Blockbuster Drops Late Fees

Video rental giant Blockbuster says it will due away with the dreaded late fees. The policy, which goes into effect in the beginning of 2005, does come with one caveat however. After the one-week grace period past the original due date, the customer will be charged the full price of the movie minus the rental fee. If the video is returned the cost gets refunded back to the customer, less a $1.25 restocking fee. This is being done in an effort to keep up with the competition from video-on-demand, cable rental, and online services like Netflix, which charge no late fees.