Independent profile — not affiliated with Aaron's
Aaron's
Aaron's is the lease-to-own business of The Aaron's Company, Inc. in Atlanta, which sells and leases furniture, electronics and appliances through company-operated and franchised stores and aarons.com, and which became part of Katapult Holdings on August 11, 2026. This page lists the company's own lease descriptions from SEC filings, where to complain, the BBB and Trustpilot figures as displayed on 2026-10-22, and the FTC's 2013-2014 order on rental-computer software. aarons.com was blocked outside the U.S., so its terms were not read.
Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints
464 complaints on USAComplaints, including 1 published in the last three years.
- Payment Made a Day Late, Then Switched to a Worse Payment Plan
- Harassing calls and racial insults over a late lease payment
- Rude General Manager Lost Paperwork and Hung Up on Us
- Delivered a used mattress
- Reinstatement
- Charged for equipment they picked up
- Scamme
- Aaron's on east colonial suck really bad at customer service. The manager John is the worst manager. This location needs a new manager. Called to tell them I could not make it in to make a payment spo Lack of Communication
- Harassing me for a five year old account that was paid off
- Very Abusive, Bullying, and Harrassing Refusing to transfer account to a different store!
- Will not fix the problem over one year
- Bamboozled Me!
- Credit Card Fraud ON LINE
- Delivered a semen stained bed, harassment
- I told them to come and get things to lower my payments and they wont
- 10 days late with payment and had to return item and no refund
- Rip off cons and criminals summerville
- Very rude - never correct on payment date or amount - purchasing - delivery problems
- Poor service and rude
- Consumer Report
Complaint Themes
Independent Sources
Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.
Contacts
- Official website (blocked outside the U.S.): https://www.aarons.com/
- Phone listed on BBB (BBB-listed, not confirmed on an Aaron's page): 855-455-8777
- Corporate office phone on SEC filings (not a customer line): 678-402-3000 1 complaint mentions this number
Locations
| Type | Address |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | 400 Galleria Parkway SE Atlanta GA 30339 |
Aaron's complaints: lease terms, who to contact and where to complain
This page was checked on 2026-10-22. Aaron's own website, aarons.com, returned 'The request is blocked' to our non-U.S. browser that day, so its contact, FAQ, payment and terms pages were not read and are not quoted. The practical points below come from Aaron's SEC filings, BBB, the FTC and court records. Your own lease agreement and the lessor named on it control your situation, and state lease-to-own laws differ.
- Who you leased from. The 10-K says Aaron's stores are either company-operated or 'owned and operated by independent franchisees on a licensed basis' (at December 31, 2023: 1,019 company-operated and 224 franchised; the July 2026 proxy statement says 950 corporate-operated and 226 franchised at March 31, 2026). The lessor named on your agreement may therefore be a franchisee rather than the corporate entity; in the Third Circuit's 2015 Byrd opinion the lease was with a franchisee, Aspen Way.
- How the lease works (company description). The 10-K says the customer 'has the option to cancel the agreement at the conclusion of each periodic payment term by returning the product', and that 'each contractually due payment is considered a renewal of the agreement'. It describes benefits that 'vary according to applicable state law but generally include early purchase options, free delivery and set-up, free relocation of product ... reinstatement options, product repair or replacement'. These are company statements in an SEC filing, not terms we read in a lease agreement.
- Payments. The 10-K says about 90 percent of payments collected are by payment card and that about 56 percent of customer lease agreements were enrolled in automatic payments at December 31, 2023. The July 2026 proxy statement says about 93 percent of payments collected are by payment card options such as debit and credit cards.
- Late or missed payments. The 10-K says customers who miss a renewal payment 'are contacted within a few days after their renewal date' and that if the company cannot reach a customer by telephone, it 'may visit those customers at their residences to encourage them to keep their agreement active or potentially return the lease merchandise'.
- Optional add-ons. The 2026 proxy statement describes Aaron's Protection Plus as an optional, standalone benefits product (a liability damage waiver and a merchandise replacement benefit). The 10-K describes the Aaron's Club Program as optional and cancelable by the member at any time. Check your agreement to see whether you were charged for either.
- Phone. BBB lists (855) 455-8777 for Aaron's; we could not confirm on an Aaron's page which line serves billing, returns or cancellations.
- Where to complain. BBB accepts complaints through the Aaron's headquarters profile (figures in the complaint record section). The Federal Trade Commission takes reports at reportfraud.ftc.gov or 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357). Your state attorney general takes complaints from residents of that state.
Keep screenshots or copies of the lease agreement, every receipt, text and email, delivery and pick-up paperwork, and a note of the date and name of each store contact.
