That Time Hollywood Video Tried to Collect Some Bad Debt

“He was awake a long time before he remembered that his heart was broken.”

Hollywood Video has been dead for two years now. Once upon a time, young men like myself could stay up to date on Goldie Hawn’s ouevre by hoofing it to the brick and mortar store. (“So, you just returned Housesitter and you now want to rent Housesitter again?” “Look, do you want my money or don’t you?”) But then the Internet happened, and Netflix, and illegal downloading, and then more of the Internet, and now it’s basically just a couple Blockbusters and that one weird adult video store that my mom told me was filled with movies about grown-ups talking about their taxes.

Anyway.

The point is: Hollywood video is dead, but that isn’t stopping a Texas-based collection agency, Universal Fidelity, LP, from trying to recoup some of Hollywood Video’s bad debt.

The fly in Universal Fidelity’s ointment, and what may actually keep it from seeing success in its collection plan, comes from this paragraph from KomoNews.com:

“Even though Hollywood Video no longer exists as we know it, trustees and attorneys are still trying to collect money owed to the company’s creditors. But a multi-state court settlement with previous collection agencies prohibits collectors from making excessive, unexplained charges. According to Assistant Attorney General Mary Lobdell, the resolution last year between the Attorneys General and Hollywood Video prohibited Hollywood from reporting debts to a credit reporting agency and from collecting interest and late charges. The settlement further allowed consumers to dispute the debt and prohibited Hollywood from collecting a disputed debt unless Hollywood could establish that the charges were, in fact, due.”