Brighthouse

[mistydog]

Ive been a brighthouse customer for four years and have paid off 2 hp agreements and only ever had one late payment.Now im left with one lcd tv and a laptop,two weeks ago my partner and i was made redundant without any notice and have to claim monies owed off the state.Rang brighthouse to explain the problem but was shocked at the way they spoke to me ,been very friendly before.I was told you cant pay so send them back or they will fetch them,i told them that i wouldnt send them back as i only owe 200+ on the £1400 tv and payed half off the laptop.Everyday since then they fone 5 or 6 times aday none stop telling me they want the goods back and THAT IM ££££S IN AREARS .I wrote to head office reguarding my situation and offered a reduced payment + could they refund the monies ive paid for insurance (damage) because i have contents insurance .but all head office did was fax the letter to the store now the fone calls start again .

 

Been in contact with bh today well they have been phoning all morning,was told take my goods in today they would halt my account till i find another job.YES HALT IT TILL I HAVE THE MONEY TO FINISH PAYING THEM.Asked if i would get the same tv+laptop back ,wouldnt coment,asked if i could have it in writting answer was NO.

Had a reply to the letter i send H/office today regarding all the harisment /service they will look into it but no reply to the reduced payment i offerd .Do i send it back with out getting this in writting ive paid £280 off a £670 laptop ANY ADVICE

Edited October 17, 2008 by mistydog
B/H have been in contact

[Lefty]

Ive been a brighthouse customer for four years and have paid off 2 hp agreements and only ever had one late payment.Now im left with one lcd tv and a laptop,two weeks ago my partner and i was made redundant without any notice and have to claim monies owed off the state.Rang brighthouse to explain the problem but was shocked at the way they spoke to me ,been very friendly before.I was told you cant pay so send them back or they will fetch them,i told them that i would send them back as i only owe 200+ on the £1400 tv and payed half off the laptop.Everyday since then they fone 5 or 6 times aday none stop telling me they want the goods back and THAT IM ££££S IN AREARS .I wrote to head office reguarding my situation and offered a reduced payment + could they refund the monies ive paid for insurance (damage) because i have contents insurance .but all head office did was fax the letter to the store now te fone calls start again .

Any advice welcome

 

Hi there.

 

I'm guessing the bit in your quote I have highlighted is a typo? Do you mean you WON'T be sending them back? (I certainly wouldn't with only £200 owing on a £1,400 agreement.)

 

We have a very helpful BrightHouse (ray of sunshine) employee on this forum at the moment, and I'm sure she'll be along in a while with some good advice.

 

In the meantime, I would suggest following the tips in our BrightHouse fact sheet HERE and try to get BrightHouse to accept reduced payments for a while.

 

If that's not an option, cancel any optional service cover agreements you have. This will reduce your weekly payments by around 40%

 

 

 

Cheers

Lefty

[mistydog]

Hi , had service cover on the last tv ,couldnt get them to take it off so i sent it back and had this one with out.As for reduced payments they told me no chance,i even offered them to take the laptop back and do me a deal on the tv.Still no chance ,said i will still have to pay the arears +the weekly amount on the tv or the arears will just mount up so must send both back

[sillygirl1]

They are talking rubbish, as you have paid over 2/3rds of the bill they CANNOT take it back without going to court, and you bet the court will not look kindly on them at the moment either... with their dreadful interest rates.

[Lefty]

Hi , had service cover on the last tv ,couldnt get them to take it off so i sent it back and had this one with out.As for reduced payments they told me no chance,i even offered them to take the laptop back and do me a deal on the tv.Still no chance ,said i will still have to pay the arears +the weekly amount on the tv or the arears will just mount up so must send both back

It's absolutely your call on whether you send the laptop back. If it's more than 50% into the agreement there should be no financial penalty.

BrightHouse absolutely CANNOT repossess your TV without a court order. Use the template letter in our BrightHouse Fact Sheet to offer reduced payments. If your offer is refused, then the only option BrightHouse have is to take you to court. You can then let a judge decide.

