This warning is mainly for any MD peeps and people you go to UMCP (YH I'm looking at you)
For those of you who don't know, Pandora's Cube is a store that sells and rents video games and Anime, and is located in the Va, DC, MD area. They also have a website. They have always had a somewhat shady reputation in the anime retailors community. One rumor I have heard is that all the merchandise used to start the store was stolen from another store. But that is besides the point.
About 3 weeks ago I rented 3 videos from them. I returned them 2 days late in a rush on my way to New York to visit a friend. The clerk asked me if I would like to pay the late fee then and I said no thank you I was in a rush. Well when I got home I realized I had not returned one of the disks, just it's case. I was busy so it was about a week later that I finally got around to returning it. I asked how much the late fee would be intending to pay it. They informed me that it would be about 11 bucks , but there was a $9 fee for the other 2 late tapes.
Considering I turned them in a day late and that the late fee was $1.50 per day, I was a bit perplexed as to how the fee was $9. The clerk then told me that there were supposedly "smudges" on the disk so there was a $5 cleaning fee! I told him I would not pay that because I was never told about it. He then informed me it's in the fine print of the rental contract (yeah like that is really pointing it out to me) So I decided that I would not pay them their money that day.
The next morning I went to the bank to deposit some money. after the deposit I noticed that my balance was a bit lower then I expected. So I checked my statement to find that they had taken their late fee by charging it to my debit card. Not only that but their point of sale device had mistakenly charged it twice! Of course this got me a little mad so I called them up and asked them what they were doing. The manager told me over the phone that it was also in the fine print of the contract that outstanding fees would be charged to my card. This is not something new, every video store has this in it's rental contract so that you can't rent something and just keep it.
However most video rental stores do not find it neccessary to immediately take the outstanding fees the day you return your video, especially for something as little as $27.30. I told the manager that I have never heard of any video store immediately charging late fees, to which he replied "Well now you have" (!!!) Now this made me very mad. I asked him what he was doing about the over charge and he told me it was a mistake and that it should be returned in a few business days, and what would I like for him to do about it. Well I was still pretty mad about his previous comment so I told him to rip up the contract I signed and destroy all the information he had about my debit card number, that I would not be giving them anymore business to which he said "Fine! please don't come here anymore" As if I had greatly insulted him. At this point is was hanging up the phone and might have called him an asshole, but not into the reciever, and only under my breath.
Well 2 weeks go by and the over charge has not been returned to me. So I started going to the store and asking what was up. They gave me a name and told me to come back the next day. When I came back the next day I began to explain to the manager what was going on and he stopped me and said "yeah I know who you are, what do you want" in a rather rude matter So I explained that the money has yet to be returned . So he said "Yes, and I 'm not going to, you'll just have to go to your bank and dispute the charges. You disrespected me on the phone and called me an asshole. So just go and get out of my store I don't want to see you here any more" Well at this I just lost it and a shouting match ensued. I got really mad and disarranged a group of DVDs they had on display . The manager then picked up something and THREW IT AT ME rather hard. As I was leaving I bumped into a white board the had on a stand, kncoking it over.
The manager then followed me outside and began to threaten me physically when he noticed 2 poeple walking to a car and he retreated back into the store. Well this weekend I am attending a wedding so I need to purchase a gift. I went into my account to see how much money I had and found ANOTHER charge from these criminals. This is despite the fact that over 2 weeks ago I told them to destroy any information regarding my debit card number. I called them up demanding to know what this charge was for and they told me that it was because I had done $25 worth of damage to their display. This may or may not be true (I'm doubting consider they picked the display right up and no repairs were done to it) but that really doesn't matter since I had asked them to destroy all information that they had on me.
