Victims of Deceptive Leasing Practices May be Entitled to Compensation or Lease Cancellation 
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Victims of deceptive leasing practices may be entitled to compensation, damages, or invalidation of leases. 

Consumers were offered leases for items such as auto parts, large home appliances, furniture, toys, and jewelry.   A federal agency found one company engaged in deception in these transactions.  

• Concealed the terms of its lease agreements: Some consumers did not receive a copy of their lease agreement until after the transaction, while others never received a copy and instead relied on oral descriptions from employees inside the retailers. One company encouraged employees to avoid calling the product a “lease.” Some consumers discovered only at the conclusion of their initial term that they did not own their items and were required to pay significantly more.
  
  
• Trapped consumers with unreasonable return practices: Consumers who wanted to cancel their lease agreement after the first 30 days, but within the initial five-month term, were required to return the product.  However the company did not accept returns of many items, including property costing less than about $300. Consumers were, therefore, forced to exercise the “purchase option” on the lease, paying far higher than the original price.
  
  
• Failed to provide legally required disclosures: Lease agreements provided that unless consumers returned an item or exercised a purchase option after the initial five-month term, One company would continue monthly auto-debiting the consumer for the full term of the contract, which was typically 18 or 36 months. It did not provide disclosures required under the Consumer Leasing Act and its implementing regulation, Regulation M, to consumers who continued this month-to-month leasing for more than six months.
  
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