Tennessee Attorney General Secures $1.86 Million Aqua Finance Settlement

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced today that Aqua Finance, Inc. will pay $1,864,319.86 to resolve allegations that the company engaged in unfair and deceptive practices involving financing for water treatment systems sold to Tennessee consumers.

The settlement requires Aqua Finance to provide $1,564,319.86 to consumers through debt cancellation and refunds. In addition, Aqua Finance will pay $300,000 to the State of Tennessee.

“Aqua Finance’s deceptive financing scheme hurt Tennesseans, leaving them with burdensome financial surprises,” said Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti. “Companies that operate in Tennessee must deal honestly with consumers, or they will be held accountable by my consumer protection team.”

The State alleged that dealers made serious misrepresentations about water treatment systems and the terms of financing offered through Aqua Finance. Some dealers later went out of business, leaving consumers with limited recourse but stuck with their financing obligations.

The settlement permanently bars Aqua Finance from misrepresenting key terms of credit agreements, including interest rates, minimum monthly payments, payment schedules, and the total cost of credit. The company must also provide enhanced disclosures of important financing terms. Aqua Finance must ensure its dealers have accurate financing information, prohibit current and future dealers from misrepresenting financing terms and conditions, and establish procedures for appropriately handling complaints involving dealers.

Affected consumers whose debts are covered by the settlement will receive direct notice from Aqua Finance, by mail and email (if available), within 15 business days of the settlement order. Within 30 business days of the settlement order, Aqua Finance must also:

• Issue refunds to eligible consumers who made payments after November 30, 2024;
• Request that credit reporting agencies delete covered debts from affected consumers’ credit reports; and
• Remove any Uniform Commercial Code fixture filings from property records related to the water treatment systems.

The Tennessee settlement follows a May 2024 resolution between Aqua Finance and the Federal Trade Commission that provided $43.6 million in financial relief for consumers nationwide. Tennessee pursued its separate settlement to secure relief specifically for Tennesseans and to preserve independent authority to enforce the injunctive protections.