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Criminal prosecutions soar in rent-to-own sector

The Giant Noodle

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Its come down to this. A FELONY!?!? Law makers need to stop this crap!

A traffic stop landed Antonio Walker in Norfolk Circuit Court in September.
Walker, a passenger in a vehicle, discovered he was wanted when police ran his name through their database, according to testimony.
Walker was arrested, fingerprinted and booked into Norfolk City Jail.
His charge? A rental store, ColorTyme, claimed in court that Walker had not completely paid for, or returned, a dining room set worth $1,200 after months of missed payments and ignored phone messages.
Walker had a powerful incentive to settle the matter – a guilty verdict could mean jail, court costs, restitution and a felony conviction to stain his record for future employers.
Walker pleaded not guilty. He told a judge the furniture was too big for his home and he had already returned it.
A growing number of people who fall behind or disregard lease payments on household goods and do not return the merchandise are being charged with felonies by prosecutors, according to a Pilot analysis of Virginia Supreme Court data.

CONTINUED: Criminal prosecutions soar in rent-to-own sector | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com
 
Im not sure what you position is on this..I know mine is that they should be prosecuting them for felonies, its grand theft.
If they didnt come down on people that took thousands in furniture and signed and agreement then decide they arent paying and they are keeping the furniture..how long can they stay in business.
 
Im not sure what you position is on this..I know mine is that they should be prosecuting them for felonies, its grand theft.
If they didnt come down on people that took thousands in furniture and signed and agreement then decide they arent paying and they are keeping the furniture..how long can they stay in business.

No. This is a matter for a collection agency. If I charge things on my charge card and don't pay the charge card bill, should the prosecutor file theft charges against me? Don't bother saying yes, because that doesn't happen. Nor should it. This is ridiculous. Rent-A-Centers!! You're thieves!! Allowed to charge usury interest under the guise of rent-to-own. Collect your own damn delinquencies.

I should pay taxes so the state can help these thieves collect?? No way!!
 
Im not sure what you position is on this..I know mine is that they should be prosecuting them for felonies, its grand theft.
If they didnt come down on people that took thousands in furniture and signed and agreement then decide they arent paying and they are keeping the furniture..how long can they stay in business.

What is with people saying people should be nailed to a cross for minor to medium infractions of the law!?!? A FELONY is for physical crimes and major infractions. To me this crime is minor. It doesnt come CLOSE to deserving ANY jail time or even being a misdemeanor. Whomever thinks Im wrong should get a felony for not thinking this whole topic out! :roll:
 
What is with people saying people should be nailed to a cross for minor to medium infractions of the law!?!? A FELONY is for physical crimes and major infractions. To me this crime is minor. It doesnt come CLOSE to deserving ANY jail time or even being a misdemeanor. Whomever thinks Im wrong should get a felony for not thinking this whole topic out! :roll:

A thousand dollars' worth of furniture is grand theft. It's not like a car, where the owner can legally repossess.
 
A thousand dollars' worth of furniture is grand theft. It's not like a car, where the owner can legally repossess.
Why can't they repossess? I think rent-to0own furniture is prob'ly repo'ed all the time.

Maryland even has a procedure for resolving things when you rto stuff id repo'ed
Maryland Attorney General - Consumer Publications - Rent-to-Own
Your right to "reinstate" after late payments or repossession. The law allows consumers who are late in making payments to retain their rights to the item, even after it has been repossessed, if they make all outstanding payments. These provisions protect consumers who have made a substantial investment toward owning the property.

If the dealer repossesses an item you were renting because you failed to make a payment, the dealer must give you a written notice that states your right to reinstate the rent-to-own agreement, the last date by which you can reinstate the agreement, and the amount you will have to pay to reinstate. You may reinstate the rent-to-own agreement within 15 days of the repossession by paying all past due charges, the reasonable costs of pickup and redelivery and a reinstatement fee of $5.​

Here's a guide on how to
Rent-To-Own Repossession Laws | eHow.com

I think repo-ing rto furniture definitely is possible.
 
What is with people saying people should be nailed to a cross for minor to medium infractions of the law!?!? A FELONY is for physical crimes and major infractions. To me this crime is minor. It doesnt come CLOSE to deserving ANY jail time or even being a misdemeanor. Whomever thinks Im wrong should get a felony for not thinking this whole topic out! :roll:

Your wrong, go look up the definition of a felony
 
No. This is a matter for a collection agency. If I charge things on my charge card and don't pay the charge card bill, should the prosecutor file theft charges against me? Don't bother saying yes, because that doesn't happen. Nor should it. This is ridiculous. Rent-A-Centers!! You're thieves!! Allowed to charge usury interest under the guise of rent-to-own. Collect your own damn delinquencies.

I should pay taxes so the state can help these thieves collect?? No way!!

Maggie when you use your charge card and buy merchandise the merchandise is PAID FOR by the credit card company. When you lease furniture an merchandise you sign a contract the merchandise is NOT PAID FOR and if you dont return it, it can be a criminal case after all atempts at reasonable action are ignored.
 
Maggie when you use your charge card and buy merchandise the merchandise is PAID FOR by the credit card company. When you lease furniture an merchandise you sign a contract the merchandise is NOT PAID FOR and if you dont return it, it can be a criminal case after all atempts at reasonable action are ignored.

