Civic Video Taringa closed down recently and I had $6.15 in overdue fees outstanding. Now I've been hit with a letter from a debt collector requesting $6.15 + $9.50 in fees for them!

They say if I do not pay then I'll be hit with another fee of at least $22.50, and it will probably go on and on like that. I don't want my credit rated rooted up over $5 in video fees so I'm probably going to just pay it now.

I got the letter about a month ago and forgot about it and was supposed to pay within 14 days, no further word from them yet.

Anyone had any experience with crap like this? I don't mind paying the late fees but what a rip to have double the amount in extra charges just for sending me a letter.

Was it delivered via registered post which required a signature for proof of delivery? If not, what letter?

Not registered, just regular. eCollect.com.au is the company.

i'd just bin it. they'll stop pursuing it once they realise it's a bad debt & not worth spending more cash on trying to get it back.

yer, id bin it also

Only thing that concerns me is that I used to work in personal loans are comm bank and all the people who were earning good money having loans rejected because they had some bs bill ruin their credit rating and even if you pay the bill if it's been recorded on your rating you're still f***ed for years afterwards...

Pay it, its only what... an hours worth of work?

yeah ill pay it now. its just the principle of the thing. $9.50 charges on a $6.15 debt is extortion!

maybe you should have paid your overdue fees? ever think of that! probably why they went out of business

I would have paid them but they closed down. I returned the last video 2 days before they closed down and would have paid the fees on my next visit.

Shoulnt have been late in the first place.

Amazes me how people in general these days cannot take responsibility for themselves. Its always someone elses fault.

He didn't say it wasn't his fault, he just said that he was going to pay the fines on the next visit...as pretty much everybody in the known universe does.

If he was that worried about it, wouldnt you clear it up asap.

I know he didnt say it wasnt his fault, but them being late is his fault.

$9.50 is cheap for the resources consumed trying to get you to pay what's owed, how can you say 'on principle'? isn't the real principle here, just pay your darn late fees?

seewiouswee!

What are you crapping on about?

I would have paid them but they closed down. I returned the last video 2 days before they closed down

do people still go to video stores?

i dont think ive been to one in 10 years

I got the letter about a month ago and forgot about it and was supposed to pay within 14 days, no further word from them yet.

Guy at work couldn't get the first home owners grant because of something like this. Forgot about paying the debtor and ended up with a bad credit rating he didn't know he had. Applied for the FHOG and got knocked back, at least that's how the story goes.

god damn.

Its simple. Pay for the previously late videos when he dropped them off instead of waiting, in which time they closed down.

I would just pay them the fee late fee you owe the video store, not their service charge.

They are already making money from just collecting on the outstanding money. the rest is just further profit. They probably bought the bad debit for 1c on the dollar.

If they then say you own them a service charge just tell them you have no business association with them or and no agreement in which you said you would pay their administrative fee. they are just trying to scare people into giving them extra money.

What are you crapping on about?

I had opened this after post #7 and got distracted by some annoying work thing, came back to the forum in a newer tab, closed that and eventually found this older tab and just impulsively replied

nevertheless, there's still no reason to get cut up about a debt collector fee given that the conditions of membership don't say "just rock up and pay your late fees anytime". whether or not 'everyone does it' is beside the point

Its simple. Pay for the previously late videos when he dropped them off instead of waiting, in which time they closed down.

he might've dropped them off after hours through the slot

he might've dropped them off after hours through the slot

how would he have know he had late due fees then?

cos they were due back at 6pm that night and thus attracted a late fee for being dropped off after that time

i srsly doubt a closed down video company are gonna go to the trouble of alerting financial institutions that you have a bad debt of 6bux. as is evident from other replies to this thread many people feel a deep anxiety of the 6bux debt looming over them, gloomifying thier futures to the point they will pay 3x the fee in order to regain thier peace of mind.
i'd still just chuck it in the bin n forget it. that's how i roll, yo. ;D

you're so awesome

accept it. :D

Lesson is, dont hand the videos back late, then you wont have to deal with the crap and look for advice on a forum.

Imagine all the late fees that they are owed? If you ran a company would you like to run at a loss, then have to close down because all the muppets hadnt payed late fees on videos they kept for god knows how long.





last edited by Jessie Slem at 15:46:36 02/Sep/08

last edited by Jessie Slem at 15:46:58 02/Sep/08

acceptance is futile!

dont hand the videos back late

I don't think that's very realistic advice

probably not Jim, but the idea was good.

People are such muppets these days.

1) Take letter
2) Rewrite your neighbours details onto it
3) Put in neighbours mailbox
4) Google Chrome

I once owed late fees at a video store but then I paid it.

True story.