FTC order (2013-2014) and California Attorney General settlement (2014)
On October 22, 2013 the Federal Trade Commission announced that Aaron's, Inc. had agreed to settle FTC charges. According to the FTC's complaint as described in its press release, franchisees of the rent-to-own chain used software called PC Rental Agent on rental computers; the software 'surreptitiously tracked consumers' locations, captured images through the computers' webcams ... and activated keyloggers'. The FTC said Aaron's 'knew about the privacy-invasive features of the software' and that it stored the data for franchisees, relayed messages from the software to them and gave them instructions on how to install and use it. The FTC said related actions earlier in 2013 had been brought against the software maker and several rent-to-own stores, including Aaron's franchisees.
After a public comment period the Commission approved the final order (vote 4-0) in a press release dated March 11, 2014. The press release prints the file number as FTC File No. 1123264, while the FTC case page (https://www.ftc.gov/legal-library/browse/cases-proceedings/122-3256-aarons-inc-matter), which also links the Complaint and the Decision and Order, reads FTC Matter/File Number 122 3256; the two sources do not match. Per the FTC's description, the order prohibits Aaron's from using monitoring technology that gathers consumer information from rental computers except to provide technical support at a consumer's request; requires clear notice and express consent at the time of rental before installing location-tracking technology; bars deceptively gathering information and using improperly obtained information to collect a debt in a rent-to-own transaction; requires deletion of improperly collected information and encryption of tracking data; and requires annual monitoring of franchisees and termination of franchisees that do not comply. The FTC's October 22, 2013 release stated that each violation of such an order may result in a civil penalty of up to $16,000. We did not read the order text itself and the press releases do not describe any admission language.
The FTC matter dates from 2013-2014, involved rental computers and named the earlier registrant 'Aaron's, Inc.'. We did not identify in the sources checked on 2026-10-22 a later FTC action against the Aaron's lease-to-own business, and we did not search every state regulator.
California Attorney General settlement (2014). In a press release dated October 13, 2014, the California Attorney General announced a $28.4 million settlement with Aaron's, Inc. 'to resolve allegations' that the company violated California consumer protection and privacy laws. According to the release, the settlement requires Aaron's to refund $25 million to California customers who signed lease agreements between April 1, 2010 and March 31, 2014 and to pay $3.4 million in civil penalties and fees. The release describes the complaint as alleging violations of California's Karnette Rental-Purchase Act through improper late fees, overcharges on early payoff and omitted contract disclosures, and violations of California privacy laws through franchisee installation of spyware on rented laptops. The release says a stipulated judgment was filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court. These are allegations as described by the Attorney General's office; we did not read the judgment text.
Who operates Aaron's today
The Aaron's business is operated by The Aaron's Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries; the company's 10-K caption for litigation names the lessor entity as Aaron's, LLC dba Aaron's Sales & Lease Ownership, LLC. Its address is 400 Galleria Parkway SE, Suite 300, Atlanta, Georgia. The company says it was founded in 1955; BBB's page data lists the business as started and incorporated on 1962-03-28. In its fiscal 2023 10-K it described 1,254 systemwide stores including 11 BrandsMart U.S.A. appliance stores in Florida and Georgia, and said about 0.9 million customers had active leases at December 31, 2023. The July 2026 proxy statement says 950 corporate-operated and 226 franchised Aaron's stores had approximately 910,000 customers with active leases at March 31, 2026.
Ownership timeline (SEC filings). EDGAR lists the registrant as formerly Aaron's SpinCo, Inc., with the name change recorded on 2020-11-02; the earlier registrant that filed as Aaron Rents (until 2009) and then Aaron's Inc is a different EDGAR file. The Aaron's Company was listed on the NYSE as AAN. On October 3, 2024 it was acquired by IQVentures Holdings, LLC for $10.10 per share in cash and ceased trading. On August 11, 2026 Katapult Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: KPLT) completed a business combination with CCF Holdings LLC and Aaron's Intermediate Holdco, Inc.; Aaron's survived as a subsidiary, and the 8-K says former Aaron's equityholders owned approximately 14.1 percent of Katapult's common stock after the closing. Cory Miller, who had been CEO of The Aaron's Company since November 2024, became Katapult's CEO. We did not read any Aaron's notice to customers about the transaction, so whether lease terms, payment portals or contact numbers changed is not confirmed.
Company-operated and franchised stores. Independent franchisees run the franchised stores under license; complaints about a particular store may involve a franchisee as lessor. The archive complaints on this site use many store-level spellings, and we link them by name only.
