Rent-To-Own Services can have equivalent Interest Rates as High as 311 Percent

Unknowing consumers could pay as much as two to three times more than buying an item outright

Yonkers, NY – A Consumer Reports’ investigation found that consumers renting electronics and other appliances from Rent-A-Center and other rent-to-own merchants could pay interest rates of up to 311 percent.

Consumer Reports recently examined offers at several rent-to-own merchants and found that you can easily end up paying two to three times the amount it would cost to buy an item outright from a traditional retailer. CR found deals including a $600.00 computer that would cost nearly $1,900 after less than a year’s worth of payments and a $1,000 clothes washer/dryer combination costing $2,700 out of pocket after two and half years at an interest rate of 100 percent. [Read more]

Consumer Reports Survey finds Credit Card issues improving in wake of Credit Card Act of 2009; but some Perils Linger

Report identifies some good cards, and bad.

Yonkers, NY – With the protections of the Credit Card Act of 2009 in full effect, a nationally representative survey shows a slightly lower level of dissatisfaction among Americans with their credit cards than last year. However, credit cards remain one of the lowest-rated services Consumer Reports has ever analyzed; only 45 percent of respondents said they were completely or very satisfied with their cards.

The survey, conducted in July by the Consumer Reports National Research Center also shows that consumers are carrying less credit card debt, with median balances of $3,793— $1,100 lower than in 2009. [Read more]