Release Details

PLANO, Texas, March 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rent-A-Center, Inc. (Nasdaq: RCII) (the "Company"), the leading rent-to-own operator in the U.S., today announced that the state court in Los Angeles, California denied the plaintiff's motion for class certification in Jeremy Burdusis et. al. v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., et. al. The Burdusis case was brought on behalf of all present and former non-management store level employees in California and alleges that the Company worked the purported plaintiffs "off the clock" in violation of California overtime and wage payment laws. The court's ruling allows Mr. Burdusis to proceed with his claim individually. The Company currently operates 151 stores in California.

"The court's ruling is a very favorable development in this ongoing matter," commented Mark E. Speese, the Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "We believe we are in compliance with California's wage payment laws and look forward to defending ourselves with respect to Mr. Burdusis' individual claims."

The Company is a defendant in a similar lawsuit pending in California before the same judge as in the Burdusis matter. That suit, Isreal French, et. al. v. Rent-A-Center, Inc., also asserts class allegations and violations of California's wage payment laws covering a similar time period as in the Burdusis case. A motion for class certification in the French matter has not yet been filed by the plaintiffs. In the event the plaintiffs seek class certification, the Company intends to make arguments regarding class certification in the French matter like those made in the Burdusis matter.

Rent-A-Center, Inc., headquartered in Plano, Texas, currently operates 2,544 company-owned stores nationwide and in Puerto Rico. The stores generally offer high-quality, durable goods such as home electronics, appliances, computers and furniture and accessories to consumers under flexible rental purchase agreements that generally 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 317 rent-to-own stores, 305 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 the Company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2002 and the results of the Company's litigation. 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. SOURCE Rent-A-Center, Inc.

-0- 03/28/2003

/CONTACT: Dave Carpenter, Director of Investor Relations, +1-972-801-1214, or dcarpenter@racenter.com , or Mitchell E. Fadel, President and Chief Operating Officer, +1-972-801-1114, or mfadel@racenter.com , both of Rent-A-Center, Inc./