Cheers

Lefty

(PS - BrightHouse VERY rarely go to court.)

(PPS - This is not an opinion, but a hard FACT!)

 

Cheers

Lefty

[mistydog]

Before xmas brighthouse couldnt get hold of me because i put my fone in a box under the bed till the battery went flat ,stopped them phoning me 8 times aday .but out of the b lue we had a call on my wifes mobile dont now how they got that number,it all started again ring ring ring ring etc.after a couple of days my wife passed me the fone .I was told i was in arrears and needed payments up to date or they wanted my goods back,same old rubbish ,told them i didnt owe all money they said as you cant charge me for the insurance after its not been paid for over 7 days ,then i was passed on to somebody else.They told me that ive been a loyal customer for years and can rember coming to my house ,but she would help me out ,she replied you dont need a 37 inch tv we need it back ,if you read my last threads they wanted my laptop back .These people will try anything ,because i offered them 10 pounds aweek only 5.75 short aweek if they take off the insurance which i have full house contents insurance always had but they wouldnt take it off,now they want me to send the tv back which i only owe 200 off 1400 and pay the laptop which i could afford 7 pound with the insurance.After a heated argumemt which they told me someone will be calling next week to collect the goods ,i said fine i have a guard dog( since we got broke into )signs on the gate ,come if you want if the dog bites it bites i said and put the fone down.two mins latter another person of staff fone ( im sure they are having a laugh when they do this,i told them to take me court put the fone down.Again someone ring saying we dont want to take court action we want to help HAVIN A LAUGH put the fone down ,then sent them a letter that if they want to contact me only do it with a letter ,fone calls stopped ,waiting to hear

[clemma]

DO NOT send your goods back. You have paid more than 2/3 of your agreements off which means BH MUST get a court order to repossess your goods. They can only do this if they send you a default notice first (which I am presuming they haven't done). If you ignored the default notice BH can apply for a CCJ. Only if you default on the CCJ can they obtain an order to repossess your goods. However, it is highly unlikely it will get to the CCJ stage (they will know, that in your circumstances, the judge will look in YOUR favour, not theirs).

 

Send this letter asap http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/37006-harassment-telephone-response-letter.html. Send recorded delivery to Head Office and your local branch. That should stop the phone calls. By law, any creditor can only contact you once every 24 hours if you answer, or up to three times if they get no response. What you are dealing with now is harassment and is against OFT guidelines (and probably the law).

 

Also, I don't know what letter you sent regarding your financial situation. Post a copy (or as near as on here) and I will adjust if necessary.

 

As for your refund on the "insurance" policy.....I got a full refund. Were you also forced to take optional service cover? Let me know and I will post the letter I used to claim MY money back.

 

Brighthouse are bullies, but they can be beaten. Don't worry, stay calm, and DO NOT talk to Brighthouse on the phone. If they catch you, just keep telling them "everything in writing". They will soon give up.

Edited January 4, 2009 by clemma
I'm a doofus

[clemma]

There is also another letter you can send:

 

Dear Sir/Madam Account

 

Ref xxxx

 

Please be advised that I will only communicate with you in writing.

 

Should it be your intention to arrange a “doorstep call”, please be advised that under OFT rules, you can only visit me at my home if you make an appointment and I have no wish to make an appointment with you.

 

There is only an implied license under English Common Law for people to be able to visit me on my property without express permission; the postman and people asking for directions etc (Armstrong v. Sheppard and Short Ltd [1959] 2 Q.B. per Lord Evershed M.R.). Therefore take note that I revoke license under Common Law for you, or your representatives to visit me at my property and if you do so, then you will be liable to damages for a tort of trespass and action will be taken, including but not limited to, police attendance.

 

Yours faithfully

 

Keep a copy by your front door as well. If they come knocking, just give them this letter and shut the door. They have as much right as the local paperboy to enter your home.

Edited January 4, 2009 by clemma

[clemma]

Oh, and keep a copy of all letters you send, plus the receipts from the post office (for the recorded deliveries).

