Utah consumers who owe money on Snap Finance lease-to-own agreements will have $16,758,262 in payments canceled under a multistate settlement announced Oct. 21.

The deal also means those consumers keep their merchandise and owe nothing more, according to the Utah Division of Consumer Protection. The cancellation covers Utahns who signed Snap lease-to-own agreements between 2017 and 2022.

For shoppers in Alpine, Highland, Cedar Hills and Lehi, the settlement is one of several state consumer-protection actions announced in late October with direct financial consequences.

Snap Finance: what happened

Snap Finance offers lease-to-own agreements through retail partners rather than its own stores. Utah and 16 other states alleged the company used misleading disclosures and confusing payment terms. Some customers believed they were paying off purchases within 100 days or fewer but ended up in longer, more expensive contracts, the states alleged.

The states also alleged Snap told customers that on-time payments could raise their credit scores, a claim the states said was untrue.

Attorney General Derek Brown said the agreement provides direct relief.

"Utahns shouldn't get trapped in confusing leases when they buy everyday items," Brown said in the state's announcement. "This settlement clears what Utahns still owed and lets them keep what they leased."

The $665 million multistate settlement cancels $662.1 million in lease payments across 17 states. Snap also agreed to pay $2.75 million to participating states, including $150,000 to Utah. Iowa and Nebraska led the settlement.

Going forward, Snap must show customers full lease terms and costs before they sign, stop claiming its products improve credit scores and give customers practical ways to end leases and return merchandise.

GM driver data settlement

Separately, Utah joined 35 other states in a $220 million settlement with General Motors announced Oct. 30. Utah's share is $6,938,619.

The states alleged GM's Smart Driver program, which operated from 2016 through 2024, tracked enrolled drivers' habits and sold information to data brokers. Those brokers then sold the data to insurance companies, which used it in part to set insurance rates, according to the states.

The data included trip times, driving frequency, hard braking, acceleration, speeding and specific geolocation information.

The states alleged GM told drivers the program would help them drive more safely and would not share their data with insurers without consent. Instead, the states alleged, GM sold the data under agreements specifying it would be used for insurance products.

The OnStar app mistakenly told more than 370,000 drivers they were not enrolled in Smart Driver when their data was actually being collected and sold, according to the states. GM later unenrolled those drivers without informing them of the error.

Utah Department of Commerce Commissioner Margaret Busse said the practice was unacceptable. "Misrepresenting this data use is a significant breach of trust that cannot be overlooked," Busse said in the state's announcement.

Under the settlement, GM must obtain express consent before collecting or sharing driving and location data, limit the data it collects and train dealership staff on consent procedures.

Daniel Larsen, director of the Utah Division of Consumer Protection, said the division expects businesses to be honest with customers. The Snap and GM settlements mark the latest in a series of enforcement actions by the division.

Utah's age-verification requirements for commercial adult websites also took effect Nov. 2 under Senate Bill 73, the Online Age Verification Amendments. The law requires qualifying websites to verify users are at least 18 years old.