So I called my bank and cancelled that card. The bank infomred me that in order for the damage charge to go through they will need to proove that they paid $25 to fix something, so hopefully I will get everything back. Anyway my whole point is please do not shop there. The people running the store are criminals. Everything they sell is overpriced. There is a much better store for renting Anime and video games in the area called StarLand. So go there also please relay this story to your friends
Thanks
I have posted this story to few other boards (TerrapinsGoneWild.com, cosplay.com, and Otakon.com) I'm just trying to get this story out to the public. If you disagree with me and think Pandora's is a good store (they do repair consoles for relatively cheap amounts) please relay the good experiences you've had
Do Not Shop at Pandora's Cube
Do Not Shop at Pandora's Cube
Last edited by DarthJon on Sun Oct 26, 2003 7:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Fixer
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In the vein of vigilante justice, you could always picket the store. Get some friends and file with the local police department for a right to assemble at the store for a peaceful picket (probably wouldn't hurt to have one of them be there 'to observe') and let things unfold. If the manager comes out and attempts to start violence, the police can arrest him.
Justice will be served.
Justice will be served.
I don't care who's right, who's wrong, or what you meant to say. Only thing I care about is the Truth. If you have it, good, share it. If not, find it. If you want to argue, do it with someone else.
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Killer-Rabbit
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It's fraud, or at least shady business practice.
If you really feel like it, you could sue - plus if the overchargeings put you in a state of finacial loss (i.e. couldn't pay other bills so that stuff racked up late charges) you can pay that, too.
It was somewhat irresponsible for you to have the disk for an extra week, if you dind't call them and let them know-but the 27 dollar late fee is the result, :p Also, the fine print HAPPENS. It's informing you. Just because you didn't read it, you are still at fault.
... But they still cannot charge you twice and then not refund the money just because they say so - it's stealing. Now, about the display thing, it depends solely if they have a recipt of repair. If they do not, they're yanking your chain.
If they DO, then you have to accept the charges - you shoudn't have started the brawl in the first place. Ys, the manager shouldn't have thrown something at you... but you can be polite. Instead of calling him an asshole, ask them NICELY if they would please explain the charges. Ask them NICELY if they can refund the money - and if they ask if there is anything they can do for you, say something like. "Is it alright if we speak about this further after the money is re-debited to my account?" It's a bad idea to tell them to destroy everything in an angry way (We'll never shop HERE again!") right after they offer to do you a favor to fix thier mistake.
Oh, and paragraphs are your friend. O.o If you have that much of a problem with them (though I would say the fault is split 50/50), report them to the Better Business Bureau. That will be a lot more preductive then just telling people on a message board, because it will actually show up when people do a check on them. ... I do understand your ranting, though...
I had a 12.50 late fee from blockbuster for my sister using my card while I was in texas for 6 weeks. I come home to find a past due notice, andI send a check out, right at the deadline.. they debited it from my credit card, just like yours did to you... but then they also cashed my check. O.o So now i have a positive balance there, but I hardly rent there anymore.
If you really feel like it, you could sue - plus if the overchargeings put you in a state of finacial loss (i.e. couldn't pay other bills so that stuff racked up late charges) you can pay that, too.
It was somewhat irresponsible for you to have the disk for an extra week, if you dind't call them and let them know-but the 27 dollar late fee is the result, :p Also, the fine print HAPPENS. It's informing you. Just because you didn't read it, you are still at fault.
... But they still cannot charge you twice and then not refund the money just because they say so - it's stealing. Now, about the display thing, it depends solely if they have a recipt of repair. If they do not, they're yanking your chain.
If they DO, then you have to accept the charges - you shoudn't have started the brawl in the first place. Ys, the manager shouldn't have thrown something at you... but you can be polite. Instead of calling him an asshole, ask them NICELY if they would please explain the charges. Ask them NICELY if they can refund the money - and if they ask if there is anything they can do for you, say something like. "Is it alright if we speak about this further after the money is re-debited to my account?" It's a bad idea to tell them to destroy everything in an angry way (We'll never shop HERE again!") right after they offer to do you a favor to fix thier mistake.
