AG Jennings announces $183.5 million multistate settlement with rent-to-own finance company Acima Digital, LLC

Attorney General Kathy Jennings has announced a $183.5 million multistate settlement with 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 is a rent-to-own finance company that partners with retailers in Delaware to offer financing to consumers via rental-purchase agreements. The settlement resolves allegations that Acima deceptively advertised its rental-purchase agreements in a manner that misled consumers about the nature and cost of its rental-purchase agreements. It also resolves allegations that it deceptively marked up the cash price of the merchandise being rented and that it engaged in a host of deceptive acts and practices with respect to the consummation and servicing of its rental-purchase agreements and its debt collection and credit reporting practices.

"Delaware consumers should trust that the companies they choose to do business with are going to do right by them," said Attorney General Kathy Jennings. "Acima betrayed that trust - and now this settlement will give consumers back that which should never have been taken from them in the first place."

The multistate coalition of 43 states alleged that Acima marketed its rental-purchase agreements as 90-day pay off programs without disclosing that consumers were automatically defaulted into the maximum 12-month term whereby consumers could pay approximately two times the cash price advertised by Acima's retail partner. Acima also advertised its rental-purchase product using terms like "credit," which often misled consumers into believing that they were obtaining traditional financing. Acima's process for electronically executing rental-purchase agreements also obscured the terms of the transaction, further compounding consumer confusion. Additionally, Acima obstructed consumers' ability to terminate their rental-purchase agreements without penalty by returning their merchandise to Acima.

Under the settlement, Acima has agreed to injunctive terms to address these practices, including to:

• Conduct robust training of its retail partners;
• Refrain from making certain representations in its advertising unless other material information is clearly and conspicuously disclosed;
• Refrain from obscuring the material terms and conditions of its rental-purchase agreements during Acima's electronic signature process;
• Refrain from marking up the cash price from that of Acima's retail partners;
• Refrain from obstructing consumers' ability to terminate their rental-purchase agreements by returning the merchandise to Acima;
• Refrain from reporting rental-purchase agreements to the big three credit reporting agencies for a period of five years; and
• Properly handle late deliveries, merchandise damaged at the time of delivery, and adhere to legal obligations to make repairs to merchandise during the course of the lease.

As part of the settlement, Delaware consumers will receive approximately $230,110 in restitution and $511,582 in lease forgiveness. A payment of $81,875 will also be made to the State of Delaware.

The state attorneys general that joined Attorney General Kathy Jennings in today's settlement are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, 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.

Consumers who are eligible to obtain restitution or lease forgiveness pursuant to this settlement do not need to take any action. Consumers eligible to receive restitution will be contacted by the settlement administrator. Consumers who are eligible to receive lease forgiveness will be contacted by Acima.