The settlement against the leasing company will allocate $15,000 to Delaware.
The First State will receive $15,000 as part of a $35 million national settlement with Leasing Company Tempoe, LLC.
Delaware Attorney General Kathy Jennings announced Monday that the multistate investigation into Tempoe’s advertising and leasing practices to consumers through retailers across the nation has been resolved.
The investigation included 41 states and the District of Columbia and revealed that Tempoe’s marketing and sales practices often misled consumers to believe they were signing up for an installment plan or credit sale when, in reality, they were entering into a lease agreement.
The complicated structure, as well as the lack of required disclosures, of the lease agreements caused more confusion, often resulting in consumers paying two or three times the purchase price of the product or service.
Through this settlement, Tempoe is permanently banned from engaging in future consumer leasing activities.
All existing leases will be canceled, and consumers may retain the leased merchandise in their possession without any further financial obligation to Tempoe – resulting in approximately $33 million of “in-kind” financial relief to consumers nationwide.
Tempoe is not allowed to provide negative information regarding lessees to any consumer reporting agency.
Consumers with existing leases do not need to take any action as Tempoe has automatically canceled their accounts as a result of this settlement.
Tempoe will also pay $2 million: $1 million to the states and jurisdictions participating in this settlement and $1 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has agreed to a parallel settlement resolving the same alleged misconduct.
”Today’s settlement underscores our commitment to protecting Delaware’s citizens, particularly the most vulnerable, from predatory lenders,” Jennings said. “This office will continue to hold these businesses accountable.”
Raised in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Jarek earned a B.A. in journalism and a B.A. in political science from Temple University in 2021. After running CNN’s Michael Smerconish’s YouTube channel, Jarek became a reporter for the Bucks County Herald before joining Delaware LIVE News.
Jarek can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at (215) 450-9982. Follow him on Twitter @jarekrutz
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