I think Maxe is trying to start a new meme.

lol, they arent goin to waste even more of their money sending out bubba the big black dude to beat $11 out of u...

into the bin it goes

5) profit?

i srsly doubt a closed down video company are gonna go to the trouble of alerting financial institutions that you have a bad debt of 6bux.

you'd be surprised, i've seen people get veda listings over 'unpaid' phone contracts where the amount has been less than $50. from personal experience people who work for collection agencies or in collections departments tend to be pretty spiteful people, i wouldn't ignore it =)

edit: also they it's not that they would go to the trouble of 'alerting' a collections company, they would have either sold the debt to them at the time the business closed or the auditor would have done that for them. hence the debt would be legally the property of the collections agency and they would have the right to collect on it, assuming it's legit.

last edited by taggs at 16:47:21 02/Sep/08

lol, they arent goin to waste even more of their money sending out bubba the big black dude to beat $11 out of u...

i wouldn't listen to most people in this thread cause they probably don't really understand how collections works.

the collection agency probably wouldn't go any further than a veda listing for a debt of that size, (i.e. a listing on your credit file that you have an outstanding debt), but a veda listing is a pretty s***ty thing to have - especially over a few dollars.

Debt paid.

Yes I'm well aware of how people get s*** credit ratings over a measely bill so I didn't want to risk it. It probably only takes the click of a button for the debt collecting agency to ruin your record.

Jessie - foad you twit. I fully expect late fees if I bring videos back late (i consider it the same as just hiring them out longer) but I don't expect the f***ing store to close down in the meantime! I don't pay them straight away if I'm just dropping them off, I only pay when I'm hiring (like everyone) as it's just easier that way.

good decision^ don't fight the power.

ahh s***, thats no le fun

is it just me or is there a stain of newbie f*****s posting complete trash on this forum lately

f***off, its mine and spooks job!

id pay it too, stez

you are so right

s*** posts are yours and spooks alone.

I got a debt collection letter on behalf of the ATO and I told them to get f***ed HOOOO-AHHHHH!

don't pay say you moved address and never received the letter if anything comes of it.

I only pay when I'm hiring (like everyone)

Pfft chump, I pay late fees as soon as I drop in the video's late. If I do that, they halve the late fee, so it works out better to have a weekly an extra week late then it is to rehire it.
Particularly good for hiring out Season Boxes of shows like Scrubs.

I used to work at Video Flicks and we had a security guard that would go around and ask people to return their videos...NOW!

Trust me, if this guy had've turned up on your doorstep you'd be running not walking to the video shop.

As for unpaid late fees, people are generally cocks about it and used to come up with every excuse in the book. Basically we were allowed a certain amount of autonomy in deciding how much they would pay. I mostly agreed to waive half if they paid half, or waive the equivalent of what they paid. It was always a pain in the ass to argue with d*******s about whether or not they actually returned them late, what their excuse was etc.

When Video Flicks got bought out by Blockbuster, it was mostly the same deal. although BB management were bigger pushovers in most cases because they didn't want to offend any of their precious customers. There were a couple of people who had racked up several hundred dollars and to my knowledge they were never actively pursued.

One time this chick came in who was obviously a hooker (different guy each week/couple of days, sometimes a dirty pimp lookin dude, dressed like a skank, track marks the whole bit). She ended up with $900 in late fees. She refused to pay on the grounds that she was intending to return the movies - there was some story about how she had "lost" half a dozen or so new release vids (pre DVD days kids) and this went on for over a month. She was always "looking for them" and her account continued to rise. People would rent to her because she would get all angry and no one wanted to have to deal with her.

Then one night she tried to pull a trick on me which I later found out was a common one amongst the street folk. She gave me a $20 note, tried to distract me by crapping on about something (probably how she still couldn't find the tapes), and then as she was leaving turned and said "Oh I gave you a $50 note". I stood my ground and she made a HUGE scene, probably thinking I would cave and give her the change from a $50. She swore at me and was yelling and s*** so I told her to get the f*** out.

She rang the next day and complained I swore at her, and the manager totally folded and wiped her account, plus gave her a $50 gift voucher for free movies.

Anyway, now if ever I go to a video shop they nail you for the late fees and won't let you rent unless you pay some ghey percentage. I liked it better when I got all the free s*** I could eat and drink and access to the customer's accidentally dropped off pornos.

Good times.

lol entertaining thread

Everyone knows the real reason you knew she was a prozzy.

She was his Mum?

his dad's name is john.

Alot of vid stores are going broke.

I'm guessing 'cos of rampant illegal downloading, pirating and the extremely poor quality and general lack of interest of the public in new releases.

I often goto to the local BB and find myself walking out renting zip and thats on Tight-Arse Tuesday!

I rented out 'There will be Blood' last TAT for 1 dorrah. Seriously how the f*** can they be making money?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/67/227241974_f988dc934b.jpg

HOLY s*** GOLD IS NOW 5 MILLION PER BARREL!?@#

you'd be surprised, i've seen people get veda listings over 'unpaid' phone contracts where the amount has been less than $50. from personal experience people who work for collection agencies or in collections departments tend to be pretty spiteful people, i wouldn't ignore it =)

Really? Veda's website:

What is an Overdue Account (default)?

