the BBB. West Bay has an “F” grade, the news release said.
Julie Wheeler, president of the BBB Serving Western Virginia, said customers should ask for written proof of the debt before paying.
The complaints the BBB has received, however, indicate that most customers who have been contacted do not owe late fees.
“The enormous number of complaints seems to indicate that something is wrong,” Wheeler said in the news release.
Wheeler offered this advice:
- Know your rights. Under federal and state law, debt collectors are prohibited from using threats of violence or harm against a person, property or reputation. They cannot threaten to garnish your wages unless they intend to do so, and cannot use phone calls to repeatedly harass you.
- Ask for written proof of your debt. By law, a debt collection agency must provide you with a validation notice within five days of contacting you about the debt.
- Tell the collector in writing to stop contacting you. Under federal law, a debt collector cannot continue to contact you – at work or home – once you have told them in writing to stop.
- If the company continues to badger you, you can file a complaint with your state’s attorney general, the Federal Trade Commission (http://www.ftc.gov/) or the BBB.
- Check out a company’s BBB Business Review by going to www.bbb.org or by calling 800-533-5501.
July 11, 2012 - 6:00 AM
Have you heard anything more about the potential Bojangles off 220 near Kohl’s or the Five Guys that is suppose to open?
If a debt collector calls, ALWAYS get their address and request debt validation.
Here’s a link to a letter i’ve used: http://www.creditinfocenter.com/forms/sampleletter9.shtml
Even if it is your debt, still request validation. Often times there are junk debt buyers try to bully you into paying when then bought your debt for pennies and they can’t actually prove you owe THEM the money.
Here’s a link about junk debt: http://www.creditinfocenter.com/rebuild/debt_validation.shtml
Worst case contact Money Management International and they can assist you in paying your debt off. Good, nonprofit company. I’ve been with them since 2009 to pay off debt I owed from a closed business.
If they declared bankruptcy, the courts are charged with selling/collecting assets to pay those owed money, so it does not seen consistant with this story. The courts would not approve this method of collecting debts.
@Roa10: I’ll call Stan Seymour, who is building the Bojangles off 220, to get the latest. I haven’t heard anything more about Five Guys since I reported in May that it would open at Tanglewood Mall. I’ll check up on that too. Thanks for asking.
The ghost of video stores past come back to haunt former customers.
Does anyone still bemone their demise to Netflix, Redbox, and Amazon?
For those of us who want more than just the new releases Redbox has and who can’t or won’t use streaming, I don’t miss Blockbuster, but I miss browsing neighborhood places for movies I’d forgotten about or didn’t know I wanted to see.
Redbox does put some older movies into circulation, but usually hits and not some older or more obscure titles. Of course if you can’t stream, you can always get the DVD delivery from Netflix, they have a selection far broader than any video rental store ever did, especially for TV shows. We’ve thought about re-adding the DVD portion to our streaming service, since they sometimes cycle the available streaming content, and some other movies and TV shows are not available for streaming, but we still have so much to watch anyway, it’s not worth it for us.
hey Amanda, somewhat related but did you hear of anyone receiving a notice from a company called portfolio recovery associates regarding a debt owed to appalachian power. they appear to be a legitimate company but the notice was sent to my address and not in my name claiming I owe money to apco. I called apco and they did not hear of this company. thanks
@derrick: I haven’t heard of any scams involving that company, but I’d urge you to check out the company on the Better Business Bureau’s website or call the BBB to file a complaint.
Has anyone heard any more about Rams Head possibily opening again??
Derrick, it could just be that someone who lived at the address before you (the name on the notice) might owe AEP for past service. If it doesn’t have your name on it, it’s probably safe to ignore it, although it might help to notify the collection agency and possibly AEP that the person no longer lives there.
@Chris: Good question. I just left a voice mail with Christina Hastings, the former manager who has said she is trying to reopen the store.
thanks for the feedback everyone!