Customers Complain DVD's are Pirated

Who doesn't love to curl up on the sofa and watch a DVD? A Walhalla woman says she paid good money for DVD's of her favorite TV show. But she believes the DVD's she received were pirated. The Better Business Bureau says other customers have filed similar complaints.

One of Voncyle Towe's most cherished memories was watching "BJ and the Bear" with her grandmother. Said Towe, "We'd sit and watch it with a bowl of popcorn and coke and this was our Saturday night thing."

When she saw the TV series for sale on DVD on Tvaddicts.tv, she says ordered a set for $88. But Towe noticed something when they arrived. Said Towe, pointing to the DVD cover, "Usually on a DVD, there's copyright. Should be a copyright on this side right here."

And when she played the DVD's, some were blank and some, she said, "It was like poor quality, very dark, the words don't meet the mouth."

Kathy Barrett, President of the Better Business Bureau, says it has received 52 similar complaints. Said Barrett, "Consumers are giving complaints that these DVD's that they're ordering are bootleg DVD's. That it's very evident, they have not been copyrighted. They have computer generated papers that are for the labels."

Barrett says Tvaddicts.tv uses other names with websites, including DVDAvenue.com, DVDplayground.com, and DVDdonkey.com. Barrett says the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are investigating because the company is based in Canada, though she says most complainants say they can't reach the company. Said Barrett, "Either the phone numbers are changed, disconnected, they don't answer. The website email addresses are bouncing back."

We tried emailing the company. It was returned undeliverable. Some phone numbers were disconnected, a couple of others let us leave a message. So far our calls have not been returned.

Towe said she also tried to reach the company several times. Said Towe, "It really made me mad and it still makes me mad, because you can't find these people."

Now Towe hopes the experience won't sour her Saturday Night Memories of watching "BJ and the Bear" with her grandmother.

If you believe you purchased a bootleg DVD from any company, you can report it to law enforcement.

How can you make sure you buy legal DVD's? You can check out a company at bbb.com. The Motion Picture Association of America has a list on its website of sites it says sell DVD's legally.

http://www.mpaa.org/piracy_LegalOpt.asp