NZXT and its business partner Fragile have agreed to pay $3.45 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused the companies of attempting to “scam” consumers through their Flex PC rental service. The preliminary settlement was filed in a California District Court on April 7th to close a civil RICO case against the Flex program over allegations that it defrauded 19,322 customers through deceptive marketing practices and aggressive debt collection.
The Flex program is a rolling rental subscription that NZXT describes as “a flexible alternative to buying or financing” a gaming PC, with prices starting at $69 per month. Under the settlement agreement, NZXT has agreed to disclose that Flex isn’t a “rent-to-own program” — something that was allegedly alluded to by influencer promotions of the service. Relief payouts and debt forgiveness expected to roll out after final judicial approval this September. If there are no further developments, the case won’t proceed to a jury trial.
The settlement itself includes up to $5,000 in debt forgiveness for Flex customers who are currently being hounded by debt collectors, which is expected to be automatically distributed to impacted users who are more than 90 days late on their payments. A pool of $1.2 million has been allocated to Flex customers who have paid into the program for two years or more, and will now be granted full ownership of the PCs.
Customers who have returned their PCs and owe no debts are also eligible for a cash payment, the sum of which will depend on “the number of valid claims submitted,” according to the court filing. Flex customers who subscribed to the service between October 19th, 2023 and March 30th, 2026 are eligible to apply for the settlement payout, with the claims portal expected to open around April 28th.