Brighthouse Problem Again

[danielle.knox]

Hi

I am currently a single mother living on benefits and have bad credit, i went to brighthouse and they seemed really nice. i started by getting one thing on credit and then just went up and up. I have been with them 9months now and paying £60 per week to them ( including service cover ). I then had a financial difficulty and missed 3 payments and was £180 in debt, they then came banging on my door and demandign a payment i then stated i didnt have it and then demanded to know a time and date i could go into the store and pay it, They eventually left i then called them and stated i could nto afford to pay the whole £180 in full. But could still afford to pay my £60 in weekly payments and maybes £10 more on top to start paying off the £180 i was in arrears. They refused the £10 offer and told me i had to pay £25, so in total £85 per week. will i had no choice to agree to i have then paid one payment but cant afford £85. i have in total £6817.14 worth of debt with them , i have not missed one payment untill 4weeks ago, i have paid about £1500 off. I also contacted brighthouse and asked if the could take the optional service cover off to reduce the payments and they told me they cant because im in arears. They said if i cant pay they want the stuff back.

If they get sent back , will i get anything for the money i have paid off?
I advice do not go with these they are awfull and not rpoffesional at all.

Any advice would be appreciated.
Love Danielle x

[gizmo111]

Hi,

Do you know if the agreement you signed was HP or credit?

[danielle.knox]

it was a hp

[steveoram1]

The sale of general insurance such as service cover is covered under FSA regulations. To conform to FSA regulations they must have done two specific things at the time you took the policy out. Firstly they must provide you with a document called an Initial Disclosure Document setting out their regulator/complaints procedure etc. They must also have completed a Needs & Demands statement with you which you have to sign. They are bound by law to keep a copy of this document and can be audited by the FSA at any time. If you didn't get the IDD or complete the N&D they don't have a leg to stand on. The alternative is to go down the mis-selling route. They are legally bound to tell you that any insurance products are optional and cannot imply that the granting of credit is conditional in regard to whether any related insurance products are taken by the customer. I'm sure if you think really hard you will remember that nice salesman telling you that you wouldn't get the credit unless you took the cover can't you! Either way you will have to make a complaint to the FSA. Brighthouse sales staff are heavily targeted to sell this cover as it is one of the most lucrative profit centres for these operations. I can't even remember the last time one of my electrical appliances broke down so these policies are generally pure profit for the retailer. Good luck.

[danielle.knox]

all i got was a credit agreement nothing else,how wud i go about making thic complaint? would it cost?

[itsamomentintime]

''I'm sure if you think really hard you will remember that nice salesman telling you that you wouldn't get the credit unless you took the cover can't you!''

if this is the case i might go into Brighthouse and ask for this staement in writing, that would be interesting no?

[steveoram1]

The FSA website gives a step by step here if you want to make a complaint.FSA - Consumer Information - How To...

[julie1961]

I am also with Brighthouse, a couple of years ago i got in to difficulty due to my husbands illness. I made an appointment to speak to the accountant there & he re set my account, I was about 4 weeks behind & couldn't afford to catch up, he said they could only do it on an account once so he re set it & I just carried on paying as normal but the 4 weeks was added on to the end.
While you are in arrears the option cover & insurance isn't valid, on there ads they say option cover which suggests you don't have to have it, if you are insured with a home contents insurance you don't have to have the stored insurance.
I would ask the store if they can re set your account as surely it would be better for them to do that & get payment than take away your stuff & not get anything.
As for getting anything you have aready paid back then the answer is no you won't, they let you have the stuff on a return basis on condition that you won't get anything if returned, if you do return anything if is sold in another store for near the original price regardless of howmuch you have paid off it.

[danielle.knox]

i cant speak to any one in my store they all have attitudes and have no respect they just want money, i already asked if they could add it on to the end and they said no it doesnt work like that. im sick of them.

[julie1961]

Like i said they re set my account, I honestly didn't think they could do it but they were pretty good about it. They cannot remove your good if you have paid a certain amount off, have they given you agreements? I have noticed my branch don't give you a copy of your agreement unless you demand one.

[danielle.knox]

yes i have been given a copy of the agreement i have paid about £1500 pound of, i got a letter off them the other day stating that if i dont contact them and pay they want the good back of they will take legal proceedings. what does that mean and how long will it take b4 they actually remove my goods. help x

[julie1961]

On your agreement it should have the amount you have to pay back & how much per week over so many weeks, it also should have a box with figures in stating that once you have paid a certain amount they will have to take legal action to get permission from the court to take back the goods, this means they can not just come & take them, they have to apply to the court. You could argue that you are not refusing to pay & you are paying regularly even though you are a bit behind. If on the other hand you haven't paid up to the amount which is stated you have to pay before they have to apply to the court then they have got the right to take the goods back.
Brighthouse have an answer for everything, I would dig my heels in, pay the weekly amount plus an amount affordable & see what they do, by the time they had applied to the court the arrears would probably be clear, they are great at threats.

