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    • If you are buying a used car – you need to read this survival guide.
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    • Hello,

      On 15/1/24 booked appointment with Big Motoring World (BMW) to view a mini on 17/1/24 at 8pm at their Enfield dealership.  

      Car was dirty and test drive was two circuits of roundabout on entry to the showroom.  Was p/x my car and rushed by sales exec and a manager into buying the mini and a 3yr warranty that night, sale all wrapped up by 10pm.  They strongly advised me taking warranty out on car that age (2017) and confirmed it was honoured at over 500 UK registered garages.

      The next day, 18/1/24 noticed amber engine warning light on dashboard , immediately phoned BMW aftercare team to ask for it to be investigated asap at nearest garage to me. After 15 mins on hold was told only their 5 service centres across the UK can deal with car issues with earliest date for inspection in March ! Said I’m not happy with that given what sales team advised or driving car. Told an amber warning light only advisory so to drive with caution and call back when light goes red.

      I’m not happy to do this, drive the car or with the after care experience (a sign of further stresses to come) so want a refund and to return the car asap.

      Please can you advise what I need to do today to get this done. 
       

      Many thanks 
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    • Housing Association property flooding. https://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/topic/438641-housing-association-property-flooding/&do=findComment&comment=5124299
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    • We have finally managed to obtain the transcript of this case.

      The judge's reasoning is very useful and will certainly be helpful in any other cases relating to third-party rights where the customer has contracted with the courier company by using a broker.
      This is generally speaking the problem with using PackLink who are domiciled in Spain and very conveniently out of reach of the British justice system.

      Frankly I don't think that is any accident.

      One of the points that the judge made was that the customers contract with the broker specifically refers to the courier – and it is clear that the courier knows that they are acting for a third party. There is no need to name the third party. They just have to be recognisably part of a class of person – such as a sender or a recipient of the parcel.

      Please note that a recent case against UPS failed on exactly the same issue with the judge held that the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 did not apply.

      We will be getting that transcript very soon. We will look at it and we will understand how the judge made such catastrophic mistakes. It was a very poor judgement.
      We will be recommending that people do include this adverse judgement in their bundle so that when they go to county court the judge will see both sides and see the arguments against this adverse judgement.
      Also, we will be to demonstrate to the judge that we are fair-minded and that we don't mind bringing everything to the attention of the judge even if it is against our own interests.
      This is good ethical practice.

      It would be very nice if the parcel delivery companies – including EVRi – practised this kind of thing as well.

       

      OT APPROVED, 365MC637, FAROOQ, EVRi, 12.07.23 (BRENT) - J v4.pdf
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Bright house of horrors


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We are trying to collect stories of people's experience with Brighhouse. Eventually we would like to make up a dossier.

 

Please post your story on this thread.

 

We would like to know about how staff have treated you, particularly if you have got behind with payments.

 

We would also like to know if you have been pressurised to take out any insurance or optional service cover (OSC).

 

Furthermore we would like to know about problems you have had with goods from this company and how Brighthouse have handled repairs or replacements.

 

Please don't post comments on this thread, just your story.

HAVE YOU BEEN TREATED UNFAIRLY BY CREDITORS OR DCA's?

 

BEWARE OF CLAIMS MANAGEMENT COMPANIES OFFERING TO WRITE OFF YOUR DEBTS.

 

 

Please note opinions given by rory32 are offered informally as a lay-person in good faith based on personal experience. For legal advice, you must always consult a registered and insured lawyer.

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I have simply had a rotten experience with this company.

 

In March 2006 I purchased a cream leather suite from Brighthouse.

 

In October 2006 whilst my father was on a life support machine, the last thing on my mind was to go in to Brighthouse on the Saturday and pay my 23.99 weekly payment. As you can appreciate, someone was more important.

However, I telephoned the store on the Monday morning and explained the situation and in return received a somewhat frosty reply.

Due to my personal circumstances at the time, I even asked for someone to pick up the payment from my home as I could not get to the store and the answer was simply NO.

My father passed away and in a blur I was three weeks behind on my payment.

The phone calls I received during my bereavement was inhumane. I felt completely terrorised by the manageress who persistantly echoed the word reposession. My mother and sister received phone calls off the store as I had given their contacts as references. They too were suffering bereavement and I felt completely humiliated.

I wrote a letter of complaint to the manageress who I later found out had passed it around to staff to read. It contained personal information regarding my circumstances. At one point during a telephone conversation that may I add was taped by a close friend of mine, the store manageress called me a thick bitch. ( I still have that conversation stating she is the shop manageress and she was calling from Brighthouse as my friend answered and we were expecting a call.) This may I add was the day before my fathers funeral and I have dates and times to prove it.

Yes I owed them money, no I wasn't refusing to pay them and yes working out my finances, I would have scraped together the full amount in two weeks if they would have agreed to take the money in installments.

However, Brighthouse being Brighthouse would not allow that option so I was thrust in to more debt courtesy of their late payment charges etc.

 

The phone calls requesting for the full amount didn't stop. I edged my bets and walked in to Brighthouse with my ten year old son and offered them £85.00. After being humiliated in front of my son, in the store, I walked out with the payment still in my hand. They refused to take it off me.

 

Recent events took a toll on my health and after another abusive phone call, I bit back. I bit back with a vengance, threw the abuse back and ordered them to take me to court.

