See comment section, people are flooding in monthly from all over to tell their stories about how RAC treated and ripped them off!
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You will not believe this! They are sending me advertising and discount offers trying to get me to buy more stuff from them! NO WAY! NEVER AGAIN! Talk about Bold...And not just one offer by mistake, we are talking several offers since I paid it off.. I am not getting trapped in their web of deceit ever again. I am still reeling from what they did to me. Because of them I don't think I will ever rent to own again from any company!
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Latest: Feeling bold I went into the RAC to pay my weekly payment all by myself. The one gentleman there who I don't think approves of what happened has tried both times to be nice to me, but I just am not ready to get chatty with anyone there again. So I make my payment, later realizing I lost or hadn't gotten the receipt and called them when John (the manager) answers the phone. I asked him for a copy of the receipt because I dont remember having it but could have lost it. He keeps me on the phone diddling around for a few minutes, then suddenly says he'll print out a copy. and quote, " Do you want me to mail it or will you pick it up?" Am assuming that he got yelled at by his superiors for telling me mailing was not a proper form of communication before. Anywho I went down there to pick it up and he meets me in the middle of the store and the feeling of that was more like he was rushing me out the door rather then being a gentleman. I am positive he is really angry with me and feels I got away with something, but I didn't ask for none of this to happen and tried to work with them, but they wouldn't.
Most of them act confused and nervous almost like I am someone that can get them in trouble, but I never meant for this. I tried you know? I just want to be recognized as a good person you know?
I think though as time goes on they will chill out as it seems from week to week already they are.
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Update: Took 3 weeks and 10 calls to Rent A Center Headquarters to get a call back.. They refused to give me the phone number of the supervisors, regional, (etc) saying they were not allowed to give out that info.
Finally a different guy named woodland calls from a cell phone telling me they recently switched who they are in charge of, thus the calls were rooted to the wrong people.. He looked into my account at my excellent early pay offs and told me they should have never treated me that way and made me a deal taking about 800.00 off the price of the computer and assured me they would not disrespect me again.
I had to go down there to sign up to a new payment agreement and let me tell you after all they had done to me abusively I was full of anxiety, so I asked my bold male friend to go down there knowing he wouldnt allow them to disrespect me, then stood tall and faced these mean people!
When I got there, the very manager who started all this abuse on me was arguing with another customer. Poor customer was so confused. Again things they say, they have not kept up on.
Anywho, so since I have all my money in ventures right now I am trying to make enough to get me through the payments to the 12th of June I need to make 60.00 in payments asap, so please take a look at my yard sale (not new or wholesale) stuff if you are in the USA and buy some things from me to help me out.
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Upon having an issue with Rent A Center Abuse myself I went to google and typed in "Rent A Center, Complaints and was astonished to find the 1000s of complaints alledging abusive collection practices and a few ex employees who told they were threatened their jobs if they didnt do it!
One employee asked for a demotion so he didnt have to do it and they told him NO!
Some Rent A Center clients alledged even when notifying the store prior of a one week late payment the store employees were found banging down their doors, peeping in windows, harrasing phone calls and using the RAC trucks to block the customers car from leaving their driveways!
Yes I agree RAC has the right to get their merchandise or their money and it is a tough industry, but they do not need to go to the extreme with all their customers.
For clients like me who have paid 3 years and spent thousands of dollars paying off everything early, then contacted them for payment arrangements during a low financial time (when DDOS attacks hit stormpay) they should be looking at my history to access a flight risk, but they go way beyond that. They do not just make collection calls or come to your door, they make harrasing calls, refuse all payment arrangements, beat down your door and other extreme stuff starting less then a week after I contacted them to makearrangements.
FTC is no help, because they did a limited survey where only 500 people were talked to. There are millions of rent to own customers and the survey was not properly done, so their 27% of survery'd is way too low a percentage. If that 27% were broken down into each rent to own company I guarantee it would name Rent A Center as being the main trouble maker.
I would guestimate the actual total if all rent to own customers were involved in a survery that over 90% would be dissatisfied in some way and about 80% had been abused at least once with over 70% claiming collections abuse!!
The reason for my high guestimation? Well it has to be an overwhelming percentage, because new legislation is being pushed calling for caps on what prices can be charged and the consumer protection laws concerning the constant abuse people suffer at the hands of mainly Rent A Center when there is any type of issue!
Since the Rent To Own industry does not charge based on the value of a product it is estimated that as much they often receive as much as 6x's the amount on previously rented items and 3x's the amount on new items!!
When interviewed former customers said they weren't aware that rent to own places had to abide by the same collection laws as any creditor with those renting from Rent A Center citing that RAC employees insinuated the laws for them were different.
A study of the law and a recent call to several attorneys assured me that RAC does indeed have to follow the same collection laws and that they had indeed broken collection laws in my instance! These lawyers said that it is hard for consumers to interpret the collection laws in the case of the rent to own industry, because the law needs to be amended to add the word rent to own into it.
