Rent-to-own isn’t that common, even though maybe it should be. With most rentals (of anything) you have to keep paying indefinitely. That’s why there’s usually a cost/benefit analysis of renting vs owning.
Renting can sometimes be better for less tech-savvy people, since the company owns the equipment and is familiar with it, and will replace it at any point if it has issues
I wouldn’t be surprised if they make this retroactive to even apply to the people who bought their hardware.
When I was 18, I signed up for an internet service for the first time. They asked if I wanted to rent or purchase a modem/router, and because I did the math and saw that it would be more economical in the long run to purchase it, that’s what I chose. I paid extra up front so that the hardware would belong to me and I could take it with me later.
Fast forward to moving day, when I canceled my internet plan and boxed up my modem/router to take with me. A few months later, I got a call from the company. They said I never returned my hardware and that I owe them a fee to replace it. I told them I purchased the hardware up front; it’s mine, I already paid for it.
Their answer? “No you didn’t.”
The gaslighting commenced as they claimed to have no record of that. They continued to harass me for months, threatening legal action and debt collection and all that. Eventually I got fed up and just paid the fine. Essentially paid for it twice, but fuck me I guess. This is america where the consumer is always wrong.
And they will drop the extra charge after you’ve paid it off right… right guys?
Rent-to-own isn’t that common, even though maybe it should be. With most rentals (of anything) you have to keep paying indefinitely. That’s why there’s usually a cost/benefit analysis of renting vs owning.
Renting can sometimes be better for less tech-savvy people, since the company owns the equipment and is familiar with it, and will replace it at any point if it has issues
I wouldn’t be surprised if they make this retroactive to even apply to the people who bought their hardware.
When I was 18, I signed up for an internet service for the first time. They asked if I wanted to rent or purchase a modem/router, and because I did the math and saw that it would be more economical in the long run to purchase it, that’s what I chose. I paid extra up front so that the hardware would belong to me and I could take it with me later.
Fast forward to moving day, when I canceled my internet plan and boxed up my modem/router to take with me. A few months later, I got a call from the company. They said I never returned my hardware and that I owe them a fee to replace it. I told them I purchased the hardware up front; it’s mine, I already paid for it.
Their answer? “No you didn’t.”
The gaslighting commenced as they claimed to have no record of that. They continued to harass me for months, threatening legal action and debt collection and all that. Eventually I got fed up and just paid the fine. Essentially paid for it twice, but fuck me I guess. This is america where the consumer is always wrong.