Blockbuster Supports Fraud?
Without going into all the gory details, I seem to have been the victim of a (so far) minor bit of identity theft over the weekend.
Somebody signed me up for various services, or even made some purchases billed to one of my credit cards. In some cases, it was rather painless to cancel these transactions - the "confirmation" emails I received included toll-free contact numbers, and calling those numbers got me through to somebody quickly, who then would listen to my tail of woe and resolve the issue.
And then we have Blockbuster Online. No contact number in the email. No contact number on the website. No easy way to contact them at all. So I hit "reply" on the email welcoming me to their service and said "this was set up with stolen information, the credit card has been cancelled, so please cancel this registration."
Their response was priceless -- "Sorry you have to deal with this, but we are not authorized to cancel this account due to this claim of fraudulent activity or identity theft." (italics, mine).
Thus, my recently sent message to Blockbuster Investor Relations:
You know what's interesting? That a large company like Blockbuster will accept a fraudulently generated account for Blockbuster Online, but when the defrauded consumer attempts to get this resolved, he is told "we are not authorized to cancel this account due to this claim of fraudulent activity or identity theft."
I'm sure my local media outlets and the whole rest of the internet will be interested to know that Blockbuster worries more about inflating its "subscriber" numbers than resolving issues with fraud.
I had no problem at all contacting some of the seemingly sketchy companies that also were involved in this incident, and having them quickly and easily cancel the orders and verify that no attempt would be made to charge my credit card. They even published toll-free numbers so that I could contact them.
I'll never be a blockbuster customer, and I will make sure EVERYBODY knows how you all operate.
So there you go. If you're reading this, you are part of "the whole rest of the internet" and/or "EVERYBODY."
Please think twice about patronizing a company that seems to value "the numbers" more than security.
xposted to You Call Is Very Important To Us
posted by Larry Mac @ 6:42 PM
17 comments
17 Comments:
Same problem for me, someone opened 4 accounts on my card 1 in my name and 3 in other names. They will only cancel the one in my name and won't tell me the names on the other accounts. So far 3 more charges have gone through on my AMEX account after I called and cancelled the card.
Someone rented a movie using a direct mailer that had my name and address on it. Now Blockbuster says I have to pay for the movie since it was never returned. I cancelled my membership and will dispute the charge with the credit card company. Blockbuster says I am responsible for all activity on my card, fraudulent or not.
To anon #2: Your credit card company should be able take care of this. You might want to put the dispute in writing and keep copies. Blockbuster has a responsibility to verify the identity of the person using the card.
I had the same problem with someone opening up a Blockbuster account using my credit card number and e-mail address (one has to wonder what the point of opening a fraudulent account is if you're just going to use ALL of credit card holder's info). I went to the Blockbuster website and clicked the "forgot my password" link so that I'd be e-mailed with a new password, logged into the account, and cancelled it from within. I also Googled "Blockbuster customer service number" and found their phone number: 1-866-692-2789. I called them, said an account had been opened fraudulently in my name and that I wanted to make sure that I had successfully cancelled it; they asked for my name and then told me that it had indeed been cancelled. Then I asked if they could reverse the charges on my debit card; they said "sure!" This was after staying on hold for about twenty minutes, but the actual interaction was surprisingly painless.
Anyway, I just thought I'd post this in case anyone else gets here searching for Blockbuster account fraud like I did.
Somebody opened a blockbuster.com account with my information, and I had the same deal with the author here. They cancel the account but they would not refund the money due to my claim of fraud.
But if you do not believe I am the right person, then why did you cancel??? It is just a way for them not to pay you back.
And when I complained, the customer service agent hung up on me. I will NEVER use Blockbuster, ever. They lost a customer for life.
Same thing with me. They opened 2 accounts. I was able to cancel the accounts, but they will not refund the money. They are forcing my credit card company to eat the fraud costs. Absolutely ridiculous. I will never ever do any business with them online or at a retail store.
Hello-I'd like to warn you that you're in the beginning stages of ID theft. If you don't take more proactive measures, you may find yourself being hit with $1,000's of dollars in charges, mainly out of CA and London England as these thieves spread their wings and fly. I was hit back in May '08 and have spent 900-1000 hours on the phone to resolve issues and get money back. And I now spend $12.99 a month for ID fraud protection thru my bank. There's even some guy using my name who has paid cash for 2 new high-end Toyota's out of Ventura CA, and generously gave them my cellphone number as a a contact. The Toyota dealership is now under investigation for failing to follow procedure when they didn't source where the $80,000 bucks came from when the cars were bought. Good luck!