Oh, and paragraphs are your friend. O.o If you have that much of a problem with them (though I would say the fault is split 50/50), report them to the Better Business Bureau. That will be a lot more preductive then just telling people on a message board, because it will actually show up when people do a check on them. ... I do understand your ranting, though...
I had a 12.50 late fee from blockbuster for my sister using my card while I was in texas for 6 weeks. I come home to find a past due notice, andI send a check out, right at the deadline.. they debited it from my credit card, just like yours did to you... but then they also cashed my check. O.o So now i have a positive balance there, but I hardly rent there anymore.
Have you ever spent days and days and days making up flavors of ice cream that no one’s ever eaten before? Like chicken and telephone ice cream? Green mouse ice cream was the worst.I didn’t like that at all.
"omg teehee snuggle luvluv snuggle slut!!"
"omg teehee snuggle luvluv snuggle slut!!"
Well you will note that Blockbuster sent you a notice. I'm not angry about the late fee. I'm angry about the $5 cleaning fee (they told me I had it a week after I turned in the video's, so how do I know that there really was a smudge on the underside) And I'm angry that they felt the need to debit my card the day I returned their video without giving me notice, or at least calling me. What if I had needed to pay a bill? They should have at least notified me. And yes I am very aware I should not have done anything in their store, that was just stupid, the guy drove me over the edge, not an excuse, just a reason. But I called the cops on them, and if they felt I did damage they should have told the cops and said that they wouldn't press charges if I called it even and didn't ask for teh over charge back. But they didn't. Another thing you have to realize is that my ban is just going to willy-nilly refund the charges like a credit card. They are going to charge this company with credit card fraud, and possibly be unwilling to accept any further charge from them for any of their customers. When I called in a huff the first time the manager told me that the mistake had already been corrected by my bank and it would be refunded in a week. The fact that it was never refunded means he called his bank and told them it wasn't a mistake and to not refund the money. That would be a lie and fraud
Like I said before, just because you are upset that someone was mad at you on the phone does not give you the right to steal from them. I realize that my being mad at them did not give me the right to knock down their displays, but I think I have the right to be mad at these people
Like I said before, just because you are upset that someone was mad at you on the phone does not give you the right to steal from them. I realize that my being mad at them did not give me the right to knock down their displays, but I think I have the right to be mad at these people
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Martin Blank
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The post is going to stay here, Jon. It's very much a rant.
And would you take a few minutes to go back and put the two longer posts of yours in this thread in a more structured form, with more paragraphs? I couldn't read it because it kept looking like a big blob of text to me.
And would you take a few minutes to go back and put the two longer posts of yours in this thread in a more structured form, with more paragraphs? I couldn't read it because it kept looking like a big blob of text to me.
If I show up at your door, chances are you did something to bring me there.
You have somewhat lost your right to be mad.
When you can say you DIDN"T know if it was smudged, or scratched, or whatever... that's a clue. Whenever I return DVDs, I make sure they are clean, so that they won't HAVE to clean them. If it says in the fine print that they charge for it, it's your fault for not reading the fine print on a contract. Period. Just like ANY contract - it's not thier responsibilty to make sure that you have read the details, it's YOURS.
As far as them debiting the amount without notice? Blockbuster will do it from any games not returned or heard from a week after the due date. They will just charge the MSRP (50.00, usually) for the game, no questions asked, no notices mailed. If the disk was gone for a week without hearing from you, I would expect them to think you weren't coming back, to pay them or otherwise. YOU should have called them when you realized it was empty. Don't stick all of the blame on them.
No, they shouldn't have charged you twice. A: it's an accident... so you shouldn't be upset for it happening. I've worked retail. it HAPPENS. Glitches in the system, or whatever - things like this happen. You should not have cussed out the manager on the phone for ANY reason. It's not polite, and it MAKES them not want to help you. In the end, it's the manager's descision - pissing off the hand that feeds is just stupid.
