Press Releases
09/11/2023
Attorney General Tong Announces $35 Million Settlement with Leasing Company Tempoe, LLC
(Hartford, CT) — Attorney General William Tong announced today a settlement with Tempoe, LLC, resolving a multistate investigation into Tempoe’s advertising and leasing to consumers through retailers across the nation. The multistate investigation—which included 41 states and the District of Columbia—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. Products included furniture, appliances, and car parts. The complicated structure and the lack of required disclosures of the lease agreements caused more confusion, often resulting in consumers paying 2-3 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. 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 canceled their account(s) as a result of this settlement.
Finally, as part of this settlement, Tempoe will 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. Connecticut will receive $15,000.
“Tempoe lured consumers into complex and costly leases for furniture and appliances, and overcharged consumers double or even triple the purchase price due to confusing hidden fees. Our settlement forces Tempoe to cancel all existing leases and allows consumers to keep their merchandise without any further payments. Tempoe is permanently banned from future consumer leasing activities, ensuring this egregious consumer abuse will not be repeated,” said Attorney General Tong.
Forty-one states and the District of Columbia are participating in the settlement. The multistate Executive Committee was comprised of Nebraska, Iowa, Tennessee, Illinois, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, and Texas, which led the multistate group consisting of Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.
Assistant Attorneys General Joe Gasser and Kim McGee and Deputy Associate Attorney General Michael Wertheimer, Chief of the Consumer Protection Section, assisted the Attorney General in this matter.
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Media Contact:
Elizabeth Benton
elizabeth.benton@ct.gov
Consumer Inquiries:
860-808-5318
attorney.general@ct.gov