dailyloe.com – PC hardware company NZXT and its billing partner Fragile have agreed to a $3,450,000 class-action settlement. The settlement addresses a complaint regarding NZXT’s Flex PC rental program. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Northern District of California. Three customers filed the complaint seeking class-action certification in August 2025.
The lawsuit accused NZXT and Fragile of conspiring to defraud consumers. It alleged illegal business practices and gross misrepresentations. The program was announced by NZXT in August 2024. It charged customers $59 to $169 a month to rent a gaming desktop.
NZXT said the rental PCs would be new or like new. Subscribers could receive an upgraded rental PC every two years. The program faced criticism for potentially high costs. YouTube channel Gamers Nexus made claims in November 2024.
Gamers Nexus claimed customers received less powerful components than expected. It also said NZXT advertised with inaccurate benchmark results. There was concern about customer data on returned computers. NZXT addressed these concerns in December 2024.
NZXT apologized to disgruntled customers in December 2024. The company said it sometimes changed specs in real-time due to availability. CEO Johnny Hou said NZXT would address Flex concerns. Hou stated the company is not in the business of selling your data.
NZXT released a blog post outlining changes to Flex. It promised to remove unclear messaging from its website. The company aimed to bring more clarity to product names. This was to clarify Flex was not a rent-to-own program.
The lawsuit alleged a bait-and-switch scheme by the defendants. It claimed they advertised PCs with specific components. Customers allegedly received lower quality components instead. The suit also cited misrepresentations about the program’s nature.
Defendants were accused of saying there were no contracts. They allegedly said there were no cancellation fees. The suit claimed they led customers to believe they would own the PC. It said customers reasonably believed it was a rent-to-own agreement.
The complaint pointed to misleading sales and advertising practices. It also mentioned bifurcating sale and rental transactions. As of this writing, Flex prices are $79 to $279 per month. The $3.45 million settlement concludes this legal action.[]
Source: Ars Technica