[Josie8]

 

It's absolutely your call on whether you send the laptop back. If it's more than 50% into the agreement there should be no financial penalty.

 

BrightHouse absolutely CANNOT repossess your TV without a court order. Use the template letter in our BrightHouse Fact Sheet to offer reduced payments. If your offer is refused, then the only option BrightHouse have is to take you to court. You can then let a judge decide.

 

Cheers

Lefty

 

(PS - BrightHouse VERY rarely go to court.)

 

(PPS - This is not an opinion, but a hard FACT!)

 

 

 

 

Cheers

Lefty

 

 

If they do repossess without your consent then they will have to refund all monies you have paid

[clemma]

If they do repossess without your consent then they will have to refund all monies you have paid

 

They sure do....but that's only if you let them into your house in the first place ;-)

[Josie8]

Yes but how much is the TV now worth and how much has the OP paid? It might be beneficial to let it be repossessed against her will given prices of TVs in the sales at present...............

[clemma]

Yes but how much is the TV now worth and how much has the OP paid? It might be beneficial to let it be repossessed against her will given prices of TVs in the sales at present...............

 

I'm truly speechless.

Edited January 4, 2009 by clemma
decided to delete the rest of my post.

[clemma]

The more I read this, the more it gets to me. Send this letter (instead of the "doorstep" one I have posted above):

 

Dear Sir/Madam

 

Acc no xxxxx

 

I am currently experiencing financial difficulties and have fallen behind on my payments. I have recently sent a letter regarding my situation but have had no response.

 

I have spoken to the (put your store area here) store and they have so far refused to accept any payment from me. I currently have xx separate agreements with Brighthouse and have offered to pay a reduced weekly amount until my finances are in order. The store refused and said they would only accept full payment. This now amounts to xx weeks, plus all charges.

 

I currently do not have the funds to pay this amount, which stands at £xxx. Office of Fair Trading guidelines clearly state that I should not be pressurised to make large payments that I am unable to do so. (Please read the following http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/bus...dit/oft664.pdf for your information).

 

I have also been threatened with removal of my goods, and to expect a visit within the week. If Brighthouse wish to cease my goods, then I would expect a default notice, followed by a court order (if I ignored the default notice) BEFORE repossession of my goods. I have paid over a two thirds on my items and therefore I know what rights I have as a consumer.

 

Therefore take note that I revoke license under Common Law for you, or your representatives to visit me at my property and if you do so, then you will be liable to damages for a tort of trespass and action will be taken, including but not limited to, police attendance.

 

I require all further correspondence to be made in writing, and expect no further telephone calls from any representative of Brighthouse.

 

Please could you pass all correspondence on to the Regional Manager, not the branch (as they are unhelpful and threatening). I expect a reply within 7 working days explaining the way forward on this matter.

 

Yours sincerely

 

Adapt to suit. It is entirely your choice as to which way you want to go and to which letters you want to send.

[DCA-KING]

I would send a letter to the head office outlining the abuse,threats and calls and make a offer of payment telling them about your problem address it to the CEO i did and had a good reply anne healey will only pass it to the store state you will not deal with the store due to the abuse i also stated that due to my fincancial problems i would be happy if it went to court there reply the sent a chq for 50 quid and ended my account wiping off 57 quid

also i told a company that all calls are recorded and i offer 10 a week if you call again it will mean that you have agreed to my offer and i hung up following day(what i did was record it on my mobile) they called i just said thank you for excepting my offer the guy went nuts when he cooled down he said i int excepting any offer told him it was all recorded so i wrote to there head office stating that the calls where recorded and that it stated that if they call again that meant they excepted i also stated that i would be happy to sent a copy of the recrding to TS, OFT, and FOS never heard anything off them again

they dont like it when you turn the tables

Regards DK

[mistydog]

Hi,had the default notices after 6 weeks of none payment,these included the arears+late charges+insurance which ive asked to be paid back.