... You seriously need to think about your priorities. Seems like after the display knocking down incident (don't even get me started on starting arguments in other people's places and the destruction of property, and the labor needed, and the poor employees who had to pick up your mess
), that you finally went to your bank - you should have done THAT in the firstplace. Whether or not you caused 25 dollars worth of damage (which is entirely possible. The whiteboard (I'm assuming that's what you are tlaking about) could easily have cracked the frame oif you knocked it out of the stand), it wouldn't HAVE to be in a police report - why did you call the police, anyhow? They would be in thier full righta to call the police on YOU - civil disobidience, maybe... Or at least to get you to leave. You don't EVER throw a temper tantrum in a store.
Now, I'm not saying the manager was any better, especially if they threw something at you. If you WANT to sue, they probably have survelience tapes. And just.. one other thing.
As far as the money being refunded... if you distrusted this company that much, you should have gotten it IN WRITING that you wanted them to delete your information. Period. It's YOUR fault if you didn't, and ANY COURT will say so. Verbal request isn't enough. Chances are very good you can't even get them for credit card fraud - just like you can't call your telephone company, and tell them to take all of your information off file.. if you are owed money, or you owe them money, they can't do that.
So as far as I see it, the manager did the following things: Chanrged you late fees which SHOULD have been charged. Charge you late fees for the missing disk, and when it is replaced. Charge you 5.00 for a smudged disk - which is in the contract, so it is his right. total: 27.50, which he had full and complete rights to charge you.
So, nothing wrong yet. He accidnetly charged it to your account twice, did not refund the last charge, threw a misc "Something" at you, and charged you 25.00 for breaking a display (which you actually did mess up two of thier displays)
You, on the other hand: Reutrned videos late, kept one video for an extra week without notification, cussed outthe manager on the phone, caused a public scene, knocked over two displays, called the police for something that was entirely your fault, and signed a contract without reading it.
Who's at fault here, again? The ONLY thing the manager did that was out of line is throw something at you. Now, that's a big only, but it IS an only. And for a LOT of establishments, if your fees get over a certain amount, they will automatically charge you, no questions asked.
When you can say you DIDN"T know if it was smudged, or scratched, or whatever... that's a clue. Whenever I return DVDs, I make sure they are clean, so that they won't HAVE to clean them. If it says in the fine print that they charge for it, it's your fault for not reading the fine print on a contract. Period. Just like ANY contract - it's not thier responsibilty to make sure that you have read the details, it's YOURS.
As far as them debiting the amount without notice? Blockbuster will do it from any games not returned or heard from a week after the due date. They will just charge the MSRP (50.00, usually) for the game, no questions asked, no notices mailed. If the disk was gone for a week without hearing from you, I would expect them to think you weren't coming back, to pay them or otherwise. YOU should have called them when you realized it was empty. Don't stick all of the blame on them.
No, they shouldn't have charged you twice. A: it's an accident... so you shouldn't be upset for it happening. I've worked retail. it HAPPENS. Glitches in the system, or whatever - things like this happen. You should not have cussed out the manager on the phone for ANY reason. It's not polite, and it MAKES them not want to help you. In the end, it's the manager's descision - pissing off the hand that feeds is just stupid.
... You seriously need to think about your priorities. Seems like after the display knocking down incident (don't even get me started on starting arguments in other people's places and the destruction of property, and the labor needed, and the poor employees who had to pick up your mess
), that you finally went to your bank - you should have done THAT in the firstplace. Whether or not you caused 25 dollars worth of damage (which is entirely possible. The whiteboard (I'm assuming that's what you are tlaking about) could easily have cracked the frame oif you knocked it out of the stand), it wouldn't HAVE to be in a police report - why did you call the police, anyhow? They would be in thier full righta to call the police on YOU - civil disobidience, maybe... Or at least to get you to leave. You don't EVER throw a temper tantrum in a store. Now, I'm not saying the manager was any better, especially if they threw something at you. If you WANT to sue, they probably have survelience tapes. And just.. one other thing.
