How renting furniture in Texas can land you in jailWhile other businesses have to use civil remedies when customers don't pay their debts, the rent-to-own industry has a special tool in Texas law that lets them file criminal charges, an investigation by the Tribune and NerdWallet found.by Jay Root and Shannon Najmabadi Oct. 27, 2017 12 AM A rent-to-company threatened to file criminal charges against Austin resident Melinda Sandlin after she stopped making payments. Sandlin looks through her rental purchase agreement and other related documents at her Austin home on August 30, 2017.
A rent-to-company threatened to file criminal charges against Austin resident Melinda Sandlin after she stopped making payments. Sandlin looks through her rental purchase agreement and other related documents at her Austin home on August 30, 2017.
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When Melinda Sandlin walked out of Discount Furniture in Austin in late 2014, she was sure the store had put her on a payment plan to buy a new bedroom suite worth $2,750.
A year later, after realizing she had sent in more than $3,000 for her seven-piece set, she figured she was done. So Sandlin told the store clerk she wasn’t going to be making any more monthly payments.
“I already bought it out,†she recalls telling them. “And they're like, 'Oh no, read your contract. It's a rental contract. It's not a purchase contract.’ â€
That’s when her nightmare began.
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https://www.texastribune.org/2017/10/27/texas-missing-payments-rental-furniture-can-land-you-jail/