I'm confident with many states banning high interest loans already that the new legislation will indeed include the amendments and cap the rent to own industry while enforcing newer and stricter collection procedures as well.
It is my hope that we can get the message out, the law changed and RAC fined for abusing these laws, yet still give rent to own their security as it is a tough industry.
Some have commented that if we dont like their agreement why rent from them? For some it's not a choice! If your needed equipment breaks down and you have no or bad credit it is hard to get a loan and often times you can't, so choosing to replace things is sometimes an immediate need! Rent To Own victimizes no or poor credit people. Where you can pay 50.00 a month at the store, you pay 200.00 a month to them, most people can't afford that, but are forced to when needed equipment breaks down and this is how we become victims!
So what is the solution? Well if you need it now, try hard to find a bad credit loan or credit card as the payments and interest are considerably cheaper.
If you can wait, then just do layaway or save the money, because with 200.00 a month for 2 months and you could have a brand new dell laptop where as rent to own you pay up to 6x's for used merchandise and you are paying on it for a year! Don't pay 2000 for a 399.00 item if you dont have too! Even their cash prices and quick pay off prices are extremely higher, so just say NO!
So if you are abused what do you do?
1. I recently learned about calling the company HQ. When I called they directed me to a multiple store supervisor I didn't know about. I am awaiting a call back from him on Monday.
2. File a complaint with your states attorneys office (in writing), the BBB and any complaint site you can find online!
There are no benefits to buying from rent to own places, they don't even report you as being a good paying customer (they do report you if bad), so the extreme prices and abuse is not worth it!
For those of you curious to know of my own horrifying experience with Rent A
Center.
3 years of buy thousands in merchandise and paying it off early. One time of financial issue that would have been resolved and back on time quickly kept in contact with them, but they refused temp payment arrangements, then in less then a week several harrassment phone calls, banging down my door so loud the neighbors 4 houses down could hear and filed a legal judgement against me even after I sent them a payment. They told me my method of contact was unprofessional and unacceptable. Lawyers told me in writing was legal and the sheriff who handed me the complaint told me to send everything in writing for proof as well. I did the right things and got abused anyways!!
The sad part is for three years these people pretended to be my friend, even goofing around with me on visits to the store and conversations over the phone. All of it was fake to keep my business! NEVER AGAIN!
Go ahead, google rent to own complaints and rent a center complaints and thousands of complaints and articles will pop up.
Tip: Keeping up payments or making payment arrangements even in times of issues/disputes creates credibility on your part with the judge and jury should there be one. Even if they refuse the payment arrangements still try to send them what you can afford on a regular basis. It gives them less of a leg to stand on in cases of abuse collections. If you do have the product and can return it that is the best thing to do, but be sure you return the product when the store is busy and take a witness with you making them give you a paper that states you returned it and no longer owe them. Always get and send everything in writing and if possible registered mail they have to sign for in which you keep a copy for yourself. This way they can not say they never got it or said it.
Do you have something to say about this?
Have you been victimized by Rent A Center?
Post your comments below!
Recent Comments From RAC employees and customers..From oldest to newest
11/14/200611:39 AMI have a question! I have been renting from RAC and was a week late on my payment. They came into my home while I was gone and the babysitter was there with my kids. She told them she didn't live there and she would not give them permission to take anything because I was not at home. My 13 year old told them to leave and they basically laughed in her face. She got scared and locked them out, leaving half of the merchandise. What are my rights here?!?!?--Julie
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Reply:
11/16/200610:04 AM What I did was use the link below, then contacted the customer service number (right side) with my complaint. http://www6.rentacenter.com/site/page/pg4286.html
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02/06/200707:29 PM billie
i have rented from rent a center just becuase last nov my husband had 2 heart attacks in nov and dec they took my computer and i only owe 20 weeksbut thats not all they took they took my property as well the connections to my printer i had to replace them both and i have a letter from the say because i was i great coustomer i could have my item back at any time they are refusing to accept that letter even thou i have it in writing i never did get my 500 .00 dollars in grocery coupons being a prefered coustomer the way they treat pepole is criminal they should be in jail i hope they go out of bussiness
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Reply 02/10/200706:14 PM Definitely call RC headquarters from their website, as they have no right to keep your connections. They can only take their property, anything else is stealing!
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02/06/200707:33 PM Mrs. H, did you know that they have ben sue for miilions of dollars for selling people used stuff and telling them its new and they are lie about the 500.00 in grocery coupons i was a coustomer for 5 years never recive mine and they are thefts i wrote to the bbb you should to
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Reply 02/10/200706:20 PM You can pretty much figure people are suing them.Sadly I see here they are thriving still and have bought out rentway, but I heard Maryland is about to hand down some serious restrictions on them.Yeah for us.. Maybe other states will follow.We got rid of the unfair loans here, now I would love to see Rent A Center gotten in control as well.Love,Crissy
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