Complaint Review: Aaron's

On May 20, 2013 I went into Aarons to inquire about Manager Specials (furniture I can buy that was previously rented) at lower prices. The manager talked me and my fiance' into leasing a complete livingroom set and explained to us that the total cost is $1,461.99 to own it. He explained how we could own it in 4 months or pay it off over time. My fiance' and I asked the Manager could we pay the difference of what we pay towards it and the $1,461.99 if we go beyond a 4 month early buy-out (for example 7-8 months). He explained to us that every dime we pay goes toward the total buyout price of $1,461.99 and that the answer to our question was "YES" we can pay the difference of what we paid towards it and the total of $1,461.99 at anytime after 4 months. When he printed our contract and it showed a 24 month total of $2,938.08, we told him that it was entirely too much money for the set. He told us to ignore that number and that it was for people who choose a different option that included additional coverages and insurances. We took his word for it and made our agreement with him.

As of January 2014, we have paid over $800 towards the furniture, so we were under the impression that our balance would be $661.00 at this point. Today we called the store and spoke to a woman to verify that. She told us our total buy-out right now is $1,104.55. That's nearly the total of the buy-out amount the Manager quoted to us "In-Person" and now we realized that we were "Fast-Talked" and "Scammed" by Aarons so that the Manager can make another agreement to meet a quota for their store location. We now know that we were "Scammed" so the Manager can earn a Commission on the sale. The woman we spoke to today is just now revealing that our monthly payments of $122.00 is mostly interest and that only $55.00 of the $122.00 goes toward the purchase of the furniture. We cannot remember the name of the Manager/Salesman and his name is nowhere on our contract and the people working in the store cannot seem to find him.