Legal Question in Credit and Debt Law in Florida
I'm in the wrong here, but still wondering. Rent to own store in Florida. I agreed to make monthly payments for a TV. Two months into the deal I stopped paying. The store never checked my credit, refrences... nothing. It's been two months since I made a payment & all they do is leave msg's stating to call them & that they are going press criminal charges against me. What can the rental store do to me, Civil & Criminal?
3 Answers from Attorneys
If you refuse to return the TV, they can have you prosecuted for theft. Civilly, they can sue you for all the money you owe them under the contract -or- if they are unable to recover the TV from you, for the full value of the TV. The criminal and civil action are not mutually exclusive.
You should return the TV. You can then just deal with them calling to collect on the rental fees you owe them and a potential civil action.
Return the TV and get a RECEIPT. Try to deal with them as to amounts owed. You might find they are just happy to have the merchandise back. To file a judgment for a TV is rather expensive on their part and they may be willing to forgo that. However, you have not stated the size of the TV and if it something like a 62 in screen, then you may be looking at a civil action.
The direct answer to your question, by the way: civilly, they can sue you and collect against you in any way they have available. Criminally, nothing, unless they can prove that you took the TV with no intention to ever pay, which is nearly impossible, especially given that you made two payments.
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