Like i say they still rang after i had the default ,i was willing to come to an agreement and give the laptop back ,but if i did they still wanted all arears and as my tv is around 15 aweek with the insurance and only could afford 10 aweek a got no where so i decided to keep it

[DCA-KING]

Ok send a letter to the store and head office removing OSC and DLC that should fetch your payments down

Regards DK

[clemma]

Now the account is in default (is it a proper default notice?) then BH should allow you to make reasonable payments to reduce the arrears. As long as you have put this in writing, if it did go to court, the Judge would see in your favour. If court papers are served please say on here as soon as possible. There are a lot of helpful people on other parts of the forum that know how to deal with defending claims etc.

 

If it did go all the way to court, a Judge will only order you to pay what you can, not what BH say they want. If you had only a pound a week left over, then that's all a Judge would order you pay

[mistydog]

just found out of a copy of a letter that i sent them on the 9th december after i got the default letter.The letter stated my sitution as me and my patner were made redundant,the letter asked for the 230.00 pound that i had paid for the insurance to be paid back and gave them 7 days notice to do this and reply to me in writting.I also enclosed the details and policy number of our contents insurer,i also sent another letter with that one stating that after recent calls to and from the local store that i had no alternative to seek help fom C A B .An appoitment has been made and a specialist money adviser would be dealing with it and enclosed a copy of the appointment letter ,also at the bottom of the letter i offerd 10 aweek to clear this matter untill we are both back in employment ,but to this date havent had a reply

[clemma]

I sent a link to people who may be able to help further with this.

[steven4064]

I'm afraid this is not my area of expertise - you need lefty or plumberjohn

[plumberjon]

Firstly, they won't take you to court. It's too time consuming, costly and at the end of it your circumstances are what the court takes into consideration when calculating what you can repay. This will be significantly less than the weekly payment, so it's of no benefit to them.

 

Be cheeky and ask for an EPO on the TV. Early settlement at this stage may well surprise you, your just paying the last bit of their profit at the moment so it should be a very low figure, if you can afford it, pay it and that will be one solved and an item that you will then own!

 

Certainly do not give ANYTHING back, and they have NO right to enter your home at all, witout a court order, and that ain't happening.

 

How long was the laptop agreement originally for, how long have you got left and how many weeks are you behind?

 

A good option here would be to ask for a re-write, where the agreement gets started again, but your arrears gets tagged onto the end of the new agreement (new term weeks = remaining old term weeks + arrears weeks).

Be careful though and make sure the weekly amount for the HP element is no higher, and that the correct term is used BEFORE YOU SIGN. There is also a handy little letter you need to get signed (see Lefty BH Factsheet) that continues your rights about reposession should you experience difficutlies again.

 

Does your current household contents insurance state that HP items are covered if you are responsible for them? Take the certifcate and schedule that states that into your store and ask for the DLC to be removed if it does. This should take 7 days.

 

Finally ask for the OSC to be removed. It's worthless, and they will take great pride in telling you now that while you are in arrears, it's not valid. Refuse to pay the late element of the OSC, if it's not valid, argue why you should pay for it!

 

Hope his helps. Above all, don't stand any messing. Keep us informed

 

PJ

Edited January 5, 2009 by plumberjon
someone keeps moving the keys while i'm typing

[steven4064]

someone keeps moving the keys while i'm typing

Must be a dodgy batch - mine does that too

[mistydog]

i did take my contents insurance into the local store ,and the store even rang the insurance company so they said ,as my insurance is new 4 old i couldnt cansel

[clemma]

i did take my contents insurance into the local store ,and the store even rang the insurance company so they said ,as my insurance is new 4 old i couldnt cansel

 

 

If you have house insurance, and you have proved it, then ask BH to point out where it states what they quote in the Terms and Conditions. Send the 7 day cancellation notice (see Lefty's factsheet). That is giving them notice as per their terms and conditions for cancelling!

 

I just made it clear that IF something happened to my goods, I know I am still liable to pay weekly, as per the agreement. They couldn't argue with that