TL;DR: NZXT has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit relating to its Flex PC rental program for $3.45 million. Relief funds will be split across three types of payouts and distributed to the more than 19,000 class members as applicable.
NZXT introduced its Flex PC rental program in mid-2024, but it didn't take long for the service to catch the attention of Gamers Nexus. The popular YouTube channel claimed NZXT was running a "predatory, evil rental computer scam" that employed "bait and switch" tactics to essentially cheat customers out of their hard-earned money. For example, a customer would order a system but it would show up with lesser-than-advertised hardware at the same price.
Tom's Hardware highlighted additional accusations, including targeting children with far-fetched hopes in their marketing and implying that the program was rent-to-own when in reality, it was just an infinite lease structure.
The preliminary settlement in a California District Court totals $3.45 million in damages, and will be split as follows. Class members that are more than 90 days delinquent on their payments will be eligible for up to $5,000 in debt forgiveness from a pool totaling $923,117.92.
The PC retention option, meanwhile, is valued at $1,216,129.02 and allows class members who paid into the program for at least two years and believed it was rent-to-own to keep their machines. The settlement also calls for cash payouts to eligible class members. The total available will depend on how many total claims are accepted, minus legal fees (not expected to exceed $60,000, the settlement reads).
A settlement website is expected to go live soon, and class members – that is, customers that participated in the program between October 2023 and March 2026 – are encouraged to keep an eye on their e-mail inbox for a notice with instructions on how to move forward with a claim. Even still, it will likely be a while before everything is settled and class members are paid out as these sorts of matters typically play out at a snail's pace.