Ex-Brighthouse manager available for questions

[plumberjon]

Yes, because BH now view your account as not paid up at least one week in advance. Therefore until you bring your account up to date on Friday when you normally go in, then your cover is invalid.

 

This is taking it right to the line and only the most arrogant and stubborn manager would use it against you.

 

I can offer you one piece of advice though. Sometimes its hard to do it, but in the coming weeks, if you can afford to go in as usual and pay 2 weeks instead of just one, but still go in the following week as usual and pay one, then your account will always be 2weeks in front instead of one.

 

That way, if the unforeseen happens and you can't get in, then you won't go late. Call it a safety net if you like. Plus it's in your imterest as OSC and DLC are still valid and you are just bringing the end date of your agreement a bit nearer, you won't actually pay any more than you need to.

 

A word of warning. Use Yellow money for loose change. I.E. if your weekly payments are say £19.50 and you hand over £20.00, then let this add up at 50p a week. Don't let your yellow money build up too much meaning that they would take it out to make the payment for you, even though they are not supposed to. It does happen.

 

Make sure you and only you stay in control of your account.

Edited October 26, 2008 by plumberjon

[clemma]

My account is up to date, so I take it the OSC is valid. As for yellow money only 32p goes into it.

 

ps - we have tried in the past to pay a full months (as i am monthly paid), but they wouldn't allow us to do this. We offered 5 weeks payment on the 10th of May followed by another 4 weeks on the 10th June. They said weekly pay only.

Edited October 26, 2008 by clemma

[plumberjon]

To just clear this up, now your OSC is valid, it is only ever invalid when your account goes late and the OSC becomes valid again when you bring your account up to date.

 

We used to have certain customers who only ever brought their account up to date when something was wrong, as soon as they paid, they would ask for a service call.

 

It kind of defeats the object really, but then my earlier suggestion always works well, by always being 2 or more weeks ahead and staying that way still paying your weekly amount.

 

The best time to do this is at the start of the contract, pay 2 weeks as your first installment instead of just one. It keeps the wolves at bay!

[Lefty]

To just clear this up, now your OSC is valid, it is only ever invalid when your account goes late and the OSC becomes valid again when you bring your account up to date.

 

We used to have certain customers who only ever brought their account up to date when something was wrong, as soon as they paid, they would ask for a service call.

 

It kind of defeats the object really, but then my earlier suggestion always works well, by always being 2 or more weeks ahead and staying that way still paying your weekly amount.

 

The best time to do this is at the start of the contract, pay 2 weeks as your first installment instead of just one. It keeps the wolves at bay!

 

Thing is, plummerjon, this is something I've been banging on about for ever...

Your OSC and, for that matter, your DLC both lapse if your account is not paid fully by its due date. They are both weekly agreements, for which their premiums are required in advance - otherwise, no service. Correct?

Therefore, when you DO bring your accound up to date, it should only be the hire purchase element of the contract that's in arrears. You should NOT have to make back payments on OSC and DLC. You CANNOT get in arrears with OSC and DLC because they are simply pay-as-you-go services. Do ya follow me...?

Technically, if your account has gone into arrears, and you bring it back up to date - perhaps after two or three weeks - then there should no longer be OSC or DLC on your account, and you should be ASKED if you want to take up those services again.

If you haven't done so already, give this post a read - from our BrightHouse of Horrors thread. This highlights this OSC, arrears, no cover con perfectly... READ THIS POST

Cheers

Lefty

[clemma]

So, in effect, i paid one weeks premiums for no reason (although every week I am paying them seems to be for no reason - OSC and DLC ) Should look in to it really. However, i don't think it will be worth the battle to try an re-claim the unfair charges but it is something I will bear in mind if we ever do fall behind....it'll be interesting to hear what they will have to say.

[plumberjon]

Yes this is a very good arguement but for one thing.

 

If it were that you were to miss a payment on the OSC or DLC, but then bring the HP up to date, then restart the OSC and DLC, then should you report a fault, Bh would then argue that maybe the fault occurred duiring the period that you weren't covered, I just know they would.

 

This is something that doesn't just apply to BH though.

 

It occurs in any such agreement for insurance that you may have. Take motor insurance for example, I know it's a different kettle of fish altogether, especially as we quite rightly are legally obliged to have it, but if you let that lapse, then restart it, they are going to need proof that you have had no accidents claims or convictions from the new start date.