Complaint record: BBB, Trustpilot and this site's archive
BBB. As displayed on 2026-10-22, the BBB profile for Aaron's, Atlanta, GA (Headquarters, covering the headquarters and corporate-owned locations) shows 'BBB Accredited Business' and a BBB rating of A+; the complaints tab says '738 complaints in the last 3 years. 247 complaints in the last 12 months', and the reviews tab shows 1.28 out of 5 stars, an average of 169 customer reviews. BBB's raw page data lists the file opened 1998-08-23, accredited 2012-10-26 and the business started and incorporated 1962-03-28. BBB says its rating reflects complaint history, transparency and public data, and that the complaint text shown may not represent all complaints. BBB also keeps separate listings for other Aaron's locations, which we did not add to these figures.
Trustpilot. As displayed on 2026-10-22, Trustpilot shows 107 reviews and a score of 2.8 for Aaron's (aarons.com), with star shares of 5-star 32 percent, 4-star under 1 percent, 3-star 3 percent, 2-star 4 percent and 1-star 60 percent. The profile is marked 'Unclaimed' and Trustpilot says the company has no history of asking for reviews, so reviews may not be representative; Trustpilot states it does not fact-check reviews.
CFPB. A search of the CFPB complaint database's company-name list on 2026-10-22 for 'aaron', 'aaron's' and 'aarons' returned no Aaron's entry, so we show no CFPB figures. This does not say whether CFPB would accept a complaint about a lease.
This site's archive. usacomplaints.com links 466 published complaints to Aaron's: 1 each in 2001 and 2002, 2 in 2000, 14 in 2003, 24 in 2004, 32 in 2005, 68 in 2006, 68 in 2007, 103 in 2008, 66 in 2009, 27 in 2010, 22 in 2011, 27 in 2012, 8 in 2013, 2 in 2014 and 1 in 2025. They were submitted by visitors, are unverified allegations about individual stores (company-operated or franchised) and do not show how common any problem is. The numbers above are from separate sources and are not added together.
Court cases and legal proceedings
Byrd v. Aaron's Inc (computer monitoring software). A putative class action filed May 3, 2011 in the Western District of Pennsylvania (No. 1:11-cv-00101) against Aaron's, Inc., its franchisee Aspen Way Enterprises and others, alleging violations of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act over the PC Rental Agent software. The district court denied class certification; on April 16, 2015 the Third Circuit (784 F.3d 154) reversed because the court had misapplied the circuit's ascertainability standard, and remanded. The district docket shows a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice of Aaron's, Inc. was filed on September 10, 2019 and granted by order of March 27, 2020 and that the remaining claims were dismissed with prejudice by stipulation on May 5, 2020, when the case was terminated. The docket entries we read do not state the terms.
Matters in the SEC filings. The fiscal 2023 10-K lists Atkinson v. Aaron's, LLC (filed October 11, 2023; No. 2:23-cv-01742-BJR in the Western District of Washington), in which a plaintiff alleges that job postings lacked a pay range under Washington's Equal Pay and Opportunity Act; it seeks class certification. The July 2026 proxy statement lists it as No. 23-2-19649 pending in Washington state court, and also lists Koksal v. Lindsay (N.D. Ga., 1:25-cv-00754), alleging securities-law and fiduciary-duty violations related to the 2024 proxy statement. Neither is a customer lease dispute. The filings say that, other than the matters described, there was no material pending or threatened litigation against the company, and the company reported accruals of $1.7 million (December 31, 2025) for pending legal and regulatory matters it considered probable losses.
Other dockets. A CourtListener docket search on 2026-10-22 for case names containing 'Aaron's, LLC' returned 30 federal dockets, among them cases filed in 2025 and 2026. We did not read their claims and do not characterize them.
Is Aaron's Legitimate?
The Aaron's lease-to-own business is operated by The Aaron's Company, Inc., an SEC registrant until October 2024, now a subsidiary of Aaron's Intermediate Holdco, Inc., which became part of Katapult Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: KPLT) on August 11, 2026 (Form 8-K filed that day). It is BBB Accredited with an A+ rating on BBB's headquarters profile, alongside the complaint and review figures above (738 complaints in three years; 1.28 of 5 on 169 reviews) and a 2.8 score on Trustpilot's unclaimed profile. The company states in its SEC filing that it believes it is in material compliance with the state lease-to-own laws, the FTC's 2013-2014 consent order concerned franchisee use of monitoring software, and the California Attorney General's October 2014 announcement described allegations about lease terms and spyware. Read your lease agreement for the terms that apply to you, and use the complaint routes in the first section if something goes wrong.
