Anyone ever heard of this

photolady95 · 08-16-2013, 05:07 PM

My sister has a film camera/point and shoot. She took her fillm to CVS to have them develop and print the photos. She got her photos and I was looking at them, after viewing the photos, I noticed something that made me wonder. Her negatives were missing. I asked if she removed them and she no, they told her she wouldn't get her negatives back only the photos and a cd. Anyone come across this before? And is it legal for them to do that?

SpecialK · 08-16-2013, 05:15 PM

Seems odd.

**jatrax** · 08-16-2013, 05:16 PM

Originally posted by SpecialK

Seems odd.

+1 but I did a search and see a number of complaints about Wal-Mart doing this. Nothing about CVS that I could find so maybe it is new. Not a good thing though.

photolady95 · 08-16-2013, 05:20 PM

I think I'm going to call or email their corporate office and ask if this is their policy. I used to take my film down there all the time and they never did that too me, but then all I had them do was develop the film, not make prints or a cd.

**rbefly** · 08-16-2013, 05:31 PM

Hi PhotoLady,
I would pursue this as far as you can. The negs are all a film photographer has, prints or a CD are duplicates and legally, nearly worthless.
Could you imagine if there was a service to download digital files and only gave the customer the jpegs, but not the raw file? Same thing.
Back in the film days, what happened would be shocking, unheard of and probably end up in court. I'm pretty sure things haven't changed that much. But, I could be wrong.
If this ever happened to me, I'd still be in the store, arguing.
JMO,
Ron

photolady95 · 08-16-2013, 05:40 PM

Thanks Ron. I intend to take this as far as I possibly can. I found the corporate office number but they close at 7pm EDT and are not open on the weekends, so I'll call them Monday. I just thought it was really odd that they said that to her and I know that can't be legal.

cscurrier · 08-16-2013, 06:13 PM

I have not encountered this myself, but have heard of some corporate businesses doing this. Seems so strange, why not just put them back in the envelope with the prints or CD!? Perhaps their newer film scanners are scanners/shredder combos so they only get one shot at it.... I hope you make some headway in this matter. Best of luck and keep us posted!

**ChrisPlatt** · 08-16-2013, 06:20 PM

Lost or damaged no doubt.

Chris

photolady95 · 08-16-2013, 06:22 PM

Thanks cscurrier, for the input. And of course, I'll let you all know what I find out on Monday. I have a home phone that has unlimited long distance so I can stay on hold as long as I want. I can tell you all right now, I will get an answer that will satisfy me and my sister. This has got to be illegal and if I have to, I'll find a lawyer to handle it for me.

Oh Ron, yes, if it happened to me, I'd still be there until they gave me my negatives back.

Chris, you posted while I was still typing. I hope they didn't lose them or damaged them.

Her photos are pretty good, some out of focus but she has this tremor I have, so that's understandable. There was one that didn't come out and they included what they thought was the reason, light leak. I'll get her camera tomorrow and check it out for her.

DeadJohn · 08-16-2013, 07:06 PM

It's poor customer service to not return negatives especially when requested. I doubt there's a law that forces them to return negatives - small print somewhere in the store might say they don't return negatives, too. I see no obvious reason not to return negatives unless they ship the negatives somewhere to be scanned, then email the images back to the store for printing. They might be trying to save the cost of return shipping.

**THoog** · 08-16-2013, 07:26 PM

I don't know about CVS, but for at least a year, the Wal-Mart film drop-off enevelope has said in fairly large print that negatives will not be returned.

photolady95 · 08-16-2013, 07:26 PM

Thanks for the input DeadJohn, but the prints are done in-store. I know this because they've done my film for me in the past. I might go to the store tomorrow, and talk to the manager. I know him, and have dealt with him before. Not about film and negatives but on other things. He seems like a nice guy, we'll see tomorrow. If I get no satisfaction tomorrow, I'll call corporate on Monday.

They have closed out the photo centers in our Wal-Mart. I guess I can take a look at one of their envelopes. I can tell you this I won't be taking any more of my film to them if this is what they are doing.

My sister doesn't seem too concerned she didn't get her negatives. Even after I told her they should have given them back because they were proof that her photos were taken by her. But she's like this, anything goes wrong that shouldn't have, she just shrugs it off and forgets about it. I'm still going over there to talk to them and try to find out why they started this nonsense.

photolady95 · 08-16-2013, 07:50 PM

I thought I'd search the web and see if anyone else had heard about this practice. I found one thread over at dpreview..

**ramseybuckeye** · 08-16-2013, 08:00 PM

If I had to guess I'd think it was an employee that didn't understand what they were doing. I can't imagine a business keeping something that they are just going to throw away, it just doesn't make sense, at least if they are processing in house.

DSims · 08-16-2013, 08:20 PM

I think they're too lazy to cut the negatives into strips of 4. It's possible they don't even have the negative cutting machine any more.

08-16-2013, 05:07 PM	#1
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712	Anyone ever heard of this My sister has a film camera/point and shoot. She took her fillm to CVS to have them develop and print the photos. She got her photos and I was looking at them, after viewing the photos, I noticed something that made me wonder. Her negatives were missing. I asked if she removed them and she no, they told her she wouldn't get her negatives back only the photos and a cd. Anyone come across this before? And is it legal for them to do that?