 

I made a point in an earlier post, where going on past experience, there were some customers, not all, but some who habitually went late, told us they had a problem knowing full well that they would have to bring up to date before they could book a service call.

 

I'm trying to write this on the side of the consumer, honest, but lets face it, the very essence of ANY insurance product, is to pay up front for the protection of the unknown, and at the outset of the agreement, a cost for this service is calculated for the length of the term and applied to your account. If you don't pay for all these installments, then you are not paying in full for the service.

 

Now I am not suggesting that the price you pay is fair at all, but that is what it is. Not taking OSC and relying on a battle quoting The SoG Act is the alternative, either that or save up and go to Comet next door LOL !!!

[Lefty]

And yes, that is a fair response, but for one thing...

OSC (and DLC) are WEEKLY policies. They are NOT annual policies split into instalments. They are simply just pay-as-you-go services. YOU CANNOT GET INTO ARREARS WITH THEM! Likewise, you CANNOT (or certainly SHOULD NOT) be able to make back payments on them. You were either covered for that period or you were not. If you hadn't paid the premium for a particular week, and your telly packed up, you weren't covered by OSC. Simple.

You used the example of car insurance:

If, for instance, I allowed my car insurance to lapse through non-payment, continued to drive, then had an accident or claim, I would be in big trouble. I couldn't offer to pay the arrears, and then be magically re-insured for a period in the past. No. You're either insured or you're not. And - in the case of OSC - you're NOT - and by being forced to make back payments on the policy cannot mean you WERE! It's absolute nonesense. Actually, it's downright OUTRAGEOUS!

Cheers

Lefty

[plumberjon]

Ok I know and Lefty, I agree with what you are saying, I am just going through what BH would throw back at you over it.

 

I would love to know anymore about the post you led me too. That is a great example and needs agood legal team behind it as I think it could be the undoing of OSC for BH. We need a test case that will set future precedent.

 

The OSC and DLC are calculated liek insurance policies as they are calculated on both the value of the item and the duration, and there are different levels ofcalculation aswell. For example, the costs of repairing a typical fault on a leather settee are different to that of a 40" LCD TV and yet the weekly cost might be the same. So the cost is originally calculated for the term, even though it is a weekly payment.

 

Technically they should not be able to say that it is invalid when the payments golate, and then still collect the money after, as they are then effectively charging for a service they had no intention of supplying. Tis is the area that needs challenging.

[Lefty]

My account is up to date, so I take it the OSC is valid. As for yellow money only 32p goes into it.

 

ps - we have tried in the past to pay a full months (as i am monthly paid), but they wouldn't allow us to do this. We offered 5 weeks payment on the 10th of May followed by another 4 weeks on the 10th June. They said weekly pay only.

 

You cannot pay more than one week in advance (or one month in advance for the 1% of BrightHouse customers who pay by DD.)

Any amount over and above your weekly "due" amount will simply go into "yellow" money. And what is the point of that? In fact, clemma, I wouldn't even let the 32p go in there!

Cheers

Lefty

[plumberjon]

This is wrong, or at least it was in my day, for the normal pay weekly customers, DD is another matter.

 

They will only say you can only pay weekly because they want you to go late so they can get yet more money out of you.

 

When you take a payment from your customer, on the payment screen it says what date the next payment you are about to take will take them upto. You can click on that box and put any date you want in, into the future. One week, two weeks, three weeks or more.

 

It then simply recalculates the amount. People used to use this facility because they were going on holiday and didnt want to go late. The system won't automatically put your money into yellow money, unless you de-select all the active agreements and then take the payment.

 

If the systems have changed since then, then I apologise for mis-information. I did also advise earlier against piling too much into yellow. Paying up front to keep out of being late is safer than leaving it in yellow, mainly cos once it's paid off your agreement, they can't touch it.

[clemma]

With the yellow money - when it gets to £10 we take it out and put it towards the weekly payment. I know from experience though, that if you miss a payment on the Saturday, they will use whatever you have in your yellow money to pay the overdue fees. I thought this unfair as the money in the Yellow money belongs to me - not BH. I tried to argue this but to no avail. I am new to this forum, however, and I've read lots of handy hints/horror stories, and I think you are right - I will more than likely withdraw what money I have in yellow money and stop any future payments into it. Do BH gain an advantage from people putting money into it (other than taking it off you after late payment.

