How is THIS Legal?

[00:00] - I, that is the dumbest thing

[00:03] Sometimes when I'm doing

[00:05] I'll start off by cracking jokes

[00:07] about how I'm about to get

[00:10] I gave this company

[00:12] all of my personal

[00:14] address, social security

[00:17] You name it, all to answer

[00:19] a single seemingly simple question.

[00:23] Today, we have a big one.

[00:24] Now these guys have

[00:26] and the promise sounds great.

[00:28] Get your hands on tech, furniture

[00:33] return it whatever you want,

[00:36] But this is a company

[00:39] with a thousand plus dollar cash price.

[00:42] And if you can rent it

[00:43] all the way through the end of the term,

[00:45] you can spend over

[00:49] which really leads me

[00:52] is Rent-A-Center a scam?

[00:54] Okay, so that did not go as planned.

[00:57] We walked in and they

[01:01] They have TVs and a whole lot

[01:04] But as we started to look

[01:06] Rent-A-Center is so much bigger

[01:08] and so much more sophisticated

[01:13] and renting you PlayStations

[01:17] that I think that it really does merit,

[01:20] I think, a deeper look.

[01:21] Unfortunately, that deeper

[01:23] until I can actually get

[01:24] from Rent-A-Center,

[01:25] 'cause this one told me

[01:28] And the online store

[01:30] which I find that hard to believe.

[01:31] So getting started online

[01:34] or you can visit a Rent-A-Center store.

[01:36] Tried that, didn't work.

[01:37] Step two, payment set up and delivery.

[01:39] We'll finalize your order

[01:41] and schedule a free delivery

[01:43] or curbside pickup where available, okay.

[01:45] And then, enjoy worry free with

[01:49] product repairs included during

[01:51] and no long-term commitment.

[01:52] Okay, let's dive in.

[01:54] This is one of those ones

[01:55] where I know that maybe not all of us

[01:57] read the fine print on things.

[01:59] This is one where you should

[02:01] Do I need a good credit score

[02:03] No.

[02:04] We consider many factors in

[02:06] and regularly approve customers

[02:08] with less than perfect credit history.

[02:10] What is Rent-A-Center's return policy?

[02:11] At any time, you can contact your store

[02:13] to schedule a return of your product,

[02:14] or return the merchandise in

[02:17] When you're ready, you can come back,

[02:18] reinstate your agreement to get

[02:21] and pick up your payments

[02:23] So you can see how easily this

[02:26] You look at it and go, "30 bucks a week?

[02:28] I can handle that, no problem."

[02:29] But maybe four or five months from now,

[02:30] you can't handle that anymore.

[02:32] You have to return it,

[02:33] and you can very easily end

[02:36] You borrowed a PlayStation

[02:39] and you spent more than the

[02:41] for the privilege.

[02:42] I'm gonna keep going.

[02:43] The longer I go here, the more

[02:46] So this is me.

[02:49] I'm seven-tenths upset.

[02:50] See how far we make it by the end.

[02:52] So your options are

[02:54] You can own it when you're ready,

[02:57] or you can pick up where you left off.

[03:00] So here's the PS5.

[03:01] So let's just choose the

[03:04] So with this, I can either

[03:06] for 82 weeks, or after

[03:11] I can give them the cash price to own it.

[03:13] But then I would be paying $264 more

[03:17] than what the PS5 should actually cost.

[03:19] So why would anyone do this?

[03:21] Well, the answer is no one does it at all.

[03:23] It's here to give you a

[03:26] Just pay it off in three months, bro.

[03:28] When in reality if you could

[03:31] you would absolutely not be

[03:33] It all just feels so predatory, right,

[03:35] and it just feels needlessly complicated.

[03:37] Like, why does it have to be like this?

[03:39] So I've gone through the initial process

[03:42] and the information they ask about you

[03:44] is your email address, phone number,

[03:47] and the last four digits of

[03:49] - [Alex] Holy crap, that's invasive.

[03:51] - They didn't ask for my name or anything.

[03:53] I gave them that.

[03:54] They pulled up my name,

[03:57] every address I've lived in

[04:01] So that's great, I mean

[04:07] So they approved me to

[04:14] But when I went through that process,

[04:18] the online account's like,

[04:20] Let's go add more stuff to

[04:23] But at the same time,

[04:25] and they've texted me basically and like,

[04:28] "Oh hey, we actually don't

[04:31] We're gonna try to find you another one."

[04:33] I'm like, "Okay."

[04:34] So I'm pre-approved.

[04:36] That's the good news, right?

[04:37] I can get myself a PS5,

[04:38] everything's fine once

[04:39] except, I'm not pre-approved.

[04:41] Let me read you an email

[04:44] "Hey," this is from the store,

[04:45] "Hey, we actually need just

[04:48] to complete your rental form."