I was a single parent working as a volunteer with a highly respected charity to better my chances of employment and gain qualifications.

I had been praised by my local MP for my work and featured in various newspaper articles.

Brighthouse telephoned me and asked me to go in their store to sort out my finances. There was no abuse, no threats and no anomosity.

I borrowed the money to pay the amount in full, I more or less threw it at them in disgust and walked out of the store.

 

I fully well remember that the day I went in to the store and signed for the suite, one of the forms of ID they asked for was a bank statement. I also filled out a form stating the amount of benefit money I received on a weekly basis. They knew my financial circumstances. They had it in black and white.

Brighthouse should they have referred to those documents when I signed, would have fully well known that asking for three weeks arrears in full plus the late payment charges, would have left me and children in complete dire straights. This is a company who give generously to charity, one being a charity that gratefully helps terminally ill children.

 

I am currently experiencing another problem with Brighthouse but as yet will not know the outcome.

However, the above is a factual story that took place in October 2006.

 

Kind Regards

 

Morrigan

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Hi, I am replying to your request for stories about BrightHouse. In April 2006 I purchased a televison and stand which, I might add, were pre-owned. I was at that time told that I needed Optional Service Cover and Damage Liability Cover also. I was paying them about £18 per week over 99 weeks and, about 10 months later, also purchased a washing machine. My payment went up tp £27 a week and had no problem paying this until I was off work sick and that was the start of the harassment. The first home visit I had the man said he would take the items back until my payments were up to date but I refused. One day I recieved approx 20 calls, some were at 10pm from the managers mobile! I then came on to this forum and, after taking advice , I wrote a letter asking for OSC and DLC to be removed within 7 days. I went in to see the Manager and advised him that I would no longer accept his bully boy tactics. He removed both the covers from my account and I now pay £15 per week. I wrote to their Head Office asking for the money back that I had paid for OSC and DLC but was refused. I now have only 12 weeks to pay and I will be clear of them. I will never go near BrightHouse again.

Thanks

Irene P

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I for one am so glad I no longer have anything to do with Brighthouse.

I was with them for years, in the beginning the store manager they had was lovely, very friendly & helpful but he left & the new manager that came in had a heart of stone. I got to know the staff well & even they complained about him. I missed 2 payments after having a nervous breakdown, I got phone calls, letters & visits to the house, you would have thought I owed them thousands the way they carried on. thankfully my daughter dealt with them but even though she told them I couldn't speak to them as I was ill they still rang late at night to try & catch me on my own.

I got my payments up to date & never missed then at Christmas they asked if I would like to order a Nintendo DS as one of the staff members knew my grandson had been nattering for one for ages, I reluctantly did & was told it would arrive 2 weeks before Christmas, it didn't then they said it was 100% that I would get it 2 days before but it didn't arrive & when I ran them they said they had ordered me a Nintendo Wii by mistake but would I like that instead. Final straw I returned the goods I had & walked away for good from BH.

I have other stories I could mention but it would take me forever, I would advice anyone thinking of dealing with them to put the payments they would make in a savings account for a few weeks then go pay cash somewhere else. I was paying £20 per week for my suite over 3 yrs, after 12 months I realised how much I had left to pay & had already paid, I sent it back, saved for a few weeks & bought a brand new leather suite off ebay & its better quality.

 

 

Julie

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Ok I have a friend who used BH for a gas cooker but was told unless they provided a corgi number for the fitter they would not release the cooker, now you may find this practice ok but when my friend said they didnt know a gas fitter they were very quickly told they could supply a fitter for them. (sales for you as no doubt they would have added this into the costs before adding interest) Now the reason they didnt ask me at the time was he didnt want me knowing he was using BH. The more i think about BH the more I get annoyed as they DONT need to have this practice in place no one else does, they in my opinion are pushing the customer into using their services. This may be only this store but I do intend to visit them and ask why they insist on having these numbers when other retailers dont which will lead to the question if they are profitting from such fitting.

 

Will update.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I am happy for my fight with Brighthouse over my laptop to be used which you will find in a previous thread so I will not retell old news, and as for more stories...well now there's a can of worms you've unleashed :-o .

 

I have been in to make payments and left on the counter for all to see is another customers contract and copy of details with name & address. I wrote the Wolverhampton store a note on their company clip board ((I know I am so naughty:razz: ))stating that I didn't think the Customer would be too happy to know their personal details was left in a place for anyone standing at the counter to read.

 

I have been told and experienced myself, threats to collect goods, goods that legally if they wanted them back they would have to get a court order as the legally stated 1/3 has been paid ((twice may I add)) as they rewrote my contract without my having full knowledge of the implication and without being asked for my consent, using their bullying tactics.

 

However since my fight with the laptop and the useful information obtained off this website and people like Lefty!! I now am fully armed with my legal rights, and Brighthouse depends on people being desperate and ignorant of the law they can not fight people who know their rights and are prepared to fight!! ((hence my local store hate me :D ))

 

They actually came to my home while I was out and was beating down my door, my two children had just got home from school. Because no one answered the door they wrote a note ((which I have kept as evidence)) which stated they had come for the goods. However they did not put it through the door. No whether to cause embarrassment I don't know, but they stuck it (with sticky tape) to my letter box for any nosey neighbour to lift and read.. I called the store fuming and now armed with my rights, they tried to say the people came from a different store, so I had to ask 1.why would they have come from a different store and 2. not been aware of the contract to which they drew up? I then let THEM know that unless they get a court order they must not knock my door otherwise I will be making a case of breach of contract against them, and read to them their section of the clause and gave them the total figure paid.

