Submission Number: 00017 

Received: 9/28/2012 10:12:49 PM
Commenter:  Gavin
Organization: 
State: Illinois

Agency: Federal Trade Commission
Initiative: Proposed Consent Agreement In the Matter of DesignerWare, LLC; FTC File No. 1123151
Attachments: No Attachments
Submission Text
I've used PCRental as an employee in the rental store that I work at here in IL for now over two years new numerous other stores that have used it for years. What you are claiming is 100% wrong and I can only assume you never used the product and you have never step one foot into a RTO Store. It is impossible to install the detective feature on a rental computer. You can only install it after you report it stolen. The software also tells you every time you turn on the computer that if you fail to return the computer as you agreed to in writting then you can be tracked and if you do NOT acknowledge this you cannot use the computer. My customers also sign a contract to return it and sign in writing acknowledging the software is loaded. Do you know how many times customers have entered our store telling us that the laptop was stolen? Just to find out that they were still using it? The remarks in your findings stating rentals store use the detective to collect money is silly and is a lie. There is nothing in the detective that allows you do that and you cannot install it on a rental computer it is impossible. My company owns the computer and if you fail to return it, we contact you and send you a certified letter to do just that. It is only when the renter has skipped and cannot be located or only when a renter enters our store telling us that it cannot be returned because it was stolen do we install the Detective. I can see by your remarks that you never installed the program and never used it. I can share with you that our customer that was carjacked loved we had the ability to install the detective because we recovered her car. The couple that was robbed at gun point at another one of our locations was happy they could locate the computer (so were the local police). Just last year stores in our plaza were being broken into until they hit our store and took laptops. They were arrested with 72 hours because of the software. I'm sure the information that was gathered might be found to be offensive and evasion of privacy but did you ever read the IL State Law that says if you do NOT return rental property after being notified to do so you are committing a felony? You have lied and misinformed the public that rental stores have a reason to 'spy' on consumers. Does this make any sense to you? I have all the renters information, DOB, SSN, Driver's license, etc on file before I rent to them. So there is no reason, and I know of no rental store in this world, that would install a program to gather this information because we already have it on file. Don't you think the reason is because the renter has skipped or is saying it's stolen? Do justice and ask each RTO dealer that used the Detective if any of the computers had the detective program installed before the rental contract expired. You will find and discover that 100% of these computers were NOT under a valid rental agreement. Therefore, if they are not on rent because the contract expired then how are they a consumer? When I drive to their house to pick it up and they have moved, quit their job, have no phone, how are they a consumer? Please get your facts correct before you do these types of investigations and lie and mislead people.