SEATTLE – Rent-A-Center has agreed to settle with the State of Washington over a lawsuit claiming the national rental harassed customers in its collection tactics.
The state accused Rent-A-Center of swearing at customers, pounding on doors, peering into windows and threatening to have customers arrested.
"Rent-A-Center maintains it has done no wrong but agrees to comply with all the terms of our settlement, which makes it clear that harassing customers for payments won't be tolerated," said Attorney General Rob McKenna in a press release.
The AG's office accused Rent-A-Center of violating the state Consumer Protection Act. The state says customers testified that at Rent-A-Center employees went so far in order to collect on a debt that they tried to kick in the door of one home and told an 11-year-old autistic girl that her mom could be sent to jail.
According to affidavits from former employees, the AG's office says workers were "reprimanded, demoted or fired if they failed to meet weekly collection quotas."
Among the terms of the settlement, Rent-A-Center employees may not:
- Speak to a customer more than six times per week to discuss an overdue account.
- Engage in violence.
- Trespass, including entering a customer's home or yard other than as necessary to reach the primary entrance.
- Call or visit a customer at home or work after receiving legal notice that the customer has filed bankruptcy, unless authorization is obtained from the court or bankruptcy trustee.
- Impersonate others or fail to properly identify themselves when making collection calls.
- Discuss a customer's account with anyone else, other than a spouse.
- Threaten legal action, unless permitted under the Rent-a-Center Legal Action Guidelines or state law.
- Leave a recorded message for a customer that includes anything other than the caller's name, contact information and a courteous request that the customer return the call.
- Call or visit a customer's workplace after having been told not to do so.
- Use profanity or any language meant to abuse, ridicule or degrade the customer.
- Attempt to harass a customer to take action by repeatedly calling, leaving messages, knocking on doors or ringing doorbells.
- Ask someone, other than a spouse, to make a payment on behalf of a customer.
- Obtain payment through a customer's bank, credit card or other account without authorization.
As part of the settlement, the AG's office says Rent-A-Center is ordered to list a cash price for each item on its Lease Purchase Agreements.