As far as the money being refunded... if you distrusted this company that much, you should have gotten it IN WRITING that you wanted them to delete your information. Period. It's YOUR fault if you didn't, and ANY COURT will say so. Verbal request isn't enough. Chances are very good you can't even get them for credit card fraud - just like you can't call your telephone company, and tell them to take all of your information off file.. if you are owed money, or you owe them money, they can't do that.
So as far as I see it, the manager did the following things: Chanrged you late fees which SHOULD have been charged. Charge you late fees for the missing disk, and when it is replaced. Charge you 5.00 for a smudged disk - which is in the contract, so it is his right. total: 27.50, which he had full and complete rights to charge you.
So, nothing wrong yet. He accidnetly charged it to your account twice, did not refund the last charge, threw a misc "Something" at you, and charged you 25.00 for breaking a display (which you actually did mess up two of thier displays)
You, on the other hand: Reutrned videos late, kept one video for an extra week without notification, cussed outthe manager on the phone, caused a public scene, knocked over two displays, called the police for something that was entirely your fault, and signed a contract without reading it.
Who's at fault here, again? The ONLY thing the manager did that was out of line is throw something at you. Now, that's a big only, but it IS an only. And for a LOT of establishments, if your fees get over a certain amount, they will automatically charge you, no questions asked.
Have you ever spent days and days and days making up flavors of ice cream that no one’s ever eaten before? Like chicken and telephone ice cream? Green mouse ice cream was the worst.I didn’t like that at all.
"omg teehee snuggle luvluv snuggle slut!!"
"omg teehee snuggle luvluv snuggle slut!!"
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siriansenemy
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Actually, Gikk, your statement about Blockbuster is incorrect. There is always some sort of notice for any rentals that are accruing extended viewing fees sent out before you are charged. The notice can come as an automated phone call, or a call from the store. I want to say it is two weeks before we write off the item as shrink. Once the item is written off as shrink, the account is charged for the price of the video/game. We don't allow debit cards to be used to secure accounts anymore, because there has been a problem with people having insufficient funds in their accounts, so the cost of the product cannot be recovered. Also, when you come in, we can hit you there. If your credit card was expired, or you secured it with a utility bill, you can't rent until the product is returned, or you pay the fee.
The one thing that gets me the most is how much people whine about the EVF. You turned the movie in late, you pay the price, it's that simple. If it weren't for the damn "customer love" rule, I wouldn't excuse EVF's unless somebody had a valid excuse (family death or other emergency). I'm tired of hearing "I live 30 minutes away, and I don't come here often/" You're here right now. If you can't get it in on time, it's your own fault. You have a vehicle, you have gas for it, you can make it here by noon to turn it in. I'm tired of people saying "I turned it in on such and such at such and such." The computer says you turned it in late, so it's late. We have safeguards against movies that weren't checked in properly, it's called "Found on Shelf" or FOS. If your movies didn't come on on FOS, you turned it in late. Sorry, pal, pay the fee. But, no, we don't play that way. We have to bargain with the customer. I don't like doing that. I can't dispute my EVF's as an employee, I have to pay them regardless. If I have to, you should have to, too.
Anyways... Just thought I'd clear up your misconception, Gikk. There are plenty of safeguards to make sure that you're not charged for something that you don't have. Also, if you turn in a tape that was put as shrink, you have a "known shrink" checkin, which puts the video/game back into inventory, and removes the charge. But, if your credit card is charged for the video/game, that item is yours to keep. I don't know about returning those items, as I've never dealt with one, but I am just not sure if you can return them to us once you're charged.