 

I have on occasion missed the Saturday payment and they start phoning 1st thing Monday morning, they have been asked several times not to call with a withheld number and constantly ignore my requests. I have sat and had my phone ring 6 times in the space of 3 - 4 mins from Brighthouse. I pointed out if they released their number and I missed the call at least I could return the call but as they choose to bombard my phone instead with withheld calls when I don't answer I decided I had to prove my point. Hence I gave them a lesson in how the phone works. Which is you only get to speak to me when I CHOOSE to answer the phone, so no amount of ringing will help them. I have one item with them at £6.39 a week, there where 5 items in total and 4 were paid off ahead of schedule yet for 1 missed payment I get a load of grief from staff that think the bullying technique works.

 

1 person can not make a difference but when I hear how the store has treated people I feel like giving out flyer's outside the store advising customers and potential customers of the truth behind brighthouse and directing them to this sight. Friends who have seen what I went through with brighthouse have over heard staff speak rudely to customers who were having problems with faulty goods and they often say they wanted to give them my details in order for me to help them.

 

And it pains me to see friends still purchase more goods from them even though they have seen the hassle I've been through. I vowed I would not purchase another item, and I am true to my word.

 

I have a washing machine which developed a fault, their repair man came and took out a part which they said wasn't needed. I am still in shock, I would have thought if Whirlpool put in the part it must be in there for a reason, and to this day have my doubts to the repair mans technique, yes he got it working...but the washing machine is barely two years old and the drum now sounds a little different like metal scrapping slightly.

 

I have a Goodmans stereo and they were to change the speaker this is two weeks after its initial purchase, the speaker they boxed up and delivered like it was brand knew was filthy, the wood effect was pealing from the top and sides and looked battered.

 

I have seen downstairs in the Wolverhampton store and the state of items they have there would make you wonder why the hell anyone shopped there. And at one point the majority of items in the store seemed to be returned, repossessed or reconditioned stock.

 

They do NOT advise customers that the DLC isn't required if you have house insurance, and that the OPTIONAL COVER is in fact OPTIONAL, I have had items delivered and have been hit on by a slimey employee while at my home and also when I have been into the store to make payments he even followed me out of the store making inappropriate comments, in front of my daughter, I have reported him twice the 2nd time being when he used the number meant to confirm delivery arrangements to call up my friend and chat her up on the phone trying to score a date and not once has Brighthouse entered into the discussion of inappropriate behaviour by its employee and what they intended to do with the complaint. Not surprising really since they pride themselves on their lack of customer service skills, and lack of manners, although I will say there are the odd few staff that are there that are pleasant and helpful but they are tarnished by the majority.

I'm fighting back and ready to go :D who will be my first victim? LBL, Brighthouse.

 

..."If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life."

 

I am not here to insult or offend...just to offer advice and seek advice as all this is a learning experience, such is the cycle of life...for those that would wish to insult me for my thoughts or deeds...Stay Blessed for I know my heart is pure with no ill thought towards YOU. :cool:

Nationwide Won:D Benefits returned £577

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hello i am a new customer to brighthouse from yesterday and too be honest the same as everyone else the store is a (EDITED),and yes i was forced to go to take the optional service cover.Maybe because i did not have home insurance which they needed but even though they were forcing me to take this service before i told them i had no home insurance but again it says OPTIONAL so home insurance or not it still says optional.

the staff were freindly apart from they was not acting provesional for example they were play fighting and all sorts.

i havent got anything fromthe store just yet apperently i have to wait 5 days until i cn get something that is if they have it in stock as apprently they couldnt give me the laptop i as after so they offered me a tv which i could buy then said that wasnt in stock either.

this store should be on watchdog or something lol,brighthose can be a very successful store if the service cover was optional and at a adfordable rate.

the store i visited yesterday was in Leigh, Lancashire.

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The other thing I forgot to mention was that a few people I know who have decided to take items from Brighthouse's Wolverhampton store have gone through the process of making applications and even paying the first weeks fee before the item is even available for delivery, and have waited week in week out while still making weekly payments for items that has not been delivered.

 

The store has also lost applications which fortunately for my friends has served as a red flag and they then proceeded in cancelling the goods.

 

Customers may find that the rule where you have so many days to cancel the contract, because of how they actually operate means that you either have to cancel the contract before seeing the goods as by the time they do deliver you've already made two weeks payments and have already past the cancellation deadline.

 

I have also witnessed the delivery of ex display stock delivered as new and under contract as new with a big crack down the glass table. When approached on this matter they claimed it was because they couldn't get the stock in, however they did not offer to discount the ex display or advise the customer until the customer complained after having seen the crack just as the delivery men where leaving.

I'm fighting back and ready to go :D who will be my first victim? LBL, Brighthouse.

 

..."If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life."

 

I am not here to insult or offend...just to offer advice and seek advice as all this is a learning experience, such is the cycle of life...for those that would wish to insult me for my thoughts or deeds...Stay Blessed for I know my heart is pure with no ill thought towards YOU. :cool:

Nationwide Won:D Benefits returned £577

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sounds about right i have not got anything from them yet but they did tell me i had to pay up front as wel as that they didnt have much in stock aperently.