[04:49] You know, we already have

[04:50] your date of birth, your

[04:53] all that kinda stuff.

[04:53] We just need a couple more things.

[04:54] I'm just gonna list off real quick.

[04:56] "We need your source of income,

[04:58] address, phone number, department,

[05:03] casual, "your landlord,

[05:05] so please tell us the

[05:06] the phone number when you moved in.

[05:08] We need four personal

[05:11] phone number, relationship,

[05:12] and send us a photo of your

[05:17] I don't like this, I don't

[05:19] If you can believe it,

[05:20] this is going even farther off the rails.

[05:23] So after they sent me that email

[05:26] asking for all that personal information,

[05:28] that would almost certainly make it clear

[05:31] that I am a YouTuber doing

[05:34] I responded to the guy.

[05:35] So first of all, he did text me saying

[05:37] that they did find a PS5

[05:39] that I had agreed to

[05:41] But then I responded saying,

[05:44] and that feels like way

[05:46] for renting a game console.

[05:47] The online account said

[05:49] He responded, "We are rent to own

[05:51] and we need to verify all that information

[05:53] before we are able to delivery

[05:55] or release any of our products.

[05:57] We also use Acima to finance

[06:01] They ask for less information."

[06:02] So Acima, come to find out

[06:07] is another Rent-A-Center brand.

[06:09] So my understanding is that the corporate,

[06:12] like parent company of Rent-A-Center

[06:13] is called Upbound Group.

[06:15] They used to be called Rent-A-Center.

[06:16] They got sued a bunch, as

[06:19] so they rebranded as the Upbound Group

[06:21] and they have multiple

[06:22] So there's Rent-A-Center,

[06:23] which actually has the

[06:25] but Acima is kind of

[06:28] except at other retailers.

[06:31] So I told him, "Yes, I would

[06:35] Acima works on the items from your store?"

[06:37] And he responded, "Yes, correct.

[06:38] I'll send the link now."

[06:40] So we're like three layers deep here,

[06:43] and that if you are unable to be approved

[06:45] or you're not willing to

[06:47] to Rent-A-Center their side brand, Acima,

[06:50] will apparently also let

[06:52] but presumably with

[06:56] I just feel like this is

[06:59] Like, we just keep digging and

[07:03] 404 page not found.

[07:05] Are you kidding me?

[07:06] The link he gave me just doesn't work.

[07:08] Great great.

[07:10] Then, let's try this.

[07:11] Let's just try to shop online.

[07:12] Let's get something from,

[07:16] That feels reasonable enough.

[07:17] Oh, okay, they're gonna tell

[07:19] So your path to ownership is this.

[07:21] "Acima owns the lease items.

[07:23] If you make all of the lease payments,

[07:25] or use an early purchase option,

[07:28] If you do not use an

[07:30] you may pay more than

[07:33] So if you don't early purchase,

[07:35] you can pay more than double.

[07:36] Let's do this.

[07:37] Let's see what it would

[07:39] So PS5 is what, $650 now?

[07:41] Let's try that.

[07:42] So 65000,

[07:46] $650, which is the cost of my PS5,

[07:49] and the payment, let's just do monthly,

[07:51] just to make it clean and simple

[07:54] What is my estimate?

[07:55] My initial payment's $49 a month.

[07:57] It would give me 12 payments,

[07:59] which means that I will

[08:03] That's slightly better than

[08:07] Oh, and here we go.

[08:08] It is the exact same thing.

[08:09] So they're asking for

[08:11] the last four digits of

[08:13] and the email.

[08:14] Alright, fine, let me go

[08:17] and we'll see what

[08:19] Probably sadness.

[08:22] "Sorry, we were unable to

[08:25] - [Alex] What the, what?

[08:28] - I can apply again in 60 days.

[08:30] Okay, so this was actually

[08:34] than the Rent-A-Center.

[08:35] So I gave them the

[08:37] like I did with Rent-A-Center,

[08:38] you know, the last four of

[08:40] phone number, and email.

[08:41] With Rent-A-Center,

[08:43] to pull up all of my information

[08:44] and I got the approval from that point,

[08:46] until they asked for stuff over email.

[08:48] Acima said that was not enough,

[08:49] so I had to give them my

[08:51] my name, date of birth, my address,

[08:54] and then a second page asked

[08:57] my ID, my bank account number.

[09:01] I (beep) gave it to them, by

[09:04] They also asked for my source of income,

[09:06] how often I'm paid, all this stuff.

[09:08] I should have lied.

[09:10] I gave them that.

[09:11] I gave them all of that,

[09:15] that I have been not approved.

[09:17] This is the stupidest

[09:20] The S word, it's thrown

[09:23] scam, I mean, and.

[09:26] - [Alex] Oh, thank God.

