coin rental tv

[scampjet]

Hi all,

Since joining this site I have been taking stock of all the stuff we have had on credit in the past. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about coin operated tv rentals.

These people get all thier trade from the less fortunate in our country and as with all these things things get out of hand. You start off buying a tv and pay per view for your tv via a £1 meter. the more you owe, the less tv you get for your £1. The origional price of the item you buy is higher that that of high street stores ( about the same as catalogues). Since delving into the world of credit etc. due to the setting up a DMP, we wanted to include the debt under the plan but as we were not in arrears with the company we could not. We approached the company with a view to reducing the payments but they said that the only way they could do this is if were fall into arrears. The debt has grown because under the same system they allow you to purchase from them other houshold items such as washing machines etc. and when we needed replacment for these items, it was the only way we could get them due to financial reasons. to cut a long story short, we discovered that they no longer operated thier system as they have in the past because they were not allowed to. It used to be that they took the balance that was left owing for say.. a tv, added this to a new agreement for a new item and calculated the amount as a new HP agreement. Apparently they can no longer do this, and I wondered why. Is it a case that they have been acting unfairly/unlawfuly? and if so can money be reclaimed.

[julie1961]

I have had a slot TV since my husband left the army in 1982 & we returned to England. My children were very tiny then & money was tight. We rented for years then decided we would buy through the slot. We did this 4 years ago & paid the TV off & then bought a better one & gave the first one to our daughter. We have never had any problems & we pay for our TV licence through the slot as well.
We changed companies when we bought our new TV as the first company we were with didn't do the size we wanted. We have recently bought a sat nav throught the slot which was added on to the TV account & we just pay a couple of quid extra a week.
i agree that the prices as higher than if I bought from the high street & the interest is high but this is the only way we can afford to buy what we want & also we get a great repair service if anything goes wrong.

[scampjet]

Thanks for the reply Julie,

Does your company add the balance of your account to the any new purchase or is each item a stand alone agreement?

As I said, we are not in arrears, but out of necessity we have had to make further purchases before the previous purchase has been paid off. As they then put the balance on the price of the new item, the cost of say a £300 washing machine becomes very expensive. Yes, a rebate is given off the original debt for early repayment, but then then interest is calculated for the new debt which can be twice as much and over a longer period. I just wondered why, as is my understanding, that they can no longer calculate the debt over a longer period and how by deliberately going into arrears with them, they would be able to reduce the payments.

[julie1961]

Yes the amount of the new purchase has been added to the amount owing on the TV less rebate. The rebate itself is higher than the price of the Sat Nav but by the time they have added the interest we are now paying over £600. If I had read it properly i would never have got it. They don't go through the agreement with you, they just fill it in & get you to sign it. The old company I was with read it to you carefully so you knew what you were paying back. That will teach me in future to read things carefully & also ask questions.

[scampjet]

Originally Posted by julie1961

Yes the amount of the new purchase has been added to the amount owing on the TV less rebate. The rebate itself is higher than the price of the Sat Nav but by the time they have added the interest we are now paying over £600. If I had read it properly i would never have got it. They don't go through the agreement with you, they just fill it in & get you to sign it. The old company I was with read it to you carefully so you knew what you were paying back. That will teach me in future to read things carefully & also ask questions.

So the TV is now yours..............the sat nav is twice the price over a 3 year period....... and should the tv need replacing after the warranty period............the only place you/we can aford to get one is from them........and so it continues................ ...

Basically, they are generating more sales by keeping you trapped. In the same way it seems to me as credit cards do if you only make a minimum payment.

Can't be right can it? Thats why I asked the question!

[julie1961]

No the Tv isn't paid for yet. the Sat Nav was added to the balance left on the TV & a new contract was drawn up. The TV had 2 years to pay left on it but after adding the Sat Nav it is now 3 years again.
When I was with the other company which was Telebank, if you bought anything on top of what you had you got a seperate contract for that item only so the balances finished at different times. When i paid the TV off I still had a loan outstanding but because the Tv was paid they took the meter off & I just had to pay the collector each month. I told them i couldn't afford the full payments at the time as my husband got made reduntant so they cut the payments down to £20 per month from £80. I do wish in a way i had stayed with them but they have been bought out & the collector said the company isn't like it was.