SweetSexyEnglish you could do something about this here is a link to watchdog you could sort this out once and for all here is a link.

BBC - Consumer - TV and radio - TV and radio

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Hi people,

 

My girlfriend stupidly purchased a 2 piece suite from Brighthouse without saying anything to me. It ended up something like nearly £3500 over the 3 years.

 

Anyway, I noticed they had included 2 sorts of Insurance, I`m not sure which was called which but we have cancelled the Optional Service Cover and is already saving £5 a week. They refused to cancel the other insurance, stating they could only do that if we had our own House insurance which we don`t as we live in a Council House.

 

I was wondering, would this other insurance we are paying be the DLC as it is know as? I`m not sure what it`s called. Can this DLC also be cancelled if we don`t need OR want it?

 

I`m thinking of dumping the suite outside of their shop and just buying one from another shop for about £2000 cheaper. Does anyone know if we`d still be responsible for paying any outstanding balance?

 

I realise that this thread is only for peoples stories, but if someone could possibly put me on the right track and maybe move my post to the right thread then that would be fine.

 

I look forward to hearing from someone.

 

Regards

 

 

N.P

If I have helped or made you laugh in any way in your hour of need, then please click my scales <<<<<<<<<< ;)

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Hi people,

 

My girlfriend stupidly purchased a 2 piece suite from Brighthouse without saying anything to me. It ended up something like nearly £3500 over the 3 years.

 

Anyway, I noticed they had included 2 sorts of Insurance, I`m not sure which was called which but we have cancelled the Optional Service Cover and is already saving £5 a week. They refused to cancel the other insurance, stating they could only do that if we had our own House insurance which we don`t as we live in a Council House.

 

I was wondering, would this other insurance we are paying be the DLC as it is know as? I`m not sure what it`s called. Can this DLC also be cancelled if we don`t need OR want it?

 

I`m thinking of dumping the suite outside of their shop and just buying one from another shop for about £2000 cheaper. Does anyone know if we`d still be responsible for paying any outstanding balance?

 

I realise that this thread is only for peoples stories, but if someone could possibly put me on the right track and maybe move my post to the right thread then that would be fine.

 

I look forward to hearing from someone.

 

Regards

 

 

N.P

 

Hi N.P.

 

This could possibly be a very interesting Brighthouse question, but we really want to keep this thread free for "horror" stories. Please start a new thread so you can receive the advice you need. ;) Appreciated.

 

 

Cheers

Lefty

If the left side of the brain controls your right, and the right side controls your left, then left-handed people are always in their right mind!

 

Please help to support this site with a small donation... every little helps...

 

CAG- The Nation's Weekly Info Store!

;)

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I have unapproved a few posts on this thread as they are comments. As per post #1:

 

Please don't post comments on this thread, just your story.

HAVE YOU BEEN TREATED UNFAIRLY BY CREDITORS OR DCA's?

 

BEWARE OF CLAIMS MANAGEMENT COMPANIES OFFERING TO WRITE OFF YOUR DEBTS.

 

 

Please note opinions given by rory32 are offered informally as a lay-person in good faith based on personal experience. For legal advice, you must always consult a registered and insured lawyer.

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Here’s a story from Lefty’s case files…

 

THE STRANGE CASE OF THE NOT SO OPTIONAL “OPTIONAL” SERVICE COVER

 

In April 2006 Mrs Jones (disguised name) took the plunge and decided to home school her 12 year old daughter after a prolonged period of bullying at the child’s former school. Mrs Jones had spent most of her working career as a teacher, but due to serious illness (and a very messy divorce) she found herself house bound and somewhat “credit impaired”.

 

A laptop with internet access was an absolute necessity for her daughter’s home schooling, but unable to purchase one outright she turned to Brighthouse - who happily obliged! (Mrs Jones had already been a Brighthouse customer of good standing, and was just about to finish two earlier agreements for home appliances.)

 

She signed a two year agreement for a Hewlett Packard Pavilion laptop with an advertised cash price of £896.25. APR of 29.9% (the charge for credit) took the overall price to £1,140.89 but with the addition of Optional Service Cover (applied automatically) at £619.84 and Damage Liability Cover (again, applied automatically) at £265.20 the TOTAL cost was a staggering £2,025.93. The very same model laptop was available on the high street (Dixons, Currys etc) for £649.99, but Mrs Jones simply did not have the ready cash - and “regular” credit facilities were unavailable to her at the time. She decided that, with a little careful budgeting, the £19.48 weekly payment was the only option. Besides, her daughter desperately needed the laptop to continue with her education.

 

After only two weeks the laptop developed a fault. The DVD-ROM drive failed and would not recognise any discs. Mrs Jones phoned her local Brighthouse store who promptly gave her the contact number for Hewlett Packard to arrange a repair. Of course, this is with blatant disregard for consumer law and, in itself, begs the question, what on earth was she paying £619.84 in service cover for?

 

Upon telephoning Hewlett Packard, Mrs Jones was advised to register the laptop with them for service, and was also informed that for a one off charge of £88.95 she could purchase a three year extended warranty direct from them. Compared to the £619.84 Brighthouse was charging (service cover for the two year duration of the agreement) this seemed like extremely good value for money and, with a little help from a friend with a credit card, she purchased it.

