How to Avoid Rent to Buy Scams
Sadly, scams are a dime a dozen. In an industry like rent to buy cars as well as rental cars in general, scams are a reality and as the consumer you have to inform yourself about how to recognize a scam when you see one. By being informed and savvy, you can protect yourself from being scammed out of your hard-earned cash.
At Future Motor Lease, we pride ourselves on being above board and totally ethical when it comes to our rent to own services and offerings. However, we’ve been in the industry long enough to have seen a few scams over the years and so we’ve put together a list of top tips to look for when using a rent to buy vehicle company, to ensure that it’s not a scam. If anything on the list is missing, we suggest you turn around and walk away immediately – call us instead.
6 Tips to Avoid Rent to Buy Scams
Tip #1 – Verify the company information
Verify as much information about the company as you can before signing on the dotted line including information like their physical address and that they exist at the location they say they do.
Tip #2 – Avoid companies that only use cell phone numbers
A cell number only is an indication that perhaps the company does not exist in real life as they say they do on paper. You would ideally like to deal with a company that uses a land line that can be verified as well as a physical address as explained above.
Tip #3 – Request the vehicle’s service history
Just because you’re opting to rent to own a vehicle first, doesn’t mean you can’t ask for the service history of the vehicle to make sure it has been kept in tip-top shape.
Tip #4 – Verify your information too
If you are acquiring a vehicle for personal use or a fleet of vehicles for a company and opting to rent to buy, always confirm that the vehicle is registered in the Rent to Buy companies name first. All too often a scammer company will rent out vehicles that they don’t even own and have no rights over.
Tip #5 – Check before you sign
Before signing on the dotted line make sure you go through the proposed contract and terms and conditions in detail. Never sign a contract without fully understanding it and what is expected of you and the company for the duration of the contract first.
Tip #6 – Verify the vehicle’s details
In the final verification step, make sure that the vehicles details, like VIN number and chassis number, are the same as they appear on the vehicle registration papers. Many unscrupulous scammers rent out stolen vehicles whose details have been fraudulently registered.
By taking your time to go through these steps and verify all the information you need to, you can end up saving yourself time, money and a lot of frustration. For a rent to buy company you can trust, contact the Future Motor Lease team today on 011 026 0003.