- Chief Compliance Officer and VP of Legal Affairs, Arrow Electronics
By 
Adrianne Appel2024-07-31T15:31:00
A nationwide rental outlet affiliated with Rent-a-Center and its chief executive have been sued by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) for allegedly deceiving five million consumers about the terms of credit agreements.
Acima, founded in 2013 by CEO Aaron Allred, offers household goods to consumers through rent-to-own contracts, often lasting 12 months. Acima, which was purchased by Rent-a-Center in 2020 and is now known as Upbound Group, allegedly used “dark patterns” to trick people into paying more for household goods than they were led to believe, the CFPB alleged in a press release Friday.
Potential customers were required to apply for “financing” through Acima before renting or purchasing an item. Most customers used a mobile application and the terms of the contract were unclear and obscured by pop ups and fine print, the CFPB alleged in a complaint, filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Utah.
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