 

She immediately contacted Brighthouse and informed them she no longer required their Optional Service Cover and asked to have it removed from her agreement. She was told categorically that removal of Optional Service Cover was not possible, and once it had been signed for it could not be cancelled. It was very clearly explained to her that the term “optional” meant customers had the option to decline taking service cover when signing the agreement, but once applied it became integral to the agreement and could not be removed.

 

Unhappy with this response, she took the matter up with the store manager who told her exactly the same thing - in fact adding that head office had issued a memo regarding the very subject. He went into great detail as to how Brighthouse provided excellent value for money with their service cover - providing a full service package and loan equipment if necessary. He explained that Brighthouse actually purchase warranties from the manufacturers and do all their repairs in-house. Standard 12 month guarantees do not apply to items purchased from Brighthouse! (He was, of course, a little stumped when asked why she had to telephone Hewlett Packard to repair her laptop!)

 

Clearly getting nowhere with the store, she contacted customer services at their head office. She was told a senior manager would call her back within 24 hours. Two days later, and with no call back, she telephoned again and was told the same thing - a senior manager would call her back within 24 hours. This went on for a couple of days, during which time she decided to thoroughly read through the terms and conditions of her agreement. Hidden deep within the miniscule text she found:

 

“Your Obligations: Optional Service Cover

Section C (b) The service cover premium is renewable each time your regular instalment is due under the agreement. If the premium is not paid Service Cover will lapse.

 

Section H (3) This policy shall continue in force until you give seven days notice…”

 

Armed with this information she once again decided to tackle the store manager. Pointing out to him the section within the agreement - and once again stating she wanted Optional Service Cover removed - he still refused to budge insisting he needed authorisation from head office through his regional manager.

 

The next day, and upon my advice, she presented the store with this letter (copied to head office):

 

Item Description/Account Number XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Dear Sir

 

I am writing to give the required 7 days notice, as detailed in my agreement that I wish to cancel all "optional" service cover on the above product. To simplify matters, I have today (date) presented a copy of this letter to the store manager of Brighthouse (Branch), which has been duly acknowledged, so 7 days notice shall commence at the date of this letter.

 

As stated in my agreement:

 

“Your Obligations: Optional Service Cover

Section C (b) The service cover premium is renewable each time your regular instalment is due under the agreement. If the premium is not paid Service Cover will lapse.

 

Section H (3) This policy shall continue in force until you give seven days notice…”

 

I shall be making my next payment on (day) at Brighthouse (branch). This payment will not include "optional" service cover.

 

I understand that I may be require me to sign a revised agreement. I will only do this if all payments made previously on this agreement are reflected in any revised agreement. I do not waive any of my rights under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 regarding, in particular, “early settlement” and “repossession” as set out in section J of the original agreement.

 

Kind Regards

Mrs Jones

 

After three days (and still no call back from a senior manager) she telephoned the store manager once more to confirm her new weekly payment amount. She discovered that head office had contacted him and he had been instructed to remove her Optional Service Cover but, for some reason, had not bothered - or had the common courtesy - to contact her. This, I find, is very typical of Brighthouse head office. I hear this all the time. Nobody EVER calls you back! It is almost like they go out of their way to be as unhelpful and uncooperative as possible - hoping, of course, that you will simply give up and stop making a fuss…

 

Mrs Jones had her laptop repaired by Hewlett Packard and it is still working fine - no thanks to Brighthouse and their not so optional “optional” service cover. It is now fully paid for and Mrs Jones has been able to rebuild her life and has returned to work as an education professional.

 

 

 

Cheers

Lefty

 

 

(More case files coming soon….)

If the left side of the brain controls your right, and the right side controls your left, then left-handed people are always in their right mind!

 

Please help to support this site with a small donation... every little helps...

 

CAG- The Nation's Weekly Info Store!

;)

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i have been with bright house for 6 years now the first 2 items i had i took out the so called optional service cover cos i was informed i had to have it if i didnt have contents insurane which i didnt have at the time. as soon as i got insurance i cancelled without a problem. i went in with boyf a few months later to buy somethin the manager said i had to have this cover because they need a new copy of my house insurance papers, boyf told 'him rollock off' and questioned why is it called optional if you tell us we have got to have it, since then every item i have never have any service cover on.i phoned one day to say i coulnt get there to pay them an they said my excuse wasn good enough,my son was in hospital so i had to send a freind to pay for me just to stop the ridiculous charges they add on to each item.i popped in today 2 items remainin just under 2 years to pay roll on 2 years £23 a week better off for items i still couldve got half the price:)

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the manager said that my council insurance was no good as it didnt cover buildings insurance lol obvioulsy the counil insure that themselves thats another one they tried to get me on and and the old letters they send to you stating your nearing the end and if you take a new agreement out they will finish the last 6 weeks of the old n the one we have noticed your agreement has ended and you havent taken out service cover

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  • 3 weeks later...

Hi

 

I found this site when looking for informatin on brighthouse's insurance as the time has come when i need to claim on it and no joy so far...

 

I "bought" a fire from bright house in August 2006 from Southampton.

 

Whilst living there everything wasfine my story begins when i moved from Southampton to Wales.

