SALT LAKE CITY — A group of 43 states, including Utah, reached a multi-million-dollar settlement with a Draper-based rent-to-own finance company accused of misleading consumers through deceptive practices and marked-up merchandise prices.
Acima Digital and its parent company, Acima Holdings, agreed to the $183.5 million settlement that includes millions in restitution to consumers and lease forgiveness.
Acima is a subsidiary of Rent-A-Center.
The states accused Acima of misleading consumers on costs associated with its rental-purchase agreements. According to the settlement, Acima hid the terms of agreements during its electronic signing process and made it difficult to end agreements without penalty when consumers returned merchandise.
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As part of the settlement, $43 million will go to consumer restitution, $130 million in lease forgiveness, and $10.5 million to the states.
“Utahns who choose to pay over time for a laptop or a couch shouldn’t be surprised by the final bill,” said Utah Attorney General Derek Brown. “This settlement puts money back in Utah families’ pockets and makes sure the deal they see is the deal they get.”
Following the settlement, Acima must meet certain criteria moving forward, including:
- Train its retail partners on the nature of Acima’s RPAs, including the Total Cost of the agreements in relation to the cash price.
- Not make certain misleading advertising claims, such as that an RPA is the “same as cash” when it is actually more expensive than cash.
- Not hide the terms of its agreements during the electronic signing process.
- Not mark up the price set by its retail partners.
- Allow consumers to end their agreements by returning the merchandise without delay or obstruction.
- Not report rental-purchase agreements to Equifax, Experian, or TransUnion for five years.
- Properly handle late deliveries and merchandise damaged on delivery.