Theft of Renatl/Leased Property?

[MissKim]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OREGON

My husband leased a TV from Aarons before we got married. He paid on the TV for about 7 months, and then lost his job and couldn't pay for it anymore. They sent the account over to their collections department, who are now trying to collect payment.

We have tried repeatedly to make arrangements with them to pay off the account. They keep changing the amount due, and none of it matches what is in our contract. Also, in our contract, it says nothing about being criminally charged if we do not pay. It simply says that if we miss payments and don't return the property, then we will be held responsible for the entire amount of the merchandise.

We are not trying to get out of this debt. We fully intend on paying it off, we have even all ready tried giving them payments. When I asked her what their procedure is when they don't get the merchandise returned to them, the account manager at collections told me today that they would sue us for the remainder of the owed amount, which is fine because I know we will have to pay it eventually anyways.

Once I wasn't scared about that threat, she said that I should just let her have it so that her boss won't get the police involved. What does that entail exactly?

What if we don't have the TV in our possession anymore? I know we will still have to pay for it, but is it theft?

Should I send them a payment in the mail, even though they refused it?

HELP?!?!

 

[Shannongiles16]

I had a friend go for one of those rent to owns one time. Wasnt a very good deal to say the least. 6 months into a 12 month payment plan it still was not below the original cost of the item.

Having worked for a company in the past that installed and repaired high end appliances I can tell you from experience it is very difficult to get the items back once in the home. Im not an expert but I dont believe its theft if they gave you the item to place in your house in the first place. Id price the item on amazon and offer them whichever was less, what you owe or the replacement cost, or let them take me to small claims. These guys use very strong arm tactics and unfortunately it usually works. They prey upon the poor and the credit naive. Ive negotiated with these types of businesses to get friends out of bad contracts. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt.

P.S. I dont think it is a criminal matter, i.e. the police wont be involved. Someone correct me if Im wrong.

 

[sandyclaus]

I had a friend go for one of those rent to owns one time. Wasnt a very good deal to say the least. 6 months into a 12 month payment plan it still was not below the original cost of the item.

Having worked for a company in the past that installed and repaired high end appliances I can tell you from experience it is very difficult to get the items back once in the home. Im not an expert but I dont believe its theft if they gave you the item to place in your house in the first place. Id price the item on amazon and offer them whichever was less, what you owe or the replacement cost, or let them take me to small claims. These guys use very strong arm tactics and unfortunately it usually works. They prey upon the poor and the credit naive. Ive negotiated with these types of businesses to get friends out of bad contracts. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesnt.

P.S. I dont think it is a criminal matter, i.e. the police wont be involved. Someone correct me if Im wrong.

Allow me.

People who enter into these rent-to-own contracts are well aware that they are paying far above the standard retail price for the item. The customer gets the benefit of having something they want for a lesser weekly payment than having to buy it full price to own it.

Just like a rental property, until the property is paid off to the rent-to-own place, Aaron's owns it and retains the right to repossess the item if the customer fails to pay for it. They exercise that right every day when the customers decide to stop paying and don't bring their accounts current or return the item.

The problem here is that OP claims they no longer have the item. Why not? They have had it for only 7 months on a rent-to-own contract. Did they sell it or give it away? (Both illegal to do as the item was not the customer's to sell or give away.) Did it break? Did it stop working?

OP's husband is going to be held liable for the entire remaining balance on the contract. If they are unable to produce the item, they may well face theft or conversion charges as well.

 

[TheGeekess]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OREGON

My husband leased a TV from Aarons before we got married. He paid on the TV for about 7 months, and then lost his job and couldn't pay for it anymore. They sent the account over to their collections department, who are now trying to collect payment.

We have tried repeatedly to make arrangements with them to pay off the account. They keep changing the amount due, and none of it matches what is in our contract. Also, in our contract, it says nothing about being criminally charged if we do not pay. It simply says that if we miss payments and don't return the property, then we will be held responsible for the entire amount of the merchandise.

We are not trying to get out of this debt. We fully intend on paying it off, we have even all ready tried giving them payments. When I asked her what their procedure is when they don't get the merchandise returned to them, the account manager at collections told me today that they would sue us for the remainder of the owed amount, which is fine because I know we will have to pay it eventually anyways.

Once I wasn't scared about that threat, she said that I should just let her have it so that her boss won't get the police involved. What does that entail exactly?

What if we don't have the TV in our possession anymore? I know we will still have to pay for it, but is it theft?

Should I send them a payment in the mail, even though they refused it?

HELP?!?!

http://www.leg.state.or.us/ors/646a.html

 

[Shannongiles16]

Did you tell the rto establishment why you are no longer in control of the merchandise? How much was the original value of the item and how much are they trying to collect now?

then we will be held responsible for the entire amount of the merchandise.
HELP?!?!