 

I went into the Southampton store and gave them my new address informed them i was moving and paid 2 weeks to cover the moving period, 2 weeks later i rang Southampton to pay the weekly amount to be told that as i hadmoved away from Southamtpon i was no longer their customer but Swanseas so i dutifully rang swanseato be told we dont cover your area ring southampton i did this for several weeks each time Bright house refused to take any money from me, i had no reminder letter no threrats etc.. what i should have done then is to walk away and say o well i tried but i didnt i wrote a very strongly worded letter to the company who owns their finance within 3 days i began to received many phone calls for payment from Southampton, i then explained i couldnt talk in work but would ring them in my lunch break i gave them a time but when i rang no manager this happenedseveral times. eventually we connected and i was told she would transfer my account to llanelli.. my nearest branch. but that i was responsible for the arrears. to be honest i laughed and said no chance i had tried to pay and they didnt take my cash ergo their problem not mine.

 

I then got a call from llanelli branch to go in and sort this i did i signed a new agreement and had all the arrears and some extra as a good will gesture wiped off.

 

But... i wouldnt have had this if i hadnt battled to pay them

 

its a ridiculous scenario

 

Cinderellas servant in wales

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After my last battle with Brighthouse over my laptop I feel we are about to clash again...I have skipped paying them for a few weeks and whether or not I am within my rights I am sick to the back teeth with brighthouse and their extortionately priced items that seem to break down not log after....I purchased five items from brighthouse....the speaker on a goodman's dvd/stereo had to be replace with many problems...now the dvd/cd player seems to be having a problem playing disks constantly sticking....ok it may just be the disk.....but the disks are created in my dvd/cdw on my laptop...the one they exchanged, the one I fought tooth and nail for, but the drive seems to be having MAJOR issues, hence yet another fault! The XBOX 360 purchased is item 3....IT CANT TURN ON!! not quite sure it if is a year old or lil over a yr....and the washing machine...item 4....constantly has pump failure, in all the washing machines I have ever owned I have never had such an expensive washing machine...Whirlpool 6th Sense.....and it has pump failure at least 4 times a month, they have already been here twice, the first time they ripped a part out of the machine and said yea its not required.....out of 5 items only my dinner table and chairs are of any good although the leather effect seats are more than a little delicate...now I owe possible £300 if not less on this one item as all the others where paid for long before the contract should have ended and I am just so provoked I feel not to pay them 1 red cent more and take the money to fix the 4 items than need repairing.

I'm fighting back and ready to go :D who will be my first victim? LBL, Brighthouse.

 

..."If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life."

 

I am not here to insult or offend...just to offer advice and seek advice as all this is a learning experience, such is the cycle of life...for those that would wish to insult me for my thoughts or deeds...Stay Blessed for I know my heart is pure with no ill thought towards YOU. :cool:

Nationwide Won:D Benefits returned £577

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  • 2 weeks later...

Another story from Lefty's case files...

 

The Alarming Case of the Very Expensive “Personal Favour”

 

In 2004 Jenny ordered a white leather suite, a TV and a washing machine from BrightHouse. Although she was in full time employment at the time, Jenny was unable to get “regular” credit facilities as she still lived at home with her (disabled) mother, and had a very low credit score. BrightHouse was the only place on the high street prepared to take her on. As Jenny had no home contents insurance, BrightHouse insisted she must have Optional Service Cover AND Damage Liability Cover added to her agreements. (This, of course, was completely untrue, but Jenny was not aware of this at the time.)

 

The advertised cash price of the suite was £1,384.91, but interest, optional service cover and damage liability cover took the total cost to £2,597.71.

 

The advertised cash price of the TV was £598.18, but interest, optional service cover and damage liability cover took the total to £1,530.36.

 

The advertised cash price of the washing machine was £245.99, but interest, optional service cover and damage liability cover took the total to £731.64.

 

The total cost of the 3 items was £4,859.71 and her combined weekly payment was £31.15 spread over 3 years.

 

All went fine for almost a year- that is until Jenny was forced to give up work, due to illness. With her income dropping to the state bare minimum, she could no longer afford the weekly payments on the goods, and asked BrightHouse if they could help by accepting reduced payments for a while. As usual, BrightHouse were not prepared to accept any kind of reduced payments, and threatened re-possession of the goods if the account was not brought up to date immediately. Jenny’s account was, by now, 4 weeks late. Of course, by this time Jenny had paid almost £1,500 off her agreements, and was very reluctant to see that money simply just go down the drain.

 

Jenny’s disabled mother was forced to take over the payments, and use her Disability Living Allowance to pay the “overdue” amount of £157.00 (which included £32.40 in late payment fees.) Because of Jenny's very low income, this was the only way BrightHouse could be paid from then on, but as Disability Living Allowance was only paid every 4 weeks, it meant that the payment to BrightHouse would ALWAYS be 4 weeks late.

 

Jenny approached BrightHouse once again to see if they would be prepared to help ease the situation. After a long conversation with her store manager, he agreed to “turn a blind eye” to her paying 4 weeks in arrears, and promised he would not commence any legal action for re-possession. He stressed this was a “personal favour” and it was the best he could do in the situation. However, it meant that Jenny’s account would be penalised with charges of £32.40 every month for late payment fees.