I found out today someone used my checking account to purchase almost $600.00 of merchandise at Blockbuster online. Of course it's Sunday and Blockbuster is unavailable until Monday morning. I will update you on the outcome if any of my money is refunded.
I am on the phone right now with my credit card regarding a fraud charge through Blockbuster. Thanks for the support, guys. I googled "Blockbuster, fraud". The teenage managers at Blockbuster gave me QUITE the attitude.
Tiffany
I had a Blockbuster account that was opened in 4/08 and closed in 8/08. In October I noticed that I was still being charged the membership so I emailed Blockbuster several times about it but never received a response. Today, 2/16 I saw another charge on my account from Blockbuster and noticed that there was a phone# 866-692-2789 so I called. The first person told me my account was closed and they had not charged my account so I asked to speak a supervisor. I was put on hold for about 15 minutes and then was asked to call back in 2 hours. I called right back got another person who wouldn't let me speak to a sup until she wasted another 20 minutes of my time. Finally, I was able to speak to a supervisor who was no help at all. They wanted me to fax my bank statements instead of disputing the charges with my bank but I told her I wasn't taking my time to fax all of those bank statements plus them then having my checking account number. I don't understand how a big company like Blockbuster can't have information where they charged your account, where is all this money going? I work for a financial department of a cellphone company and if we charge someone we can see it.
So much for using Blockbuster again! They are a big rip off and something should be done about them!
I have had two incidents happen to me. First time the store keyed in my credit info to another person. They rented movies and then never brought them back. I got a call saying they were going to charge my card for the movies. I went into the store and they fixed the corrections right away. This time around... I was checking my online bank account and saw a charge for something I did not recognized so I called my bank and they said it was blockbuster and the amount was over 100.00. I was very upset. I called the store... they told me to bring in my bank statement and they would help me. So I take off of work go and do it... and then they tell me... we can not help you cuz it was not done in our store. Well... I got a hold of my bank... they helped me while we had to file a dispute... but Blockbuster was no HELP. They still have our money... I finally got smart and called the number behind my gold card and they looked into it... and said it happened from my local store. Someone inside the store used our card number. We did cancel our card and are still waiting for answers? Our bank said they will reimburse the money this coming Friday. It's been since Feb 10th... and Blockbuster told us 2 to 3 days. Let's just say "honestly they couldnt oragnise a piss up in a brewrey"... Thanks to my fellow GAO friend... I have started to think of Blockbuster in a whole NEW WAY.
http://bbfraud.ning.com/
I've just received an email stating that I bought the movie BLITZ from my local Blockbuster Rent Box when I never was up there to begin with(I'm not looking forward to dealing with crappy customer service)..I'm calling first thing tomorrow morning.
A big dead endc with Blockbuster after someone hacked my devit card. Their lack of flexibilty regarding company policy puts them in a position of protecting the privacy of the criminal making fraudulent purchases rather than the victim.
There is more than one card or person being ripped off through my "account" right now but they refuse to take any action without a subpoena! Why? Because they told me WE DON'T HAVE A FRAUD DEPARTMENT!!!
The same thing happened to me. I have a fraudulent charge for only $4.99, and Blockbuster refused to cancel the charge until their legal department had "investigated". They said that my financial institution should refund the charges, or I could MAIL their legal department! They said that their legal department HAS NO NUMBER!!! Let me also say that EVERY OTHER COMPANY that had a fraudulent charge was able to immediately get the charge dropped off before it even posted to my account.
WOW I just had exacyl the very same expereince with Blockbuster on an account that was opened in my name with a credit card. Blockbuter was far from cooperative and made things difficult
Apparently, Blockbuster is a subsidiary of some sort under Dish Network. The phone number to Blockbuster Purchasing LLC in Englewood, CO is 303-723-1000. Please call and register your complaint with them about Blockbuster; however, be warned that they will not do anything for you until you file a complaint with your local police department and the police department then contacts them. They claim there is no legal department for Blockbuster. I will be filing a complaint with the FTC and if I find any further information, I will definitely post it here. Good luck to all of us.
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