Release Details

Plano, Texas, August 31, 2000. - Rent-A-Center, Inc. (NASDAQ/NNM:RCII) reported today that it has obtained a copy of a complaint filed against it in federal court in East St. Louis, Illinois alleging various gender discrimination claims on behalf of a purported class of current and former female employees and certain female job applicants. The Company stated that the allegations set forth in the complaint, which had not been received by the Company at the time the plaintiffs' counsel issued its press release concerning the filing of the complaint, are without merit. The Company stated that its policies and practices do not discriminate against women and that it intends to vigorously defend the suit.

Rent-A-Center, headquartered in Plano, Texas, currently operates 2,114 company-owned rent-to-own stores in 50 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. The stores offer high-quality, durable goods such as home electronics, appliances, computers, and furniture and accessories to consumers under flexible rental purchase agreements that allow the customer to obtain ownership of the merchandise at the conclusion of an agreed-upon rental period. ColorTyme, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company, is a national franchisor of 357 rent-to-own stores, 345 of which operate under the trade name of "ColorTyme," and the remaining 12 of which operate under the "Rent-A-Center" name.

This press release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Such forward looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate," or "believe," or the negative thereof or variations thereon or similar terminology. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward looking statements will prove to be correct, the Company can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. The actual future performance of the Company could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, the risks detailed from time to time in the Company's SEC reports, including its annual report Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999, its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2000, its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the six months ended June 30, 2000, and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the nine months ended September 30, 2000. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this press release. Except as requested by law, the Company is not obligated to publicly release any revisions to these forward-looking statements to reflect the events or circumstances after the date of this report or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contacts for Rent-A-Center, Inc.:

Mark Speese, Chief Executive Officer
Chairman of the Board
(972) 801-1199
mspeese@racenter.com

Mitchell E. Fadel, President
(972) 801-1114
mfadel@racenter.com

Robert D. Davis, Chief Financial Officer
(972) 801-1204
rdavis@racenter.com

David E. Carpenter, Director of Investor Relations
(972) 801-1214
dcarpenter@racenter.com