 

posted this before seeing PJ's reply. They will not let you pay more than a week in advance (this is my experience anyway). As we have only been late once, they don't make money from us from late payments, so I am guessing that this is the norm. They will, however, let you make the weekly payment and put, say, 4 weeks money, into the yellow money. You then have to phone them by the following Saturday to give them permission to take the money from the yellow money to pay that week (which is strange, as they didn't need my permission to take the overdue fees). If you forget/are on holiday etc, you will be charged for late payment. We had this problem when we went on holiday for 2 weeks in May - we had to give the money to a friend and ask them to make payments for us (as we were abroad, we were not wanting the hassle of phoning them on the Saturday). This may just be the store where my account is - who knows? Sorry this is long winded.

Edited October 26, 2008 by clemma

[plumberjon]

Well this is very wrong, people could always pay in advance if they desired, although yes some staff were reluctant.

 

I had customers who lived 20 miles away from my store and to get into the shop meant a lengthy and expensive bus journey. They came in once a month and paid 28 days at a time.

 

If this has now changed thenit is disgusting as they are not allowing people to try to prevent going late leaving them no alternative than to penailse them with late fees. This is worse than the banks charging for bouncing your cheque, and look where that got them!

 

Yellow money is yours NOT theirs and they are NOT allowed to use it without your permission. If they do, you should complain immediately to Head Office. This will then get snowballed down to the store where it should be refunded, even if it meant you going back into arrears.

 

This happened a lot in my day an doesn't surprise me that it still does.

[clemma]

Either BH have changed their policy or the store I deal with are just telling me this......I kind of figured that BH could not take my yellow money at the time it happened, but, like I said, it's not worth the hassle of reclaiming it to just end up in arrears. They have the customer on this one.

[plumberjon]

This could well be a change of policy since I worked fo them, but getting people to pay ahead was a tool I used a lot when people first went late.

 

I would sit down with my AR's and the customer and go through their agreement again highlighting the bit where it talks about late payments, and showed them how to avoid it.

 

It was actively encouraged and whether my bosses liked it or not, it kept my debt down to levels lower thn the store had ever had.

 

I would contact head office and tell them that you are always keen to maintian your account with your store in a satisfactory manner and would lke to pay in front occasionally when holidays eg arise, so as not to go late. You want to see this paid onto your agreement and not your yellow money as you have had your yellow money used in the past without your permission, especially as the store are teling you you can only pay 1 week at a time.

 

Also keep every payment receipt you are given and check the YM balance at the end of every one. This way you can see if there are any unexplained changes.

[clemma]

So if I were to contact Head Office, explain I'm paid monthly, and that I would like to pay this way (always keeping account in credit), then they may agree. It would be so much easier for me to do it this way.

[plumberjon]

No I am not saying that exactly because don't forget it is a weekly payment scheme.

 

But asking if you can pay four weeks in advance each time is something they can't refuse as you are actively working to avoid becoming late.

 

If they deny you this then they are playing dangerously as I believe they are in breach of the Consumer credit act as they are not encouraging you to manage your account satisfactorily.

 

I would even say they are in conflict with the latest piece of legislation to do with Unfair Relationship.

 

See OFT link: http://www.oft.gov.uk/shared_oft/business_leaflets/enterprise_act/oft854.pdf )

 

In Particular it states with regard to how the relationship is tested:

 

The unfair relationships test

2.3 Section 140A provides that the court may determine that the

relationship between a lender and a borrower arising out of a credit

agreement (or the agreement taken with any related agreement) is unfair

to the borrower because of:

• any of the terms of the credit agreement or any related agreement

• the way in which the lender has exercised or enforced any of its

rights under the agreement or any related agreement, or

• any other thing done (or not done) by or on behalf of the lender

either before or after the making of the agreement or any related

agreement

 

Now before I get in over my head quoting laws that I only just Googled myself, there are parameters that have been set within the law that might not apply, like how far back this ruling ca be used.

 

But I will stand my ground by saying that I am positive you can pay in advance, until someone can prove me wrong.

[nickismee80]

i have paid a week in advance before..

 

as i have recently paid off in a lump some on 2 of the items we have, the remaining 2 come to £8 a week, so i shall be paying double each week, so paying it off in half the time.. i will let you know the outcome..

