Money Mutual, Rent-a-Center Face Scrutiny for Deceptive Practices
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Money Mutual, Rent-a-Center Face Scrutiny for Deceptive Practices
Plus, warnings about a new kind of loan shark
Elise Hansen in Law360 reports that Rent-A-Center subsidiary Acima is facing an investigation from nearly 40 state attorneys general as well as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB).
Texas-headquartered Rent-A-Center Inc. said in a regulatory filing that it received a letter from Nebraska’s attorney general on Nov. 1 stating that dozens of other state attorneys general have banded together in a multistate investigation into Acima’s “business acts and practices.”
Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul joined Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation Secretary Mario Treto Jr. today in announcing a settlement with three payday loan lead generation companies, including Money Mutual. The settlement is designed to protect Illinois consumers from the deceptive practices used by Money Mutual and others (Partner Weekly, Selling Source) to steer people to exorbitantly priced payday loans.
Beware Earned Wage Access
The services “are just a kinder version of payday loans,” National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) Associate Director Lauren Saunders said.
In fact, Saunders testified before a House Financial Services Committee Task Force recently about the potential dangers of EWA products.
“Earned wage access products are a form of payday loan — wage advances repaid on payday — and should be regulated as credit,” Saunders said.
Photo by Jakob Owens on Unsplash