 

Reluctantly, Jenny (and her mother) agreed to this “personal favour” and managed to keep their side of the bargain and kept up with the 4 weekly payments of £157.00 for the remainder of the agreements.

 

The goods are now paid for and Jenny is no longer a customer at BrightHouse. They eventually cost a grand total of £5,750.71

 

Recently Jenny approached me for advice about reclaiming her “unlawful” penalty (late payment) charges from BrightHouse, and is currently in the early stages of reclaiming a staggering £891.00 in these fees alone.

 

However, this could prove to be a very interesting case, because as her accounts were in permanent arrears for more than two years, it meant her Optional Service Cover policies had lapsed and were no longer in force. (This clause is made very clear in the agreements Jenny signed.) However, the premiums for them were charged for the ENTIRE duration of the agreements.

 

Therefore, Jenny is also claiming for the return of £856.90 - the amounts she was charged for Optional Service Cover whilst in arrears - which were, effectively, pointless.

 

Her total claim against BrightHouse is for £1,747.90.

 

This money will make a huge difference to a disabled pensioner, from whom it was dishonestly taken!

 

 

 

 

Cheers

Lefty

 

 

(more case files soon...) ;)

If the left side of the brain controls your right, and the right side controls your left, then left-handed people are always in their right mind!

 

Please help to support this site with a small donation... every little helps...

 

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UPDATE on 24th March Post: Brighthouse are refusing any responsibility for any of the four faulty items, the Acer laptop which was exchanged in September 2007 due to the problems with the original laptop which was Brighthouse's own make and model. One would have thought that when it was exchanged for a new item the Acer product would have 1 year manufacturers warranty which has nothing to do with Brighthouse so should make no difference that it was exchanged due to the previous item being of no specific make or model other than a Brighthouse product, however Brighhouse have said that the exchange in their eyes means I have no manufactures warranty. And the two years cover they included as a condition to making the exchange although charged for two years cover also does not apply because I have bought the item out right. Also the Whirlpool washing machine, although their repairman took out the part and I am having nothing but problems with it, because I have brought the item out right they say they have no responsibility of faulty items regardless of whether the fault was before it was finished being paid for, or that their work man may have made the situation worse for the part they removed whether qualified or not to fix the item or whether they were rightfully removing an unnecessary part from the machine the final word is they wont do anything.

 

My account is being passed back to Caversham finance because of my non payment even though I request the store take me to court for the non payment so I can present my case in front of a judge, the four items are over £2000 not including the table an chairs and that's £2000 of faulty goods purchased at brighthouse that they refuse to acknowledge or accept responsibility for but feel justified pressuring my phone for less than £300 outstanding on 1 item.

 

As for my Xbox 360, Microsoft currently have the machine and will hopefully repair or replace the item on the warranty which is my only consolation as had I been told I had to go back to brighthouse with it and been told Brighthouse wouldn't do anything I think I'd be in a cell rather than typing this here now.

I'm fighting back and ready to go :D who will be my first victim? LBL, Brighthouse.

 

..."If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life."

 

I am not here to insult or offend...just to offer advice and seek advice as all this is a learning experience, such is the cycle of life...for those that would wish to insult me for my thoughts or deeds...Stay Blessed for I know my heart is pure with no ill thought towards YOU. :cool:

Nationwide Won:D Benefits returned £577

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I too have had a problem with brighthouse. A few years ago i bought a sofa from them, wasnt a case of could not get credit, just i had not seen that style of sofa elsewhere so i bought it. paid a few months quite easy then went in and paid off the whole balance as i was sick of having to go into town to pay (inconvieniant that they don't do direct debit)

I had quite a good experience with them so a few years ago when i wanted a table and chairs i got it from them. I didnt have my house insurance on me so they set it up with the insurances on but was told i could go in with it the following week and get it taken off. I totally forgot and so a few mths later i went in and asked to get them taken off. I had a few hours rant in the office until finally they got took off (or so i thought) The agreement was rewritten minus the 2 insurances and i argued for ages to get the £16 i had already paid to them put back on my account in yellow money. Was quite happy it was all sorted and for 2 years i have paid over the phone by card. However sorting through all my paperwork the other week i found the old agreement and thought i wonder how long i have to pay left on brighthouse. it was then i noticed the weekly payments should be £7.19 per week and i had been paying £8.99. i called the store and was told i had 1 insurance still left on there at £1.80 per week. looking into the insurance it covers what a basic house insurnace would. so it concluded they had took off the accidental damage insurance at 1.30 a week but kept on the optional repair at £1.80. why would i only want 1 taking off i said...only to be met with abuse from the staff. i was fuming so i called head office who had nothing better to say than go intot he store and see what paperwork they had.

So i did, as i said my name all the staff were looking at each other and didnt want to come over and speak. obviously had been disgussing my earlier phonecall. they were downright rude and nasty. I went into the office and spoke to the manager and he said he had no paperwork as it was 2 years old. all he could show me was a computer screen. showing my account when first taken out with 2 ticks on the insurance...then my account rewritten a few month later with one insurance took off and the other ticked. He could quite easily tick and untick those boxes i said...i wanted to see the paperwork i had signed with the insurance marked...i know when i went in the store that day i did not sign for any insurance. i rememeber him asking if i wanted to keep the reapir insurance and i said for a table worth £799 it was not worth the insurance which cost around 300 pounds and hardly covered anything. so either he ticked the box after i signed it or what? only he knows.

