Deceptive Practices

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Progressive Leasing, which offers rent-to-own programs at major retailers like Best Buy and Lowe’s, has agreed to pay $175 million to settle allegations it misled consumers, the Federal Trade Commission said Monday.

Questions:

  1. What trade violations did the complaint allege?
  2. Why did FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter say that the settlement did not go far enough?
  3. What is the deceptive line that retailers are instructed to tell consumers about the leasing program?
  4. How do you think Progressive should account for the one-time application fee of $79?

Sources:

Bhattarai, A. (2020). Progressive Leasing will pay $175 million to settle FTC charges that it misled consumers. The Washington Post, April 20 (Retrievable online at https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/04/20/progressive-leasing-ftc-fine/)