Complain about a product or service

Rent-A-Center

Terrie of Chicago, IL September 21, 2009

In oct of 2008 i rented a computer from rent a center cause i needed it from school its sep 2009 and im still paying for it but im almost done have hundred odd dollars left my payment was do on this past fri which was sep 18 but i was out of town cause im moving to memhis and i have to find a house before my lease up and thats sept 30 i called and told them that i was out of town and they still called and haressed me im back in town now but i cant make the payment intil this fri and i explaned that to me they still not trying to hear that they still ringing my door bell tens a day calling my phone thirty times a day im paying my bill in full fri and thats not good enough for them.

they want to still pick my computer up im just writing this compliant to inform other people that no matter how bad u need something never i mean never rent from rent a center they harrass you more than a landlord does if a tenant late on rent more than the light and gas company this is real sad and on top of every thing rude i think they should be close down or change there policy cause everybody in ther life time get in a fincial bind even rent a center workers and they should be able to understand that as long as you not a month or something behind but my main concern is im almost done paying in full and they still harress me .

tommy of laurinburg, NC September 15, 2009

well I got a laptop from rent a center back this august of 2009. I knew I was gonna be late on a payment so I went up there and told them on a thursday and that I would be in the first of the following following month to pay it. and I asked for my payments to be changed to once a month and I was thinking since I did ask they would have taken care of it. then the next day I was getting calls from that friday up until the first of september to pay my bill.

i talked to them on the phone and told them I done said I was going to be late and they didn't have to continue to call me. then after that they started calling my references threating them with court papers and to tell me that. then I confronted the girl who called my references, and she told me she didn't call them. and I told her my reference didn't know who worked there at that store and that she did call and say it cause she told me what she said and who she was and why she was calling her. then the girl wanted to lie and tell me she didn't say she called my references for anything and she said she could show phone records of where she didn't call.

then I had them come to my mothers home trying to take my laptop after they was suppose to arrange my payments to once a month.and they continued to say I was three weeks behind and when I paid for the last week of august. so when I went to pay my payment for september they talked about I owed a hundred and something. and I said if you was changing my payments to once a month how am I behind.

and to make matters worse he told me I wasn't due until the 15th of september. the thing is I had lies after lies told to me by the account manager and another employee there about my account. I want to make sure this complaint gets to the home office of rent a center.

Andrea of Mt. Vernon, NY September 14, 2009

I paid cash in full for a manager's special (dining room set). The center piece was not delivered as promised. After contacting the store I was informed the center piece in the back of the store actually does not match my set, however I can come pick it up if I want it. Add injury to insult, the delivery was very late and without any equipment to help insure a smooth transition.

Rodger of Fuquay-Varina, NC September 13, 2009

Rent A Center called my home, work, friends and references morning and evening and told them to tell me to pay my bill. This would start on the day the bill was due as a reminder call. When I questioned them about this being illegal they told me it was company policy to call twice a day until they got you to come in and pay. They would also come by our home at random times trying to catch us at home and if you weren't there they would leave a note on the door. When I showed them in black and white the harassment laws they said that did not apply to them because they do not report to the credit bureau and started calling even more. Due to the weekly payment plan, this means they call all of the time that they are open! By the time I learned the laws I only owed a couple hundred dollars and just paid out the account.

Robert of Smynra, DE September 11, 2009

We got a side by side refridgator from them. About 2 weeks later it was freezing with ice hunging off the shelves. Thety came and got left us with a loaner, It took over a month to get it back. Parts were missing and all dented up. about a week later they replace it with a brand new one. About a week ago we got behind our payments. They came and got it still looked new no dents or scratches. The next day we paid 2 weeks. So they brought it back. They never took it off the truck, when they picked it up. Ray the one who brought it back was mad cause he had no help. He pick it off the truck and he drop the freezer door off the truck, and broke the handle and dented and scratched the door all up. Plus when he brought tie rest of the side by side in the house he dented it up.

Shanna of Douglasville , GA September 10, 2009

Well for me it all started in July of '08 when I called Rent-A-Center to get a T.V. Which was only supposed to be for a couple of weeks until the rest of my things make it to my new residence. Everything was fine until I lost my job which just so happened to be a couple of weeks after I signed the agreement with Rent-A-Center. I was paying for my merchandise weekly and the weekly rental fee was ridiculously high at 20.00. But, I paid it faithfully. Until one day I happened to see an advertisement from one of the competitor stores. And I thought to myself I ought to give them a call and see if I can get a quote. I did and needless to say that they're quote put Rent-A-Centers prices to sham by 5.00. I was livid at that point. I call Rent-A-Center and told them about the competitors prices and they agreed to come down to match the competitions price. At this point they beat the competitors price by now only charging 12.99 a week.

But, that was also when I found out that my 90 day same as cash had expired. The manager at that time was named Jalisa and she said well if you had've called in 2 days ago and just paid the 129.00 your T.V. would've been paid off. So, I started to ask questions like what is my balance now, was this T.V. a used television, how long was it rented for, and what happened with the contract price wise when you go past your 90 same as cash. And I thought I was going to go into spontaneous combustion when she said what she did. She told me that the cycle basically starts over or into turns into a full out lease/rental. I didn't quite understand so she explained to me that when it expired they added on an additional 150.00 to my contract. And this happens every 90 days until your contract is paid. So, I asked her how the heck are we the customers ever supposed to pay a contract out if you keep imposing fees unbeknown to the customer. Then she replied, well that's where doing your homework comes into play.

