any help?

I reside in SC. Recently, my daughter then 15 and a neighbor 18, asked to use my Blockbuster card to rent movies for the neighbor and watch them at the nieghbor's house. I spoke to the neighbor and specified that she would return the movies to me so that I could verify that they were returned. She agreed. When I asked my daughter to retrieve the movies for return she said that the neighbor had already returned them. I now have received a bill from Blockbuster for over 350.00. My daughter went to the neighbors house to retrieve the movies and only found two. When questioned, the neighbor says she doesn't know where the movies are and said that my daughter let someone that no one knows, who was at the house borrow one. (This I find hard to believe, she should know who is visiting in her own house!) I have been told that I can be arrested for failure to return rental property. Is this true? And is there any way to get the neighbor to pay the fees for the movies?

dstarview said:

I reside in SC. Recently, my daughter then 15 and a neighbor 18, asked to use my Blockbuster card to rent movies for the neighbor and watch them at the nieghbor's house. I spoke to the neighbor and specified that she would return the movies to me so that I could verify that they were returned. She agreed. When I asked my daughter to retrieve the movies for return she said that the neighbor had already returned them. I now have received a bill from Blockbuster for over 350.00. My daughter went to the neighbors house to retrieve the movies and only found two. When questioned, the neighbor says she doesn't know where the movies are and said that my daughter let someone that no one knows, who was at the house borrow one. (This I find hard to believe, she should know who is visiting in her own house!) I have been told that I can be arrested for failure to return rental property. Is this true? And is there any way to get the neighbor to pay the fees for the movies?

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My response:

Who told you that you can be arrested for failure to return rental movies?

The worst that can happen is that you'll have to pay the retail cost, and that's a Civil matter, not a Criminal matter. No, the neighbor cannot be held liable for movies rented on your card. When it's your card, you bear the final responsibility.

Sure, you can try to sue the neighbor, but if the neighbor denies your allegations, what proof are you going to show the judge to prove otherwise? Your daughter's testimony? Sorry, that's biased testimony. All the neighbor has to say is that your daughter took all the movies back to you.

Then it becomes a spitting match in court. Since you would be the one suing, you would have the burden of proof to show the judge, by a preponderance of the evidence, that you should prevail. From what you have said here, I doubt that you could "tip the scales" in your favor.

IAAL

I understand that proof would be hard to come by, however, wouldn't her agreement with me, that she agreed to bring the movies back to me personally, be of some merit. For instance, if I let someone borrow something with the understanding that they would return it and they don't, is there nothing that can be done? I will gladly pay the past due fees but only want the movies back that are missing.

In response to your first question, an aquaintance knows someone who kept a movie for a long period of time, the total fees were over 1500.00 and she was arrested, according to this person.