43 States Reach $183.5 Million Settlement With Rent-to-Own Company Acima: $43 Million in Restitution, $130 Million in Lease Reductions
Maine Attorney General Aaron M. Frey announced in Augusta on November 13 that a coalition of 43 state attorneys general has reached a $183.5 million multistate settlement with rent-to-own finance company Acima Digital, LLC and its direct parent company, Acima Holdings, LLC. The settlement consists of $43 million in restitution for the benefit of consumers, a $10.5 million payment to the states, and lease balance reductions totaling $130 million.
Acima partners with retailers to offer financing to consumers through rental-purchase agreements. The states alleged that Acima deceptively advertised its agreements in a manner that misled consumers about their nature and cost, deceptively marked up the cash price of the merchandise being rented, and engaged in deceptive acts in the consummation and servicing of the agreements and in its debt collection and credit reporting practices.
Maine will receive more than $61,000 in restitution, $48,000 paid directly to affected Maine consumers, and more than $254,000 in lease forgiveness.
"Acima deceived consumers by trapping them in contracts with hidden terms that ultimately cost more money. When consumers wanted to cancel, Acima made it unnecessarily difficult," Frey said. "Consumers should be able to trust that advertisements are accurate, that contracts say what they mean, and that businesses will be dealing fairly when engaging in a long-term transaction."
The coalition alleged that Acima marketed its agreements as 90-day payoff programs without disclosing that consumers were automatically defaulted into the maximum 12-month term, under which they could pay approximately two times the cash price advertised by Acima's retail partner. Acima also used terms like "credit," misleading consumers into believing they were obtaining traditional financing, and its electronic execution process obscured the terms of the transaction. Acima also obstructed consumers' ability to terminate agreements without penalty by returning their merchandise.
Under the settlement's injunctive terms, Acima agreed to conduct robust training of its retail partners; to refrain from making certain advertising representations unless other material information is clearly and conspicuously disclosed; to refrain from obscuring material terms during its electronic signature process; to refrain from marking up retail partners' cash prices; to refrain from obstructing terminations by merchandise return; to refrain from reporting rental-purchase agreements to the big three credit reporting agencies for five years; and to properly handle late deliveries and damaged merchandise and meet its repair obligations during leases.
The attorneys general joining the settlement are those of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Eligible consumers do not need to take any action. Those eligible for restitution will be contacted by the settlement administrator, and those eligible for lease forgiveness will be contacted by Acima.
(Source: Office of the Maine Attorney General)
Source: Office of the Maine Attorney General
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于缅因州 Augusta 的缅因州议会大厦（CC BY-SA 2.0，Wikimedia Commons）。 / Image: The Maine State House in Augusta, Maine (CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons).