The one thing that gets me the most is how much people whine about the EVF. You turned the movie in late, you pay the price, it's that simple. If it weren't for the damn "customer love" rule, I wouldn't excuse EVF's unless somebody had a valid excuse (family death or other emergency). I'm tired of hearing "I live 30 minutes away, and I don't come here often/" You're here right now. If you can't get it in on time, it's your own fault. You have a vehicle, you have gas for it, you can make it here by noon to turn it in. I'm tired of people saying "I turned it in on such and such at such and such." The computer says you turned it in late, so it's late. We have safeguards against movies that weren't checked in properly, it's called "Found on Shelf" or FOS. If your movies didn't come on on FOS, you turned it in late. Sorry, pal, pay the fee. But, no, we don't play that way. We have to bargain with the customer. I don't like doing that. I can't dispute my EVF's as an employee, I have to pay them regardless. If I have to, you should have to, too.
Anyways... Just thought I'd clear up your misconception, Gikk. There are plenty of safeguards to make sure that you're not charged for something that you don't have. Also, if you turn in a tape that was put as shrink, you have a "known shrink" checkin, which puts the video/game back into inventory, and removes the charge. But, if your credit card is charged for the video/game, that item is yours to keep. I don't know about returning those items, as I've never dealt with one, but I am just not sure if you can return them to us once you're charged.
I didn't have that happen, it was just how it was explained to me by the nice lady who was working the counter. ^^
Evidently she was wrong, and it was nice to know - I've never returned anything that late, and I didn't pay the fee just because I was out of town. - evidently my sister was smart enough to say she was me when she found my blockbuster card in my other purse (Which I didn't take with me). Now I tell them to ask for ID.
The ONLY complaint I have is that they cashed the check, too, but I can understand that. If the wires get crossed, it happens.
I just think he was TOTALLY out of line - and if it says in thier policy they can do it without notice, they can do it without notice. Evidently he didn't read the contract, so it's his own damned fault.
But thanks for the info! It's good to know. I've actually started to go to Family Video - thier DVDs are 1 buck for 2 nights or 2 bucks for 7... so it's a a LOT cheaper.
Oh, and especially if they are a SMALL company, they can't afford to eat the loss. I've noticed a small company is a lot less strict about policy and will let less things slide as far as BS is concerned. Yeah, a day late if you call, whatever, but if you don't show up or are shitty.. there ARE no higher ups for the customers to go to.
Evidently she was wrong, and it was nice to know - I've never returned anything that late, and I didn't pay the fee just because I was out of town. - evidently my sister was smart enough to say she was me when she found my blockbuster card in my other purse (Which I didn't take with me). Now I tell them to ask for ID.
The ONLY complaint I have is that they cashed the check, too, but I can understand that. If the wires get crossed, it happens.
I just think he was TOTALLY out of line - and if it says in thier policy they can do it without notice, they can do it without notice. Evidently he didn't read the contract, so it's his own damned fault.
But thanks for the info! It's good to know. I've actually started to go to Family Video - thier DVDs are 1 buck for 2 nights or 2 bucks for 7... so it's a a LOT cheaper.
Oh, and especially if they are a SMALL company, they can't afford to eat the loss. I've noticed a small company is a lot less strict about policy and will let less things slide as far as BS is concerned. Yeah, a day late if you call, whatever, but if you don't show up or are shitty.. there ARE no higher ups for the customers to go to.
Have you ever spent days and days and days making up flavors of ice cream that no one’s ever eaten before? Like chicken and telephone ice cream? Green mouse ice cream was the worst.I didn’t like that at all.
"omg teehee snuggle luvluv snuggle slut!!"
"omg teehee snuggle luvluv snuggle slut!!"
The initial charge that they made to my card was for the late fees and was made AFTER I returned the video. I know I shouldn't go there, but for a while I didn't ave a car and they were the only store in walking distance that rented anime on DVD (I no longer have a VCR) The fact that they are right outside the University of Maryland, and the Terrapin Anime society drives 50 miles away to Gaithersburg for the "Official" store of the club is pretty telling. But they fixed my PS2 for a pretty decent price,($50 when some places wanted $75 just to look at it) so I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. Anyway, if you are in college park, try the closet of comics. They don't have video games or videos, but an excellent collection of manga.
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SothThe69th
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