[plumberjon]

I just had the below as and email and thoughtit appropriate to post here. I have removed the name of the person who emailed it to me in the interests of confidentiality.

 

This is my reply:

 

Hi

 

Thanks for your email and no worries, that's what I'm here for!

 

Basically, all they are trying to do is establish character references so they can build up a picture of the type of person you are, ie, trustworthy, reliable, helpful etc. They ask what relationship they are to you and how long they have known you and how often they see you/contact you. They are also asked to confirm some basic details about you, so as to verify details you may have provided on your original application.

 

Sometimes you can get a better idea of what someone is like and how reliable they are using this method, than by traditional methods like credit scoring.

 

They like you to submit at least 5 people and usually they used to ask for at least 3 of those to have landlines. This is to prevent a group of people all with mobiles, hanging round outside the shop waiting to get a call!!

 

In the early days, this was all done in the stores, and there is nothing to this day to say that someone from the store itself still won't do the phoning. Mainly though you will get a call from the customer service team in Livingston (Scotland).

 

They will also use the names you have provided to canvass for new business.

 

They will also keep this info on your personal file and should there be issues relating to your account, ie. if you go late and are not contactable, then they may contact your original referees to see if they can trace you, which is acceptable within the law, so long as they don't discuss the reason for their call ie. personal financial matters.

 

Once the references have been contacted it will be faxed back to the store with an outcome and the final decision is down to the store manager as to whether to allow agreements to be built for the customer.

 

Hope this helps, I don't thnk I have missed anything.

 

 

This is the original enquiry:

 

Hiya,

 

Good to see someone with a lot of knowledge about BH on these forums. Can I just ask you a very quick question - what do BH ask references when they ring around?

 

Any information would be most appreciated.

 

Thanks.

[plumberjon]

Hello to all, as a new member here can i take this opportunity to say thanks to everyone on the forum as it appears very helpful info is posted to any questions asked, my question is this,

My stepdaughter just signed up to Brighthouse for a couple of items ie laptop and something else, the payments she agreed are in my opinion far too much for what she can afford.

she made 3 payments on signing agreement and has to send more info for thier records BUT i have told her to get out of the contract and have nothing to do with them,she has not yet recieved the goods so can anyone tell me how to go about closing this for her all advice would be great thank you.

 

 

Hi

 

Sounds like they have signed her up on the day and are waiting to get the referrals back.

 

Is it that she has made 3 payments upfront? Or has she been and made 3 weekly payments?

 

If it is just the previous, then she has the right to cancel, and the right to a full refund.

 

Realistically, if they have not delivered any items to you yet then they should give you your money back anyway, but a word of caution, they are very persuasive, and once they got their claws into you, they're very reluctant to let go.

 

Hope this helps

[the slipp]

Plumberjohn, you are a star,thanks for your help, i will sort this out Tuesday thank you. The slipp:cool:

[plumberjon]

No problem slipp, that's what we're here for!!

 

If you can, go in with her just to make sure they don't change her mind!!!!

[plumberjon]

Hi again

 

Now that this thread has been made sticky, you will be able to get and ask any questions a lot easier.

 

I am on here at some point most days, but don't panic if I don't reply right away, there are other regular CAGgers who contribute and they will be able to help also.

 

We look forward to helping you!

 

PJ

[plumberjon]

Hi

 

Please check out the following thread

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/brighthouse/183427-brighthouse-staff-help-list.html#post1975266

 

Yet more staff dis-gruntled who want to help!

 

PJ

[gavins999]

i have been fretend by bh staff that they are coming with a van to remove my sofa as i have been able to pay for for 3 weeks i have paid since augh 08 and paid late payment fees i owe for 3 weeks that i have mist can they take goods with out a warrent i have explained to them that my hubby can not work and that we are £19000 short a year but they are not botherd can you help

[Lefty]

i have been fretend by bh staff that they are coming with a van to remove my sofa as i have been able to pay for for 3 weeks i have paid since augh 08 and paid late payment fees i owe for 3 weeks that i have mist can they take goods with out a warrent i have explained to them that my hubby can not work and that we are £19000 short a year but they are not botherd can you help

 

 

Hi.

Plummerjon will be along to answer your post shortly.

Cheers

Lefty