Anyway i aked for it to be taken off which he started to say he couldnt...until i quoted it was optional insurance and renewable every 7 days so i would write a letter now and that was my seven days notice to cancel. They have got taken off but now i am seriously looking into taking them to county court for the payments i have made to that policy for the past 2 years. It is fraud and they should not be let to get away with this.

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oh and forgot...to get the insurance taken off they wanted me to sign another agreement. they dont tell you that when you do it is basically as if you have just started paying and all the payments i had made over the 2 years were not taken into account. it benefits them basically. Luciky i knew what iw as doing because of something someone posted on this site before and told him i would not sign the agreement unless it included all my other payments and noted that i did not waive my rights to repossesion etc. He was not happy. I had already written it all down and sent off to head office the week before and i gave him a copy to sign and kept one myself. Just incase!!

I only have £300 left to pay then i am done.

I have sent a request to head office for the monies already paid to the insurance to be refunded to me, the store manager said it cannot be done so will wait and see what head office say, no doubt they will refuse..then i will take it to county court, even if i lose there its worth a try

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We are trying to collect stories of people's experience with Brighhouse. Eventually we would like to make up a dossier.

 

Please post your story on this thread.

 

We would like to know about how staff have treated you, particularly if you have got behind with payments.

 

We would also like to know if you have been pressurised to take out any insurance or optional service cover (OSC).

 

Furthermore we would like to know about problems you have had with goods from this company and how Brighthouse have handled repairs or replacements.

 

Please don't post comments on this thread, just your story.

I have a few items from this store including my 56 inch television and my home p.c. My television broke down on 2 occasions and on the second it was taken away for 12 weeks as it had to be taken to france(so they say) but during these 12 weeks i was still to pay optional service cover for it even though it was not in my house. Now optional service cover or OSC as they call it is basically the reason they buy goods so cheap. They buy it without the manufacturers warranty and then sell you there own expensive version of it(oh and it is not optional) My pc has broken 5 times and thew staff are uninterested about your problems. As for there contract, it is a fact that when 2/3 of the bill is paid you need not pay it and they cant take it back unless you give it to them. As soon as there collectors come to your door if you phone the police and tell them you have been threatened and make a complaint you can then take an injuction out on the company stopping them from approaching you or your home, and believe me if the police get enough complaints they will take action.

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  • 3 weeks later...

My Bad was replying to thread sorry!!

I'm fighting back and ready to go :D who will be my first victim? LBL, Brighthouse.

 

..."If you have no confidence in self, you are twice defeated in the race of life."

 

I am not here to insult or offend...just to offer advice and seek advice as all this is a learning experience, such is the cycle of life...for those that would wish to insult me for my thoughts or deeds...Stay Blessed for I know my heart is pure with no ill thought towards YOU. :cool:

Nationwide Won:D Benefits returned £577

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  • 1 month later...

Hi peeps, i noticed that u are all feel the same as i do with these idiots, they are not worth giving your hard earned money to, i would sooner go into the street and give the first person i see the money rather than purchase from brighthouse ever again, i have been with them in the past, i got a fridge/freezer & a computer, the fridge/freezer was fine, but the comp had been used by the staff for downloading and the had even put pics of themselves & families on it, then when i lost my job i found it hard to pay & they startded to get really arrogant with me, ringing all the time then they even came to my house where i had an almighty aguemnet with there manager who told me to either pay by the end of the week or they would come and take the things back, so i told him to make sure they were there the next day to pick them up, cos if not i would put them in the garden and if they get damaged or stolen its there problem. needless to say they did not turn up the next day so i rang them & told them i had put them in the garden & it took them 3 days to pick them up, so it shows just how bothered they are, they just dont give a s**t.

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  • 2 months later...

Bright House Arrears Collection Tricks

I don't know if anyone else has experienced how Bright House, pester you when your are in arrears with them.

 

Having been a customer for 2 years now, I have been a little erratic, with my payments, but have always made my payments up, a long with their "Administration Charge".

 

Currently, I am 3 weeks in arrears, but have told them I can bring all the acccounts upto date, next week, when my husband gets paid.

 

So what does Bright House do, they starting phoning 3 - 4 times a day, they call out to the property, everyday, saying they want the goods back.

 

As far as I am aware, the tv and hifi are well into 3 quarters of the agreement, so they will have to get a court order to get them back. The only thing they can take back is the computer, which they let me buy a couple of months ago, knowing my payment history.

 

Staff at the store, are also phoning the people I had down as references, saying that they are no gurantors for my agreements. There was no mention of this, when I first applied to the store.

 

They are harrassing ourselves and other people for the payment, despite knowing my finacial position, and that they always get there money, when my husband gets paid.

 

I have stopped answering the phone to them, at the local store, and have e-mailed a complaint to head office. They have read the e-mail, but as yet no response.

 

As for the "optional service cover and DLC", I was not given the opportunity to say i did not want it or need it as i have home contents insurance, it was just added on tot he agreement as a matter of course.

 

I have just recently found out that I have paid £1700, up to now for a telly that was only £699, and i still have another £400 outstanding. Do the staff get paid on a commission basis?

 

Has anyone else had similar problems, or any advice that can help me?

 

Northeastlass

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