Blockbuster has really done a stellar job at mis-managing someone’s account and merging their data into my email address this week. I’ve never rented from Blockbuster Online, but I do recall registering to check it out when they launched to compare against Netflx… since then I have no recollection of using the system whatsoever. This week, however, I’ve received several emails from them regarding my alleged account.
First I received a message on Wednesday night addressing me as Patti and telling me first that the movie I’d rented (Legend) had shipped. I thought – OK it’s just a mistake so I unsubscribed through the link in the message and also hit reply noting that I was not Patti. I was informed by Customer Associate Grazel Joy, that while they were sorry for the inconvience, this matter could not be resolved over email and I should call them at 800…. I replied that I would not and that instead they should just remove me.
Tonight I received a note saying that my queue was empty so I figured with a few spare minutes I could look into this a bit further and I am stunned and how bad this is – and more for Patti than for me. By clicking on the “My Account” link, I was able to reset the password on this account by simply dropping my email back into the form with forgot password… low and behold a reset link came through that has allowed me to change the password and given me access to the user control panel. While I have no malevolent desires here, it’s pretty easy to see how badly this might work out assuming there are others like Patti (or perhaps Nathalie) who have had their accounts altered. Here’s a screen shot of the account system for Patti / Nathalie:
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