SEATTLE -- The Washington State Attorney General’s office is about to take to court one of the largest rent-to-own companies in the U.S. for what they call deception and harassment of their customers.

According to the Attorney General’s consumer protection division, Rent-A-Center, which has more than 3,000 stores nationwide, has been misleading their customers about the total price of items they are renting to own.

After looking through the documents the Attorney General filed with the King County Superior Court, KIRO 7 Consumer Investigator, Amy Clancy, found that Rent-A-Center charged $4,000 for a laptop computer and $6,594 for a used television.

Because Rent-A-Center doesn’t always divulge the price of an item to consumers, people sign agreements to pay more for an item than it is worth.

The Attorney General says that this violates the state’s leasing law that requires companies to tell consumers exactly how much they will end up paying.

The Attorney General also said that Rent-A-Center is breaking the law by harassing anyone who makes a payment late. The documents filed with the court say that employees go as far as to pose as law enforcement officers and threaten customers with arrest and having their children taken by Child Protective Services.

A representative for Rent-A-Center told Clancy that the claims aren’t true and that the company is compliant with all Washington State laws. They also added that any employees that violate the state collection laws are fired immediately.

There are about 50 Rent-A-Center stores in Washington State.