Restitution and Debt Relief Available for Some Pa. Residents Who Were Involved in “Predatory” Rent-to-Own Contracts

The Pennsylvania attorney general reached a $11.4 million settlement with the company Snap Finance LLC and its affiliates, Snap RTO LLC, Snap Second Look LLC and Snap Finance Holdings, LLC, after filing a lawsuit.

The settlement will help offset some debt and restitution for certain commonwealth residents. According to the attorney general’s office, the company offered Pennsylvania consumers the ability to “rent-to-own” a property but instead were untruthful about both balances due and their collection of said funds. The suit also alleged that retailers fraudulently signed documents online as consumers using the companies. Consumers were led to believe they would have short pay-back periods, instead, they were entering a contract with long-term, high-interest loans, (equal to 152% APR interest).

As a result of the settlement, $7.3 million will be distributed as cash restitution and $3.1 million will be used to help impacted consumers with debt relief. Snap Finance LLC and its affiliates have been active across Pennsylvania since 2014 and its estimated that tens of thousands of consumers were affected.

“Realtors® serve every level of homebuyers and we work to help people achieve the American dream of homeownership,” said PAR President Al Perry. “Sometimes people think they aren’t able to afford to buy a home and they fall prey to bad actors who take advantage of the situation. If someone wants to know more about homeownership, they should contact a Realtor®, who can guide them through the process.”

Pennsylvania residents who will receive restitution and debt relief have already paid the cash price of the property, the sales tax and the processing fees, but still owed Snap Finance money. Thousands of consumers should expect to receive restitution and others will have their debt due to Snap Finance be balanced at zero.