The Attorney General’s Office has reached a settlement with Tempoe, LLC, a company that leases consumer products nationwide. The settlement resolves a multistate investigation which 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 and lack of required disclosures caused confusion, often resulting in consumers paying 2-3 times the purchase price of the product or service. Vermont will receive $15,000 as part of this settlement.
Tempoe is permanently banned from engaging in future consumer leasing activities. All existing leases will be cancelled, 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. Additionally, Tempoe shall not 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 cancelled their account(s) as a result of this settlement.
Finally, as part of this multistate settlement, Tempoe will pay a total of $2 million broken down as follows: $1 million to be split among the 41 participating states and jurisdictions and $1 million to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has agreed to a parallel settlement resolving the same alleged misconduct. Vermont’s share of the settlement is $15,000.
Vermont consumers with questions about the settlement are encouraged to contact the Attorney General’s Consumer Assistance Program by calling 800-649-2424 or visiting ago.vermont.gov/cap.
A copy of the settlement agreement is available here.
CONTACT: Lauren Jandl, Chief of Staff, 802-828-3171