An Overdue Account reported as a payment default is a debt of over $100 that is 60 days or more overdue.

I agree you really don't want to f*** with your credit file, but I'd be amazed if they could actually list a $6 default.

lol @ vid

Update: Today I received another letter and it had increased to $45 fee. I gave them a call and send I paid a couple of days ago and they said it's all sweet and not to worry :)

we usually get our dvds in late to blockbuter, but have never had to pay late fees. sometimes they let us keep an overnighter for 2 nights if we ask them when we are paying for it.

however, a guy at work cant rent anything from bb anymore unless he pays for a game that they reckon he never returned (he had returned it). he sent a letter in complaining etc, but they still said tough bikkies.

but I'd be amazed if they could actually list a $6 default.

..

Today I received another letter and it had increased to $45 fee.

Looks like they try to get it to that $100 point as quick as they can.

yeah, i meant the original outstanding was that amount. they'll just keep whacking on fees to the point where it becomes economically viable to take other action.

There has to be some law about reasonable costs in relation to recovering a debt though doesn't there? I mean how legal are those excess charges, they cant just charge someone hundreds of dollars in penalties while chasing a few bucks can they?
Granted any legal knowledge i have comes from judge judy and im pretty sure she'd tell them to take their fees and shove em up their arse.

^ yer i dont ever remember having to sign any customer agreement, saying i had to pay late fees, when signing up...

^ yer i dont ever remember having to sign any customer agreement, saying i had to pay late fees, when signing up...

Apparently its part of the terms of being a member, thats what it said on the debt collector notice anyway.

The new letter said if I didn't pay the $45 then it went to their lawyers and I had to pay their costs for that too. All seems unreasonable to me but glad i paid the $15 so i dont have to worry about the hassle of it all.

Thats what they are baking on though isnt it, that you'll pay the small amount rather than wait and see if what they are doing is legal and possibly pay lots more.
How this isnt a scam though, i have nfi.

I got a stupid jaywalking ticked in May, charged $35.00. Cop was an absolute prick, was hiding behind a power box on the other side of the street, jumped out when I walked past, and couldnt give me an answer when I asked why I was being given a ticket when the 10 people who illegally crossed BEFORE me where all continuing their journey down the street unhindered.

Pissed off, didnt pay it on time, then got a letter charging me $75.00. $40.00 freaking admin fee.

Not happy.

The police officer must be in plain sight before giving you a ticket. He/She cannot be hiding behind something.
I wonder if it is up to the police officer to prove that he/she wasn't hiding behind something if you contested the ticket.


I got given a Jaywalking ticket about a year OK. Fair enough I crossed when the little red man was solid, even though it was completely safe, I should have waited until the little green man told me it was OK to cross regardless if cars were running red lights or anything..
I was late paying for the ticket and had to pay the extra $40..

Several months later I got a refund for the ticket plus the extra. I guess someone bitched about the cop 'hiding' that day and all tickets from him that day were reversed.

Yay!

BUT EVERYONE ELSE WAS DOING IT OFFICER

he doesn't have to give you an answer.. i bet you were all I DEMAND AN EXPLANATION IM A TAX PAYER I PAY UR SALARY and generally embarassed yourself in front of passers by

enjoy your fine.

they asked me to pay $200 for the 30 days late return which i didnt do. I called ecollect and they insist that i should pay. what hell? I'm still working on it now. I'm not gonna pay $200 for things i didnt do

Civic Video Taringa closed down recently and I had $6.15 in overdue fees outstanding. Now I've been hit with a letter from a debt collector requesting $6.15 + $9.50 in fees for them!

They say if I do not pay then I'll be hit with another fee of at least $22.50, and it will probably go on and on like that. I don't want my credit rated rooted up over $5 in video fees so I'm probably going to just pay it now.

I got the letter about a month ago and forgot about it and was supposed to pay within 14 days, no further word from them yet.

Anyone had any experience with crap like this? I don't mind paying the late fees but what a rip to have double the amount in extra charges just for sending me a letter.

they asked me to pay $200 for the 30 days late return which i didnt do. I called ecollect and they insist that i should pay. what hell? I'm still working on it now. I'm not gonna pay $200 for things i didnt do

steph? as in golden steph?

Meh...the online rental things. $20/month unlimited movies or whatever it costs. You've got ISP's doing rentals, etc as well. How can they compete.

Hi everyone

I got the same problem with civic video Taringa. We just paid the e collect bill so that we wouldn't get a bad credit rating but are still looking at ways of fighting it. The 5.00 overdue fee ended up being 100.00 and we had no idea we had the fee because the store went into receivership the day we put in the dvd's so by the time they checked them in we had a debt.

If there are a few people in the same boat we may be able to organise something with civic