[prophetic]

I'm still pissed at "Lackluster" always scalping me with late fees. My shadow has not darkened their doors for months now.

[HHFi]

A couple of years ago, I went to Blockbuster to return two videos and planned to rent another. But when I got to the counter, I was told I owed a $3 late fee because one of the videos I had checked out was due at noon while the other one I'd checked out at the exact same time wasn't due until 10 p.m., and it was now 1 p.m. I only had a few bucks cash on me, and I told them loudly, forcefully, and only slightly profanely that I would pay that late fee, but I was doing it with money I had planned to use to rent another video. And that was going to be the last time I would EVER rent ANYTHING from Blockbuster. And it was. I noticed recently that that particular outlet is now out of business. What a surprise.

I now get DVDs from the library or from a locally-owned store with a much better selection (and all rentals are due by closing time). Luckily, I also work in the media and have a friend who is a movie critic and brings her advance screener DVDs over because I have a great video projector and can set up a theater in my living room. This weekend, I sat on my sofa and watched "Sideways" and "The Incredibles." To hell with Blockbuster.

[savedbygrace]

A few months ago, we rented a movie at BB, watched it right away, then after telling a friend about the movie, we loaned it to them (probably a Terms of Use violation, but whatever) with the understanding that they'd return it to BB within the rental period.

The next time we rented from BB, the clerk told us aobut a late fee we owed. I asked her what movie it was. You guessed it. Our friend had gotten busy and forgot to return it in time. Last time we'll try that approach.