This is a civil matter, in my opinion. Or it should be. These people have an immediate interest in the property, as they are renting to own. If I buy a home in "rent-to-own" mode, which is done all the time -- called Contract for Sale or Contract for Deed -- there are procedures that the lender can take to repossess that home if payments aren't made. Pressing criminal charges is not one of those options. If I purchase a car and don't make the payments, that car can be repossessed. Missing payments and not returning the car does not result in criminal charges. This is a waste of taxpayer dollars and, frankly, I see it as aiding and abetting a blood-sucking business model.
 
Thats a civil matter NOT a criminal one. And definately NOT a felony-worthy offense.

Obviously you have no idea what constitutes a felony.

A felony is simply any crime punishable by more than 1 year in jail. It does not have to include violence of any type or stealing anything more than 500 dollars worth of goods. People think felony and think like you, damn that must have been some bad shyt. Nope, do something like forget to return furniture or something and you are a convicted felon for life.

Yes, you can lose your right to own a gun for life for doing something as non chelant as stealing a laptop computer without violence or a threat of any kind. Simply walking out the door with it and you are a felon for life.

And others, like Maggie, have no idea how the criminal justice system works. Or I should say, what constitutes a civil violation.

If I am cutting down a tree in my yard and it falls on your car, I'm not a criminal. I'm under civil liability laws.

However, if I rent your car and don't return it after many months, I am now a criminal. I have stolen the vehicle. If you rent a car and dont return it for months, you don't think you could be prosecuted for grand theft? Me thinks you can be. Same with 1200 bucks worth of furniture.

And because its greater than 500 dollars, it's grand theft, which is a felony. If you steal 501 dollars worth of chewing gum you are a felon for life. A lot of people have no clue how our criminal justice system works. It would behoove them to learn.

Want to know something interesting? I bought this laptop computer for 429 dollars from Newegg a month and a half ago. 2 days later, on the website it was 529. Steal this laptop on Monday and it is a misdemeanor. Steal it on Wednesday, and it's a felony. Same laptop stolen, 2 days later. Go figure.
 
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Obviously you have no idea what constitutes a felony.

A felony is simply any crime punishable by more than 1 year in jail. It does not have to include violence of any type or stealing anything more than 500 dollars worth of goods. People think felony and think like you, damn that must have been some bad shyt. Nope, do something like forget to return furniture or something and you are a convicted felon for life.

Yes, you can lose your right to own a gun for life for doing something as non chelant as stealing a laptop computer without violence or a threat of any kind. Simply walking out the door with it and you are a felon for life.

Become a felon and one's whole life changes. Almost every employment application asks, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" I should have to answer yes because I couldn't pay for some rent-to-own TV set? That's little better than debtor's prison. Hit my credit report. Follow procedures to repossess the furniture. But charge me with a felony? Wrong Wrong Wrong.
 
Become a felon and one's whole life changes. Almost every employment application asks, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" I should have to answer yes because I couldn't pay for some rent-to-own TV set? That's little better than debtor's prison. Hit my credit report. Follow procedures to repossess the furniture. But charge me with a felony? Wrong Wrong Wrong.

I agree with that maggie...but this situation is different this is theft and I will explain why its theft. These people are leasing tangible items. They are not paid for up front, they are paid over time in payments, they are reniging on their contracts to pay and KEEPING THE MERCHANDISE. This is not a case of someone that falls on hard times and cant pay a credit card back, all these people have to do is RETURN the merchandise they arent paying for. The felony charge is their own fault for stealing the merchandise. We cant condone one kind of theft and condemn another.
 
In the time of government outlays being strongly higher than its inputs, do we really need to be jailing people for stupid stuff such as this when this could easily be handled privately?
 
Become a felon and one's whole life changes. Almost every employment application asks, "Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" I should have to answer yes because I couldn't pay for some rent-to-own TV set? That's little better than debtor's prison. Hit my credit report. Follow procedures to repossess the furniture. But charge me with a felony? Wrong Wrong Wrong.

Yep, welcome to the united states of america. 25% of our adult population has a criminal record, and now you see why. Like one article on the FNC website said, "now hiring, but not hiring felons, so 65 million people need not apply."

How true that is.

Did you know that writing a bad check for 100 dollars or more is a felony? If that check is more than 500 dollars, then it's a felony and grand theft? I'm not saying I agree with any of this, but it's the truth. It's how the cookie crumbles in our "lock em up" type society. We have more people in prison per capita than any other nation on earth. That says a lot about this country.
 
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The United States of Faction has now come to debtor prison status. It's not like I didn't expect it.
 
In the time of government outlays being strongly higher than its inputs, do we really need to be jailing people for stupid stuff such as this when this could easily be handled privately?
Depends on which lobby you talk to. Lobbyists for the private penal corporations may think so. So, the next time you're golfing with you senator or buying lunch for you representative bring this issue up.
What?
What's that? You don't golf with your senator or have lunch with you representative? Well who does?
 
Its come down to this. A FELONY!?!? Law makers need to stop this crap!



CONTINUED: Criminal prosecutions soar in rent-to-own sector | HamptonRoads.com | PilotOnline.com

Heh, I've seriously considered investing in rent to own stores.
Like a real personal investment with one of the local businesses.

It's not every week, even during the recession, that I see one of those trucks pull up near my neighborhood and it's not every other week that I see one taking stuff back.

Seems like a gold mine.
 
This should be a civil matter, not a criminal matter. This smacks of debtors prison all over again. I swear what is this country coming to.
 
If it is rent to own they can


You are correct, your renting you sign a contract and in that contract it says you must return the furniture upon default of payments or face criminal charges.

This is not like buying something on a credit card...the merchant is paid for his merchandise up front..
 
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