People who received Rent-A-Center marketing texts after replying “stop” may be covered by a proposed class action alleging Rent-A-Center ignored opt-out requests and sent solicitations without a Texas registration certificate. No class has been certified and there is nothing to file yet.
Allegations Only · No Settlement Yet
This article describes a class action complaint. The statements below are unproven allegations. Rent-A-Center has not been found liable, there is no certified class, and nothing to claim at this time. This page is informational. It is not legal advice.
What Is This About?
Rent-A-Center, Inc., the Plano, Texas rent-to-own retailer of furniture, appliances and electronics, was sued on October 20, 2026 in a proposed class action over its marketing text messages. The case, Alejandro v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., No. 4:26-cv-01547, was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas.The complaint alleges that Rent-A-Center kept texting the plaintiff, an Arizona resident, after she replied “stop” to its messages three separate times, and that the company was never registered with the Texas Secretary of State to make telephone solicitations. It brings claims under the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and Chapter 302 of the Texas Business and Commerce Code. Rent-A-Center has not yet responded in court.
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What the Complaint Alleges
According to the complaint, Rent-A-Center began texting the plaintiff’s personal cell phone in or around August 2026 from short code 94210, promoting its rent-to-own products and services. The plaintiff says she replied “stop” on or about August 19, 2026, yet received more promotional texts on or about August 24. She says she replied “stop” again that day, received another text on or about August 26, replied “stop” a third time, and kept receiving messages through at least August 31.The complaint argues that a company that keeps texting after repeated opt-out requests must lack the do-not-call procedures federal rules require, including a written policy, staff training and an internal do-not-call list. Under the Federal Communications Commission’s rules quoted in the complaint, a do-not-call request must be honored within a reasonable time, not to exceed ten business days.
On the Texas claim, the complaint says a search of the Texas Secretary of State’s telephone solicitation registry on October 12, 2026 found no registration for Rent-A-Center. Texas law treats a text message sent to induce a purchase or rental as a “telephone solicitation” and generally requires sellers to hold a registration certificate. Whether any exemption applies is a question for the court.
Who Is Included in the Proposed Classes
The complaint proposes two classes, covering the four years before the October 20, 2026 filing:- National Internal Do Not Call Class: people in the U.S. who received at least two promotional texts from or on behalf of Rent-A-Center within any 12-month period, on a personal phone number, while Rent-A-Center allegedly did not have do-not-call procedures meeting federal minimum standards.
- Texas Telephone Solicitation Registration Class: people in the U.S. who received a telephone solicitation, as Texas law defines it, made from Texas or by a seller based in Texas, to sell Rent-A-Center’s products and services, at a time when Rent-A-Center allegedly lacked a Texas registration certificate.
What the Lawsuit Seeks
The complaint seeks statutory damages under the TCPA of $500 for each violation, or up to $1,500 for each violation the court finds knowing or willful, along with an injunction against the alleged conduct. On the Texas claim it seeks costs and attorneys’ fees and an order requiring Rent-A-Center to stop telephone solicitations in Texas without a valid registration. The plaintiff has demanded a jury trial.Separate From the Upbound Data Breach Lawsuits
This text message case is unrelated to the data breach lawsuits against Upbound Group, Rent-A-Center’s parent company, over a July 2026 incident that Upbound disclosed in September. Those cases are tracked on OCA’s Upbound and Acima data breach lawsuit page. Upbound’s Acima lease business also reached a separate settlement with the District of Columbia Attorney General.What Happens Next
Rent-A-Center will respond to the complaint, often with a motion to dismiss or a motion to compel arbitration where customer agreements contain an arbitration clause. Whether a class is ever certified is a separate, later question. If the case reaches a class settlement, a court-approved notice would explain who qualifies and how claims work. Similar opt-out text suits have been filed against Big 5 Sporting Goods and Redbubble, and every TCPA case OCA follows is listed on the TCPA class actions page.Questions
What does the Rent-A-Center text message lawsuit allege?
The complaint in Alejandro v. Rent-A-Center, Inc. alleges that Rent-A-Center kept sending promotional text messages from short code 94210 after the plaintiff replied “stop” three times in August 2026, in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act’s internal do-not-call rules. It also alleges Rent-A-Center sent telephone solicitations without a registration certificate from the Texas Secretary of State. These are unproven allegations.
Who is included in the proposed Rent-A-Center class?
The complaint proposes a National Internal Do Not Call Class of people in the U.S. who, within four years before the October 20, 2026 filing, received at least two promotional Rent-A-Center texts in a 12-month period on a personal number while Rent-A-Center allegedly lacked required do-not-call procedures, and a Texas Telephone Solicitation Registration Class. No court has certified either class.
How much money does the Rent-A-Center lawsuit seek?
The complaint seeks TCPA statutory damages of $500 per violation, or up to $1,500 per violation if the court finds the violations knowing or willful, plus an injunction. For the Texas claim it seeks costs and fees under the Texas Business and Commerce Code. No money has been awarded, and there is nothing to claim.
Is the Rent-A-Center text lawsuit related to the Upbound data breach?
No. The text message case is a separate lawsuit against Rent-A-Center, Inc. over marketing texts. The data breach lawsuits name Upbound Group, Rent-A-Center’s parent company, and concern a July 2026 incident that Upbound disclosed in September 2026.
Sources
• Class Action Complaint, Alejandro v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., No. 4:26-cv-01547 (E.D. Tex., filed October 20, 2026): complaint (PDF) and docket, via CourtListener.• Telephone Consumer Protection Act, 47 U.S.C. § 227(c)(5), and FCC rule 47 C.F.R. § 64.1200(d), as quoted in the complaint.
• Texas Business and Commerce Code §§ 302.001, 302.101 and 302.302, as quoted in the complaint.