I was grateful for seeing that competitors Ad which taught me to shop for others prices and make them honor what they say they'll do which is match or bet the competitors prices. Thus far from Rent-A-Center I've gotten mattress sets and paid for them. But, it wasn't easy. They hounded me like no ones business, as if I had taken the mattress sets from they're home. And I'm still waiting on my certificate that states that my items are paid for in full. I still have that T.V. And now I'm 100.00 from paying it off and the reason for my writing in now is because I recently discovered something new. That only 50% of my payment has been going toward my T.V. I just paid a payment of 12.99 for the week. 6.50 goes to finance fees and the other 6.50 is applied to the principal balance on the T.V. Believe me we've had our battles like them calling the local Police to try and get back the mercandise, me calling the Regional Manager to complain and she's been nothing but understanding and pleasant to deal with. It's just a shame that she works for such a Horrible company, than again maybe it's not because she could help out other people like me.

But the disheartening part to all of this is that when you shop the competitors prices they have to have in stock that exact same make and model of the merchandise that you currently have. I was trying to find a Magnavox 32" screen T.V. And every other rental company that I called just kinda laughed and said no Ma'am we don't carry that type of T.V. Because it's such a late model T.V. That no is carrying them anymore. So, do I feel taken advantage of. You dang straight I do and that's my reason for writing because when I tried to comp shop the current manager was sarcastic in our conversation. He told me well you might as well pay it on off now it's only 98.00 and I told him you say that like it's .50. To you it's small change but to someone like me it might as well be 500.00. I'm just trying to make this last bit of the rental disappear with hopefully finding another company that has a T.V. Just like the one I have. To add insult to injury they don't report to the 3 credit agencies and a lot of they're stuff is crap. But what are you to do when you are credit challenged and in dire need.

dennis of jamestown, CA September 9, 2009

I purchased a dining room set, was told it was 23.50 per week. I agreed to pay every other week 47.00. They tell me now that only half of the payment is being applied to the rental. It became a huge hassle in dealing with rent-a-center,and we became very stressed with the constant calling to remind us of our payment.

Mary of New York, NY September 7, 2009

I rented a bed room set from (RAC) on 7/29/09 i was told that they would deliver the set in two days,but it never came so i called them and was told that it was a problem with the head board and that it would be delivered on 8-1-09.two weeks later i started seeing lots of roaches in my bed room im a very clean person,roaches was even in the bed with me.it made me look at the bed set a little closer.when i notice that the wood of the bed was flooded with roaches.i was very up set that they would even sell anything in that conditions to any one.at this time i only had the set for a month.i called the store to let them know about the set and they were very rude to me.i was shocked that they would speak to me in that matter.i ask to speak to the manager to tell him that i didnt want the set after my finding in the bed for them to come pick up the set.that was on 9-3-09.that manager hector was as rude as the first person that picked up the phone,he never asked me if i wanted something else in the store being that i didnt have the set long.i only had it foe 4 weeks,so i deceiced to go to the store so i could talk to hector face to face and he was even ruder in person so i asked him how are they gone to credit me for what i already payed and his answer to me was that it's no credit for me because i slept on the bed for 4 weeks but he didn't ask if i wanted any thing else for my credit.just that im out of a set and out of my money.i don't think thats the way i should be treated i would just like to have my money back i would never buy any thing from them again and i would make sure that none of my friends buy any thing either.they need to send their managers back to training,starting with customer service because if theirs no customers theirs no business.

vicki of eaton, OH September 6, 2009

I went in the store to look for a used refrig to purchase at 1:30 09/04/09. I was given a price that I thought was some what high but I bought it anyway and they said they would deliver it that same day. I am going to rent the apart and wasnt there when they came but the owner was. I received no call from rent a center. Today is Sunday, I went to the apt and there was the guts of my refrig against the wall and on the floor but no shell. It appeared it was too wide to get in and they left all but the shell. They told the owner they would call me right away. WELL no call at all. Had they called, I could of done something about it Saturday, now its Sunday and they are closed and closed Monday also for holiday. Dont they need any business, I would say probly not or they would treat their customers better. I am moving in on Wednesday and now cant even get a hold of them til Tuesday to see what can be done. I need a refrigerator. If they could give me a much better deal on a smaller frig I wont be as upset as I am.

deborah of bronx, NY September 4, 2009

I am a customer of Rent-A-Center and have been for the past 2 years. Last week I had to file a complaint with the BBB because of the Customer Service I had received there! After almost 9 years of working @ the Practising Law Institute in NY in Customer Relations I had experienced some questionable tactics with this company. I had to call CS dept and make several complaints which were handled diligently by the regional mgr. Still numerous calls are made to me in the liking of loan sharking telling me that I should be able to contact family members to help pay by bill.

I had the last straw when I had asked my brother Ricardo who resides in Tennessee, to pay my bill. He called and they told him they could not take the payment which he found deplorable by the way he was spoken to. My daughter Faith who works for Chase Bank in Jacksonville, Fla has paid my bill numerous times partially, while I pay the remaining. I have been out of work since 5/05/2009. I have paid my account always. I have never been treated so badly or made to feel badly about my not working. It seems to me that it should not matter as long as my bill is paid! They have no right to eplain in detail to my brother the situation as to which he IS privy to anyway...he found it very unusual to be spoken to as a third party in this matter.

I have suffered severe migrains due to constant harrassing phone calls! I have saved several messages because even my closest friends cannot believe how many calls I have gotten. The district manager Mr Diaz had to rectify them. The store manager Rich is very nice and compliant with the customers need. Evidentially he was out on this day! I owe 25 on my dinette, 300-couch and 600 bedroom set. I love my furniture and I want a resolution. Why is it that I cannot get a printed balance on what I owe? Why is it necessary in this economy to treat people like criminals? Why do I have to be afraid to answer my phone?

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