[09:27] - I'm not gonna lie,

[09:30] I wanna actually like dive

[09:34] on Acima, on the Upbound

[09:42] this is nasty, like, this is bad.

[09:46] Okay, let's actually take a second

[09:49] and go over what just happened here.

[09:52] I gave Acima, again a company

[09:55] my full social security

[09:58] my employment info, my

[10:01] my pay schedule, my income.

[10:03] I stupidly handed over

[10:06] and I got rejected by a company

[10:09] whose entire pitch is, "No credit needed.

[10:12] We approve people that

[10:15] So then who the (beep)

[10:17] Seriously?

[10:18] Like they're not gonna tell me.

[10:19] But it does kind of make you wonder

[10:21] that if a business model

[10:23] almost $2,000 for a used PS5

[10:27] only works if you quite

[10:30] But look, maybe this was just me, right?

[10:33] It was just my experience.

[10:34] I got unlucky.

[10:35] Well, about that.

[10:37] Back in 2022, the

[10:40] sued Rent-A-Center, who ended

[10:45] The state alleged they had

[10:47] bait and switch advertising,

[10:51] limiting how customers could return items,

[10:53] so they got stuck on longer payment plans.

[10:55] And California specifically

[10:58] for inflating their cash

[11:02] to force customers to pay more.

[11:03] So when I found that $800

[11:08] yeah, that's no coincidence.

[11:10] And California isn't the only one.

[11:12] In 2023, Massachusetts hit

[11:17] for what the Attorney

[11:19] "Abusive misconduct targeting

[11:23] These stories are almost even worse.

[11:25] Rent-A-Center allegedly

[11:28] to collect debt, left harassing

[11:31] and threatened to

[11:33] over missed payments.

[11:35] The Wikipedia page is great actually.

[11:37] Underneath all the jargon

[11:38] about how they do all these donations,

[11:40] there's just a whole laundry list

[11:41] of all the times that

[11:43] with local and federal governments.

[11:45] Like, it is just a company

[11:50] It's almost like they

[11:52] and everyone has to give

[11:54] every once in a while, and

[11:56] Now maybe a lot of this,

[11:58] is technically legal, but Rent-A-Center

[12:01] honestly has one of the

[12:03] I have ever seen.

[12:05] Because believe me,

[12:06] there are so many better

[12:09] Used stuff off of Facebook marketplace,

[12:11] you really do have a larger expense.

[12:13] A loan from a credit union

[12:14] is gonna give you way lower

[12:16] And even something like Klarna or Afterpay

[12:18] is probably a better option.

[12:20] Although, the whole

[12:21] is a separate can of worms.

[12:23] We should do a video on it later.

[12:24] But like, it just, it's

[12:27] In January of 2025,

[12:28] Upbound bought a fintech

[12:31] Brigit does quote, "earned wage access,"

[12:35] basically letting you

[12:37] before your payday, plus like

[12:40] They paid $460 million for it.

[12:43] But definitely, definitely

[12:45] of course not.

[12:47] It's just a way to get

[12:49] before it actually arrives.

[12:51] Sure.

[12:52] And here's my favorite part.

[12:53] The Upbound Group has a really

[12:57] "Elevate financial opportunity for all."

[13:03] What are you talking about?

[13:06] Financial opportunity for you, only you!

[13:10] Literally, no one else

[13:12] It is just you!

[13:13] Now, we did try to reach out to Upbound

[13:15] to get their comment

[13:18] And it turns out, this is hard to believe,

[13:21] there's actually no press contact

[13:24] This is a publicly traded

[13:28] that owns three consumer brands,

[13:30] and yet, the only way to contact corporate

[13:32] is through investor relations.

[13:34] And so in totally unrelated news,

[13:37] I, Austin Evans, am

[13:40] of the Upbound Group.

[13:41] Yes, my friends, I've spent $19.17

[13:45] for a single share of the Upbound Group

[13:47] to make sure that I can

[13:49] of their investor relations portal,

[13:51] 'cause I have a lot of questions

[13:53] but also as of recording this video,

[13:55] their earnings call is in three days.

[13:57] And I cannot wait to join

[14:00] about exactly how their

[14:03] And so if you too would like to join me

[14:05] in doing wildly irresponsible

[14:08] and see where this lands,

[14:10] definitely be sure to subscribe to the channel,

[14:11] and ring-a-ling that ding-a-ling button.

[14:13] Also quick PSA.

[14:14] If you've ever been a

[14:16] in either California or Massachusetts,

[14:18] you should actually look

[14:19] They may actually owe you some money,

[14:21] but until next time, my friends,

[14:23] I'm gonna go check my credit score

[14:24] and pretend that none

[14:26] Well, I'll be doing that

[14:27] at least until I wait for

[14:29] where I will be there.

[14:32] Wait, can I actually go to

[14:34] I don't think so.

[14:35] Well maybe.