I'm not sure, but I think it only does if they end up sending you to collections - I don't know anyone who hasn't got a few small overdue fines, and it would seem a little ridiculous if they reported eveyone
you could always call, pretend to be a potential new customer, and ask a series of questions about the types of movies they have, their store hours, whether or not they put things on credit like blockbuster, if they're open on weekends, and if the person who answered the phone likes bananas.
you know, anything to get the answer to the q without seeming suspicious.
as the manager of a video store, we always assume that those kinds of calls are people fishing for exactly that sort of information. lol
i'd recommend calling (not necessarily identifying yourself) and telling them that you have an outstanding late fee and wondered if they'd take small payments toward it. i'm guessing they'll say yes.
i'm always impressed when customers are honest with me and are obviously wanting to make good on their account, even if it's a dollar here and there. it really annoys me when people are obviously trying to get away with something and apparently think i'm really stupid.
so i'd say go the honesty and integrity route. you'll feel better about yourself and you'll earn some respect from a local business.
To my knowledge, the only thing that shows up on your credit report, as far as "overdue" things go (outside of credit card companies), are things that you are notified have gone to a collections agency. Mind you, if they sent the letter, but you never got it because of address change or whatever, then it still counts as notification.
I owned a video store for 10 years. A small operation in a town of 3000 people. We had a lot of people that owed us money due to late fees/not returned movies (it's one of the reasons I eventually shut down the store.. well that and Blockbuster moved in across the street) and we NEVER sent it to collections. We just ate our loses.
i manage a small video store. legally we can take a customer to court for late fees that are more than 30 days old, but to be honest, it's more expensive than it's worth. we don't send anything to collections
( ... )
and really, while Blockbuster has every right to take you to court and put it on your credit, I just have to think it's far shittier to screw over a small shop when you clearly know the immediate repercussions your nonpayment cause to the owners.
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you know, anything to get the answer to the q without seeming suspicious.
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i'd recommend calling (not necessarily identifying yourself) and telling them that you have an outstanding late fee and wondered if they'd take small payments toward it. i'm guessing they'll say yes.
i'm always impressed when customers are honest with me and are obviously wanting to make good on their account, even if it's a dollar here and there. it really annoys me when people are obviously trying to get away with something and apparently think i'm really stupid.
so i'd say go the honesty and integrity route. you'll feel better about yourself and you'll earn some respect from a local business.
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I owned a video store for 10 years. A small operation in a town of 3000 people. We had a lot of people that owed us money due to late fees/not returned movies (it's one of the reasons I eventually shut down the store.. well that and Blockbuster moved in across the street) and we NEVER sent it to collections. We just ate our loses.
It was to expensive to deal with.
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