Attorney General Andrea Campbelll announced Tuesday that Rent-A-Center had agreed to pay $8.75 million and cease a slate of business practices after an investigation into alleged “abusive” collection practices.

“I am proud of my team’s dedication in securing a settlement with Rent-A-Center, which sadly utilized egregious tactics to target and exploit low-income communities for profit,” said AG Campbell. “My office will continue to protect all consumers from harmful and exploitive practices by those who do business in our state.”

Campbell’s office found the Texas-based company “repeatedly engaged in coercive and abusive conduct towards consumers who missed or otherwise failed to make rental payments under their RAC contracts, leading to significant emotional and financial harm.”

As part of the settlement, RAC has agreed to the payment and to cease the business practices flagged by the AG.

Home prices extend record streak

Home prices in the U.S. extended their climb, reaching a fresh record high.

A national gauge of prices rose 0.7% in September from August, according to seasonally adjusted data from S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller. It was the eighth straight month of gains for the index, which doesn’t provide a specific dollar figure for homes.

Mortgage rates above 7% have chilled the housing market, keeping both would-be buyers and sellers on the sidelines. The persistent inventory crunch has driven prices up since the bottom in January.

“Although this year’s increase in mortgage rates has surely suppressed the quantity of homes sold, the relative shortage of inventory for sale has been a solid support for prices,” Craig Lazzara, managing director at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement Tuesday.