[mothervee]

These contributions relate to Nov. 2006 but I just thought I'd let everyone know that Brighthouse are still up to their old tricks.
My daughter is a single parent and bought a sofa from Brighthouse. She couldn't keep up the payments.
She phoned me in tears last week to say that the collector from Brighthouse had been banging on her door, peering through the windows and shouting through the letter box.
She owes £70 in arrears.
I contacted Brighthouse and offered to pay her arrears. I live some distance away so any payment had to be by post or phone.
Brighthouse refused to accept my credit card and insisted that I pay by debit card.
I have been advised by my bank previously that any shopping or money transactions that I make by phone or internet should never be by debit card. Giving someone your debit card details is a bit like giving them direct access to your bank account.
I offered to pay by cheque which they accepted. But yesterday I had a phone call from the collector to say they won't accept my cheque unless I write my debit card details on the back of the cheque.
What the hell sort of company is this?
They claim to be a reputable company but they will only deal in cash or debit cards.
After a quick web search I have found numerous people who claim to have been threatened and abused by Brighthouse staff.
I have to say I didn't find any of their staff helpful and a lesson in manners wouldn't go amiss.
I asked for the head office number to complain. Like so many others they refused to give it to me.
They seem to prey on people who can least afford it. They give ridiculous amounts of credit to people who stand very little chance of making the repayments.
I'd be pleased to hear if anyone has any success in tackling Brighthouse in their unethical business approach.

[lucy60]

i got a fridge freezer off brighthouse end of last year within 10 weeks it was not working. After 3 repairs and still not working i asked them to take it away and give me a new one or refund my money. they refused point blank and said they would carry on trying to repair it. I explained i was not going to pay hundreds of pounds for something that had broke after 10 weeks and was constantly in need of repair but i got nowhere with them. I then rang trading standards and spoke to a very nice and helpful man, he rang brighthouse and five minutes later they rang me to arrange removal of the fridge and delivery of a new one. problem solved. NOT. The new fridge is now playing up have had it about 8 weeks. here we go again.

[mothervee]

Lucy I feel desperately sorry for you and any other Brighthouse customers. To be honest I was slightly annoyed with my daughter for getting into such a complete mess but the more I read the more I think the mess was not entirely of her making and more the result of pressure sales and bad business practice aimed at people who can least afford it. I notice other threads relating to Brighthouse where people have claimed that they have been subject to high interest, late payment charges and harassement.
If you do a websearch it doesn't take too long to discover other complaints in addition to those listed on Consumer Action Group site.
My daughter is a single parent, with two children and a part time job. She lives in privately rented accomodation and because she works part time irregular hours she has had difficulties with the weekly benefit adjustments. I can hardly blame her for taking up what sounded like a wonderful offer to have her old collapsed sofa replaced.
Brighthouse seem to actively encourage people to take on debt which they don't stand a chance of paying off within any reasonable timescale, then subject them to harrassment, threats and unreasonable charges when they default.
If anyone is aware of any way that we can make Brighthouse clean up their act I'd love to hear from them.
The problem seems to be they operate just within the law.
My daughter has suffered the embarressment of having the collector shouting through her letterbox but what can we do? At the end of the day she owes the money so it makes it difficult to claim harrassment.
The more I read people's stories, the more I hate Brighthouse. Unfortunately because they prey on the some of the poorest people in our society they are bound to run a thriving business.
So on that note if the collector that is dealing with my daughter's case ever reads this I'd just like to answer his comment.
He told me he's been working with Brighthouse for 15 years and they are a great company. I'd like to say if he's got an ounce of decency he should look for another job.

[Sathelp]

Mothervee, Have a look at the 1977 PROTECTION FROM HARASSMENT ACT. It was set up to protect woman from harrasment but under the act it also covers things like collection or debt collectors harrasing you. You may find some amunition against them here.

[Esio Trot]

Originally Posted by Sathelp

Mothervee, Have a look at the 1977 PROTECTION FROM HARASSMENT ACT. It was set up to protect woman from harrassment but under the act it also covers things like collection or debt collectors harrassing you. You may find some amunition against them here.

Not really, it was set up to protect people from harrassment

[sweetnsexyenglish]

Sadly Brighthouse staff are not know for there manners and customer service techniques which is why they have a high turn over of staff because of irrate customers, or customers like me who are not prepaired to take any bull from no one...It's sad to say that because we have financial difficulties and can not go down the regular routes to finance or purchase much needed goods out right that we are penalise by staff treating us like we are less than human/ second class citizens, as I had to tell one assistant, I am not asking for a hand out...I pay with money for my goods and deserve a little manners and repect as a customer. I have many bad dealings with Brighthouse and have so many names for them but it's not surprising really is it as when they were Crazy George they were just as rude.

If you get into difficulty you are entitled to a rewrite...and as mentioned earlier you can only have one! But they do not operate fairly as if you miss the saturday payment and pay monday they still slap on a late fee for each item you owe & want two weeks money ... They refuse point blank to look at anything on your account while its in arrears, and even try to intimidate you on the phone if you are late demanding a date and time you'll be in the shop, and once they've even left a message with my 14yr old daughter which seemed like a monday or else threat ...

I have already warned staff about the way they address me, and have told them numerous times do not attempt to threaten me on the phone, I have even had one manager make an agreement with me witnessed by staff and then the very next morning recei