ATLANTA, Feb. 19, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Turtle Creek
Assets has sued Aaron's, Inc. (NYSE: AAN), a leading omnichannel
provider of lease-purchase solutions, alleging Aaron's sold it bad
borrower default data that has had a negative impact on the company
and a collateral effect on thousands of consumers.
Turtle Creek Assets, Ltd. (TCA) vs. Aaron's, Inc. (State Court
of Cobb County, 20-A-628,
Feb. 18, 2020) alleges that Aaron's
sold TCA hundreds of millions of dollars worth of its delinquent
accounts (e.g., lease to purchase agreements for furniture and
other consumer merchandise that became delinquent) even though
Aaron's knew the accounts had issues including being fraudulent
accounts; accounts with identity theft issues; accounts on which
Aaron's had previously pursued legal or criminal charges; and,
accounts in bankruptcy and other issues. TCA maintains that Aaron's
did this knowing that it had explicitly promised in a written
agreement with TCA just the opposite; namely that the accounts were
valid and had no legal issues.
"During the past 10 years, TCA has bought hundreds of millions
of dollars face amount of accounts from Aaron's relating to
hundreds of thousands of customers of Aaron's," said Gordon Engle, president and CEO of Turtle Creek
Assets, Ltd. "We bought these accounts with the express
understanding that these were valid accounts with true amounts
owing, and that they represented only instances in which the
customer had not settled his account and the merchandise had not
been returned."
"As our staff began client actions on accounts, we were
distressed to learn that many of the individuals had previously
settled with Aaron's, returned the merchandise, had never signed
lease agreements with Aaron's or were not even Aaron's customers,"
stated Engle. "In fact, there were numerous instances where no
valid paperwork existed or perhaps never had. The breadth of
the tainted accounts is so pervasive that it threatens to render
the entire portfolio uncollectable."
Aaron's wrongful conduct hurt more than just TCA. It also caused
TCA to make collection efforts on consumers who should have never
been subjected to such activities in the first place.
Client profile:
Alberto E. was stationed at Ft.
Stewart United States Army base when he decided to rent two
televisions from an Aaron's in Hinesville, Ga. in February 2011. He made almost all of his payments
until his home was broken into and the two TVs were stolen. Alberto
stopped making his payments in May
2012. In December 2012, Aarons
sold his delinquent account to Turtle Creek Assets, Ltd., which
began debt collection proceedings. In June
2013, the Aarons store manager filed criminal charges
against him and had him arrested. Later, Alberto walked into the
store with a sheriff's deputy and paid the balance due of
$2,386. TCA was not informed of any
of these criminal proceedings.
"By our estimate, approximately 20,000 of the accounts
(consumers) Aarons sold TCA have already been prosecuted criminally
by Aarons prior to the sale to TCA," stated Engle. "TCA is at risk
for any collection efforts it makes because it exposes us to an
allegation of improper collection from the debtor as well as Fair
Credit Reporting Act (FCRPA) violations."
TCA has purchased 1,000,000 accounts from Aaron's, Inc. Half of
the account holders had not made a payment past the initial
deposit. Approximately 80% of those 500,000 individuals were acting
intentionally to defraud Aarons, which means 20% or 100,000 likely
involved individuals who had had their identity stolen.
TCA believes that Aaron's knew it could not ensure that the
accounts satisfied the applicable contractual requirements but
still sold them to TCA. It is asking for damages in excess of
$20 million.
Jeff Tillotson of Tillotson Law, The Sharyland Building, 1807 Ross
Avenue, Suite 325, Dallas, Texas
75201 is representing Turtle Creek Assets, Ltd. in this matter.
About Turtle Creek Assets
Turtle Creek Assets, Ltd.
(Forward Properties International, Inc.) headquartered in
Dallas, Texas has been a
recognized leader in the global receivables trading and debt
collection industry for over 20 years.
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SOURCE Turtle Creek Assets, Ltd.