This is what Im stuck on. The entire amount of the contract or the principal left? Do they pocked all the lease payments then charge you the full value of the item?

Here is the rent to own handbook. I wish I could make a link that works but firefox hates me. Section 1007 spells out what they can and cannot do.

http://www.rtoonline.com/Law/ADDetail.asp?ID=46

 

[HighwayMan]

What if we don't have the TV in our possession anymore? I know we will still have to pay for it, but is it theft?

Might depend on what you did with it. So? Did you sell it? Let's hear this wonderful story.

 

[Shannongiles16]

Sounds like a bating question Highwayman. What if the tv broke?

 

[HighwayMan]

Sounds like a bating question...

Huh? What is THAT supposed to mean?

What if the tv broke?

So if you're renting a television and it breaks that makes it okay to throw it out or give it away? If the TV broke it should still be in the OP's possession.

 

[justalayman]

What if the tv broke?

Only a fool would do anything other than call Aaron's and say: your tv broke. I rented a working TV. Bring me one that works when you come pick this one up.

 

[Shannongiles16]

Im still making payments on my car can I return it for a new one when it breaks? If I quit paying for it they come pick it up for me for free! Its like free trash removal but they will probably file a lawsuit. Not so free I guess.

 

[justalayman]

Im still making payments on my car can I return it for a new one when it breaks? If I quit paying for it they come pick it up for me for free! Its like free trash removal but they will probably file a lawsuit. Not so free I guess.

do you always have problems like this relating a totally irrelevant situation to a situation you are involved in?

You purchased a vehicle and are repaying the money you borrowed to purchase the car with. The OP is renting the merchandise with a stipulation in the contract that if they rent it for a certain period of time, they will gain ownership in the merchandise. Until they have reached that time requirement, it is merely rented property continuing to belong to the rental store.

 

[Shannongiles16]

You lost your sense of humor somewhere along the way. Its like the wookie defense. It doesnt have to make any sense.

I hate to stereotype but the type of person that might enter into one of these horrible rent to own agreements might not be smart enough to return a broken tv. Especially if they had fallen behind on payments at one point. I didnt want to say it because it is negative and I didnt want the op to think I was talking about her husband because its just a broad generalization. Instead I was trying to find an alternative argument why they might not still be in possession of the item. I reckon the reason they arent in possession might be the basis for prosecution. If they sold it and pocketed the money they would probably be guilty of theft. If it broke and they were unaware they could return it so they discarded it. Probably not guilty. She stated that they had attempted to pay the company the difference that was left on the contract but the company was asking for more money. I assumed collection fees but who knows. I dont trust these rto businesses one tiny bit. I have speculated some on what she left out of the story. If aarons had tacked 20 or so dollars onto the cost of the lease Im sure they wouldve just paid it to be done with it. Im betting it wasnt 20 or so dollars but it was possibly 100's or more. Its like extortion money at that point. If you dont pay us the 500 dollars left in lease payments, and an additional 200 on top, we are going to prosecute you and you are going to jail for theft. You would probably try to seek free legal advice.

So would you pay the extortion money or do you try to fight them?

 

[justalayman]

. If they sold it and pocketed the money they would probably be guilty of theft. If it broke and they were unaware they could return it so they discarded it. Probably not guilty.

In either case they are likely guilty of conversion.


If they are not smart enough to read their contract and get a general idea of what to do, I would wonder how they survive on a day to day basis.

So would you pay the extortion money or do you try to fight them?

so far we do not have anything that suggests extortion is involved.

the OP provided quite a bit of info as well and there was no suggestion there was a problem with the functioning of the tv.


what we do have is the lessee lost their job and could not afford to make payments. There is a suggestion they do not have the tv any longer. It doesn't take much of an imagination to consider they sold the tv to raise some cash.

 

[Just Blue]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? OREGON

My husband leased a TV from Aarons before we got married. He paid on the TV for about 7 months, and then lost his job and couldn't pay for it anymore. They sent the account over to their collections department, who are now trying to collect payment.

We have tried repeatedly to make arrangements with them to pay off the account. They keep changing the amount due, and none of it matches what is in our contract. Also, in our contract, it says nothing about being criminally charged if we do not pay. It simply says that if we miss payments and don't return the property, then we will be held responsible for the entire amount of the merchandise.

We are not trying to get out of this debt. We fully intend on paying it off, we have even all ready tried giving them payments. When I asked her what their procedure is when they don't get the merchandise returned to them, the account manager at collections told me today that they would sue us for the remainder of the owed amount, which is fine because I know we will have to pay it eventually anyways.

Once I wasn't scared about that threat, she said that I should just let her have it so that her boss won't get the police involved. What does that entail exactly?

What if we don't have the TV in our possession anymore? I know we will still have to pay for it, but is it theft?

Should I send them a payment in the mail, even though they refused it?

HELP?!?!