Court & Public Records
| Case | Authority | Dates | Type | Outcome | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Byrd v. Aaron's, Inc. Docket 1:11-cv-00101 | U.S. District Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania (appeal: Third Circuit No. 14-3050) | Dismissed | Dismissed Putative class action under the Electronic Communications Privacy Act over PC Rental Agent spyware on rented laptops, against Aaron's, Inc. and its franchisee Aspen Way Enterprises. The Third Circuit (784 F.3d 154, April 16, 2015) reversed the denial of class certification on ascertainability grounds and remanded. a stipulation of dismissal with prejudice of Aaron's, Inc. was filed on September 10, 2019 and granted by order of March 27, 2020 and the remaining claims were dismissed with prejudice by stipulation on May 5, 2020; the docket entries read do not state the terms. | Source |
Company Relationships
- Owned by: Katapult Holdings, Inc.
- Affiliated with: CCF Holdings LLC
- Affiliated with: IQVentures Holdings, LLC
- Affiliated with: Aaron's, LLC
- Affiliated with: BrandsMart U.S.A. (Interbond Corporation of America)
Frequently Asked Questions
Who runs Aaron's?
The Aaron's lease-to-own business is run by The Aaron's Company, Inc., headquartered at 400 Galleria Parkway SE, Suite 300, Atlanta, Georgia, together with independent franchisees that operate some stores. Per Katapult's 8-K filed 2026-08-11, Aaron's Intermediate Holdco, Inc. became a subsidiary of Katapult Holdings, Inc. on August 11, 2026; before that, IQVentures Holdings, LLC had acquired The Aaron's Company in October 2024.
Who owns Aaron's now?
On August 11, 2026 Katapult Holdings, Inc. completed a business combination with CCF Holdings LLC and Aaron's Intermediate Holdco, Inc. Aaron's continued as the surviving corporation, and the 8-K says former Aaron's equityholders owned about 14.1 percent of Katapult's common stock after the closing. Whether lease terms, payment portals or contact numbers changed was not confirmed on an Aaron's page.
How does an Aaron's lease-to-own agreement work?
According to Aaron's 10-K, a customer leases an item under an agreement in which each payment renews the lease for the next period, and the customer can end it at the end of a payment term by returning the product. The 10-K says most state lease-to-own laws require disclosure of the total number of payments, the amount and timing of each payment, the total amount of all payments to acquire ownership and any other charges that may be imposed. It also describes benefits such as early purchase options and free delivery that vary by state. We did not read a lease agreement.
What does Aaron's say it does when a payment is missed?
The 10-K says customers who miss a renewal payment are contacted within a few days, and that if the company cannot reach them by telephone it may visit them at their residence to encourage them to keep the agreement active or potentially return the lease merchandise. Your lease agreement and state law govern what is allowed in your case.
Are all Aaron's stores run by the company?
Some are franchised. The 10-K says franchised stores are owned and operated by independent franchisees on a licensed basis: 224 of 1,243 Aaron's stores at December 31, 2023, and 226 franchised versus 950 corporate-operated at March 31, 2026 per the 2026 proxy statement. The lessor named on your agreement shows which entity you leased from.
Where can I file a complaint about Aaron's?
BBB accepts complaints through the Aaron's headquarters profile. The FTC takes reports at reportfraud.ftc.gov or 1-877-382-4357, and your state attorney general accepts complaints from residents. BBB shows 738 complaints in the last three years as displayed on 2026-10-22; that figure covers the headquarters and corporate-owned locations and is not a measure of how many customers were satisfied.
What did the FTC order against Aaron's require?
The FTC's final consent order, approved 4-0 and announced March 11, 2014, bars Aaron's from using monitoring technology that gathers information from rental computers except for technical support the consumer requests, requires clear notice and express consent for location-tracking technology at rental, and requires annual monitoring of franchisees. The FTC said it was settling charges that Aaron's played a direct and vital role in its franchisees' installation and use of PC Rental Agent software. The FTC case page (FTC Matter/File Number 122 3256) links the Decision and Order; we did not read the order text.
What do BBB and Trustpilot show for Aaron's?
As displayed on 2026-10-22: BBB shows an A+ rating, accreditation, 738 complaints in three years and an average of 1.28 out of 5 on 169 reviews for the headquarters profile; Trustpilot shows 2.8 from 107 reviews on an unclaimed profile where 60 percent of ratings are one star. The two platforms rate different things and the numbers are not combined.
What is in this site's archive of Aaron's complaints?
usacomplaints.com links 466 published complaints to Aaron's, mostly from 2003 to 2012, under names such as Aaron Rents, Aaron's Sales and Lease and Aaron's Rent To Own, plus one from 2025. They are visitor-submitted allegations about individual stores, not findings, and many concern franchised stores.