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Out Big Bucks
and a Bed
Q: While living in Texas, my wife
and I signed a rent-to-own contract on a bedroom set from
Aaron Rents. When we moved to
Utah, we took the set with us.
Then one Friday afternoon, the
local Aaron’s took back the set,
saying we were late on our payments. Maybe one was late in the
mail to Texas, but we had paid
$4,976 and had only five payments
of $254 to go until it was paid off.
After calling both stores, the regional manager, and the national
office, I was told that Aaron’s
would not honor the past balance.
We feel cheated.
Aaron Rents is the second-largest
rent-to-own outfit in the country,
with 1,500 stores in 48 states and
Canada. It has been a publicly traded
A:
—MARC AND STACEY WELSHER,
Clearfield, Utah
company since 1982. That gave me
two paths to pursue.
The corporate switchboard shuttled
me to the legal counsel’s office. I shared
your story with the receptionist and
was promised a return call. I called the
local store and was directed to a region-
al manager, Bryon Bartley, who told me
you should have been
able to transfer your
account to the Utah
store. He also prom-
ised to get back to me.
Legal counsel Jessi-
ca Rohde won the
ring-back race. She
confirmed that errors
had been made—that
you should have been able to keep your
furniture. She apologized and arranged
for the Utah store to provide you with
a replacement bedroom set, including
a new mattress and box spring. Glad
we could help. ;
On Your Side
Ron Burley
Get the value
you deserve
and never get
ripped off
Read Ron Burley’s journal at www.aarp
.org/money, where there’s also a new
On Your Side column every two weeks.
Oh Really?
THE PRODUCT The Chumby
Internet media player, $179.95
( www.chumby.com).
THE CLAIM Vying to replace
your clock radio and extend the
reach of your computer, the
Chumby is a tabletop touch-screen device that displays your
choice of Web content—
everything from weather and headlines to your e-mail and clips
from television shows.
THE TEST Setup was as easy as
registering at the Chumby website, choosing content from 30
categories, and then using a
fingertip on the Chumby’s 3.5-
inch screen to connect to my
wireless network (you’ll need a
wireless router—$25 to $40—
and a high-speed Internet connection). I kept the leather-clad
Chumby on the kitchen counter,
an ideal place to read Food Network recipes, listen to Internet
radio, or play sudoku. Navigating
the content was easy, though
sometimes I had to tap the
screen twice.
THE VERDIC T While I like cus-tomizable content within arm’s
reach, I’d rather see the Chumby
priced below $100, since more
versatile wireless-ready laptops
with bigger screens run as low as
$250. —Marc Saltzman
CLOCK RADIO 2.0
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Caveat Renter
“If you don’t like it, just
return it” is the pitch,
but the downsides of
renting-to-own can be
doozies. So take these
precautions:
SHOP AROUND Carefully assess the
merchandise and terms. Richard May of the
Association of Progressive Rental Organizations says the industry is more competitive
lately, but do yourself this favor before signing: total the ultimate tab. It can be two to
five times the retail price.
GET OPTIONS Your contract should let
you buy the item within 60 or 90 days for an
agreed-upon amount that’s close to the
retail price. Also get a lifetime-reinstatement
clause, which guarantees you’re credited for
all payments in case you return an item and
later rent it again.
NICHOLAS EVELEIGH
16 AARP JANUAR Y&FEBRUARY 2009
