Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry has announced a $950,000 settlement has been reached with Progressive Leasing, a Utah-based rent-to-own company that offered Pennsylvanians expensive leases of furniture, as well as other products and services.

The settlement is pending court approval as the attorney general sued Progressive in August, 2022, alleging it failed to comply with the Rental Purchase Agreement Act that required lessors to place physical tags - with complete financing cost information - on goods offered for rent. The cost of rent-to-own financing is typically equivalent to a loan with 152% APR interest.

Henry said as a result of the settlement, her office will distribute $850,000 in restitution to eligible consumers who paid back significantly more than the price of the item they rented. In addition, Progressive will cancel balances for 972 consumers who entered into rental purchases prior to Sept. 8, 2022.

“Consumers should be aware ahead of time that rent-to-own products are often significantly more expensive than traditional financing and purchasing,” Henry said. “Progressive failed to provide the required up-front physical disclosures of the costs associated with its products and this settlement holds the company accountable for its failure to follow the law.”

Impacted consumers do not need to take any action to receive debt cancellation or restitution under the settlement. Consumers due relief will be contacted by either Progressive (for debt cancellation) or the attorney general’s settlement administrator (for restitution).

Progressive offers its leases through its website and by partnering with brick and mortar stores throughout the commonwealth. The lawsuit alleged it failed to provide hang tags with disclosures and failed to instruct or require its merchant partners to display the required hang tags.

The legal proceeding, led by Assistant Director for Consumer Financial Protection Nicholas F.B. Smyth, with significant work by Deputy Attorney General Christopher T. Dey, is the latest in a series of more than a dozen enforcement actions taken by Henry’s office against businesses that failed to comply with the RPAA.

In May 2023, she announced a settlement with Snap Finance valued at $11.4 million. In 2022, the office announced settlements with Ashley HomeStore, Mattress Firm, Big Lots, and other retailers that operate a total of 175 brick and mortar furniture stores in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvanians who believe they have been the victim of unlawful business practices should file a complaint online or contact the Office of Attorney General’s Bureau of Consumer Protection at scams@attorneygeneral.gov.