08-16-2013, 05:31 PM	#5
rbefly Site Supporter Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Denver, Colorado Photos: Albums Posts: 2,030	Yikes! Hi PhotoLady, I would pursue this as far as you can. The negs are all a film photographer has, prints or a CD are duplicates and legally, nearly worthless. Could you imagine if there was a service to download digital files and only gave the customer the jpegs, but not the raw file? Same thing. Back in the film days, what happened would be shocking, unheard of and probably end up in court. I'm pretty sure things haven't changed that much. But, I could be wrong. If this ever happened to me, I'd still be in the store, arguing. JMO, Ron

08-16-2013, 07:26 PM	#12
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712 Original Poster	Thanks for the input DeadJohn, but the prints are done in-store. I know this because they've done my film for me in the past. I might go to the store tomorrow, and talk to the manager. I know him, and have dealt with him before. Not about film and negatives but on other things. He seems like a nice guy, we'll see tomorrow. If I get no satisfaction tomorrow, I'll call corporate on Monday. They have closed out the photo centers in our Wal-Mart. I guess I can take a look at one of their envelopes. I can tell you this I won't be taking any more of my film to them if this is what they are doing. My sister doesn't seem too concerned she didn't get her negatives. Even after I told her they should have given them back because they were proof that her photos were taken by her. But she's like this, anything goes wrong that shouldn't have, she just shrugs it off and forgets about it. I'm still going over there to talk to them and try to find out why they started this nonsense. Last edited by photolady95; 08-16-2013 at 07:32 PM.

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08-16-2013, 05:15 PM	#2
SpecialK Pentaxian Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: So California Photos: Gallery Posts: 16,482	Seems odd.

08-16-2013, 05:16 PM	#3
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,992	Originally posted by SpecialK Seems odd. +1 but I did a search and see a number of complaints about Wal-Mart doing this. Nothing about CVS that I could find so maybe it is new. Not a good thing though.

08-16-2013, 05:20 PM	#4
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712 Original Poster	I think I'm going to call or email their corporate office and ask if this is their policy. I used to take my film down there all the time and they never did that too me, but then all I had them do was develop the film, not make prints or a cd.

08-16-2013, 05:40 PM	#6
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712 Original Poster	Thanks Ron. I intend to take this as far as I possibly can. I found the corporate office number but they close at 7pm EDT and are not open on the weekends, so I'll call them Monday. I just thought it was really odd that they said that to her and I know that can't be legal.

08-16-2013, 06:13 PM	#7
cscurrier Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Bellingham, WA Photos: Gallery Posts: 280	I have not encountered this myself, but have heard of some corporate businesses doing this. Seems so strange, why not just put them back in the envelope with the prints or CD!? Perhaps their newer film scanners are scanners/shredder combos so they only get one shot at it.... I hope you make some headway in this matter. Best of luck and keep us posted!

08-16-2013, 06:20 PM	#8
ChrisPlatt Site Supporter Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Rockaway Beach NYC Posts: 7,702	Lost or damaged no doubt. Chris

08-16-2013, 06:22 PM	#9
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712 Original Poster	Thanks cscurrier, for the input. And of course, I'll let you all know what I find out on Monday. I have a home phone that has unlimited long distance so I can stay on hold as long as I want. I can tell you all right now, I will get an answer that will satisfy me and my sister. This has got to be illegal and if I have to, I'll find a lawyer to handle it for me. Oh Ron, yes, if it happened to me, I'd still be there until they gave me my negatives back. Chris, you posted while I was still typing. I hope they didn't lose them or damaged them. Her photos are pretty good, some out of focus but she has this tremor I have, so that's understandable. There was one that didn't come out and they included what they thought was the reason, light leak. I'll get her camera tomorrow and check it out for her.

08-16-2013, 07:06 PM	#10
DeadJohn Pentaxian Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: New York Posts: 4,834	It's poor customer service to not return negatives especially when requested. I doubt there's a law that forces them to return negatives - small print somewhere in the store might say they don't return negatives, too. I see no obvious reason not to return negatives unless they ship the negatives somewhere to be scanned, then email the images back to the store for printing. They might be trying to save the cost of return shipping.

08-16-2013, 07:26 PM	#11
THoog Loyal Site Supporter Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: North Carolina Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,685	I don't know about CVS, but for at least a year, the Wal-Mart film drop-off enevelope has said in fairly large print that negatives will not be returned.

08-16-2013, 07:50 PM	#13
photolady95 Otis Memorial Pentaxian Join Date: May 2009 Location: Cruising the forum watching his back Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,712 Original Poster	I thought I'd search the web and see if anyone else had heard about this practice. I found one thread over at dpreview..

08-16-2013, 08:00 PM	#14
ramseybuckeye Site Supporter Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Hampstead, NC Photos: Gallery Posts: 17,296	If I had to guess I'd think it was an employee that didn't understand what they were doing. I can't imagine a business keeping something that they are just going to throw away, it just doesn't make sense, at least if they are processing in house.

08-16-2013, 08:20 PM	#15
DSims Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Southern California Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 3,236	I think they're too lazy to cut the negatives into strips of 4. It's possible they don't even have the negative cutting machine any more.