rent-a-center

Rent-To-Own Electronics Could End Up Costing You Three Times The Retail Price
For decades, rent-to-own services like Rent-A-Center have advertised themselves as an affordable way to purchase pricey electronics and appliances by making monthly payments. But while it might seem tempting to make a small monthly payment on a huge TV, an investigation by our smarter siblings at Consumer Reports says you could end up paying upward of three times the retail price if you go the rent-to-own route. More »

Rent-A-Center Settles With Washington Attorney General Over Customer Abuse Claims
Rent-A-Center, the furniture/appliance rent-to-own company ("For When You Want to Piss Away Your Paycheck!"), has settled with the Washington Attorney General's Office over charges that its employees harassed customers who were late on payments. Last year, the company's employees in Washington were accused of trying to kick in one customer's door and threatening another one with jail, among other things. More »

Bill Collector Accused Of Offering Debt Forgiveness For Sex

—>A Rent-A-Center employee near Detroit has allegedly found a new approach to helping consumers get out of debt: making their bills go away in exchange for sex.   More »

Rent A Center Accused Of Illegal Collection Tactics In Washington

—>There are many, many good reasons why you shouldn't purchase your home furnishings from rent-to-own outfits, but the state of Washington has discovered an exciting new one: collection tactics from Rent A Center that are so aggressive, they're illegal.  More »

Man Sets Himself On Fire At Rent-A-Center After Receiving Too Many Late Payment Notices

—>There are lots of good ways to escalate your complaints. Going to the store, dousing yourself with lighter fluid and setting yourself on fire is not one of them. Unfortunately, that's exactly what one Newark, NJ man did after becoming frustrated with the amount of late payment notices and collection calls he was receiving from Rent-A-Center.   More »

With the threat of stopping their charitable contributions, Rent-a-Center strong-armed an Ohio food-bank into dropping out of an anti-payday-loan advocacy group. The interest rates Rent-a-Center charges can come to as much as 782% APR. [WSJ]  More »