brighthouse

[clemma]

Stop phoning them! Everything in writing! Of course BH will say they can't do it, it's what they ALWAYS say. Send the letters recorded delivery, check they were signed for a few days later, then wait for their reply (bear in mind it will take longer than normal for them to get the letters).

 

There has been a lot of advice posted on your thread, with template letters. Use them all to your advantage. Please, please stop phoning them.

[chaz2]

we have drafted letters to attempt to expain our situation and are looking for a bit of help from them and they have been posted recorded.My issue is that the only way to keep the agreement that we want to keep up to date is to pay over the phone but they wont accept payment so are putting us in to default, i need advice on what to do about this. Do i send a letter to the branch with these concerns, do i post it to there head office and who do i complain too outside of brighthouse because this practice must be ilegal.

 

thanks

[sillygirl1]

Send the letter to Head Office copied into the Branch Office, state on the Head Office letter that telephone calls to the Branch Office has resulted in no way forward other than to increase arrears on the account.

[clemma]

Brighthouse will not accept part payments, which is what you are attempting to do. I have no idea why, as their refusal puts you further into debt. Send the letters to both Head Office and your local branch. Contact Trading Standards and get them into the loop. Explain your situation and your attempts to pay the arrears. Keep copies of all letters you send.

 

If they come to your house, DO NOT let them in. They have no right to be there without a court order and certainly cannot take your possessions/enter your home forcibly without one. If they persist, contact the police.

 

Once BH are in receipt of the letters, they will know you are aware of your rights.

 

Above all else, try and put this to the back of your mind and enjoy Christmas.

[Lefty]

Have you received a formal written default notice? If so, this notice should have included a fact sheet by the FSA on dealing with debt. (BrightHouse now have to do this.)

Once you receive a formal written default notice, BrightHouse THEN must follow FSA guidelines... which includes negotiating part payment!

Result!

Cheers

Lefty

PS - if you haven't received the dealing with debt leaflet, but HAVE received a written default notice, let me know and I will scan the leaflet and post it here for you.

[chaz2]

Hi clemma

i dony know if i have explained this properley. I have four seperate agreements, all signed with there own terms and conditions, on differnt days and months. I am two weeks behind on them all. what i want to do is bring one of them up to date by paying my arrears and paying it in full every week so im not in default on that agreement and if i was to lose the goods then i wont lose this particular item. With the other three i am wanting to try and agree lower monthly payments. I understand that Bh will more than likely not agree to me making reduced payments on 3 of my agreements but they have no right to stop me paying my arears on one of them and paying it full every week. they are saying they wont accept payment on one without the others even though they are seperate agreements all signed on differnt days, differnt months and differnt years.This is wrong as its forcing me to default on that particular agreement. Ive not received an official default notice yet, just a letter to say that on will be issued. we have posted a letter to BH advising of our current situation but as yet had no reply. because i am being forced into default by bh on one agreement i just need some advice on how to take this further and what governing bodies to complain too. Clemma and lefty, as always i really appreciate your advice and along with plumberjohn your fast becoming icons on this forum. thankyou so much.

[DCA-KING]

Hi i can see her point shes not offering part payment the 4 accounts are seperate and she wants to pay one

I would write to head office stating your case

I did on these lines

I contacted my local store with regards to making a payment the store refused the payment and threatened to come to my home and remove the courts i stated they would need a court order i would welcome any court action you take so that i can then show a judge evidence of your companies bully boy tactics and i know with todays current credit crunch i judge would award me to pay a lower amount than i offered. I am well aware of my legal rights and due to the fact that i have recorded all telephone conversations i am well within the law to do so and do NOT need the other persons permission (only if i make it avaliable to 3rd partys) I will make a transcript of all conversations as evidence of bullying tactics, I know you will state in your reply that this is a isolated incident and that the staff in my local store will be given advice but i know this is more than a isolated incident and happens in most of your stores

Please also note i am not refusing to pay just offering a reduced amount untill my finances improve, also i would welcome any court action you may bring i look forward to your reply within 14 days

also plaese take note due to the abuse we have suffered i will no longer deal with anyone from my local store

Regards US

 

 

 

I posted a letter to this afect to the CEO and had a reply within 5 days with a 50quid chq and the remining balance wiped out once they know you will not be bullied and would welcome court action so you can show a judge what a crap company it is they tend to back down

they threatened me on the phone about coming around just told them YEA YEA your full of crap when they did turn up i asked have you a court order NO well in that case F off because you tresspassing he laft untill i bundled him over the garden fence i also pointed out the sign on the gate DO NOT ENTER UNLESS YOU HAVE A APPOINTMENT NO APPOINTMENT YOU WILL BE CLASSES AS A BURGLAUR AND TREATED AS ONE DOGS ROAMING FREELY IN THIS AREA AND WE WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR YOU BEING BITTEN

after he was over the fence and a 18stone prop climbing after him he legged it then a hr later i get a call from there store im sure we can sort this out my guy could have been hurt i just laffed and told him no court order no right to come here will see you in court thats when i sent off the letter from head office once you stand up to them they dont like it and want to be your friend

Regards DK

if they call you tell them you welcome court action and for them to try calling

I friend of the wifes was getting grief off them so her brother called then and they stated we will be around in a hr to collect the stuff and nobody can stop us

now hes a hairy A biker he told them great i cant wait to go back to prison after being in for 12 yrs slitting a guys throat i hate it out here anyway after a hr and half pasted no sign of the store so him and 20 bikers pulled up outside and went in im looking for the manager he reckons he was going to come to my sisters house for a fight cant wait all day for it so we called over the manager legged it up the street so they left saying we will call again everyday till we see him i bet he never went back

trouble is her brothers about 26 stone wilth tatoos everywhere and a hairy a@s biker with a load of mates poor guy must have had a wet patch in his pants

Regards DK

[clemma]

I understand chaz2 - I used to have 5 agreements, now down to 2. As I have said, BH will not allow you just to pay in full on one agreement and part pay on others. They want the full amount owed or nothing (that way they can keep adding late charges, therefore making them more money for their store). For some reason, they club them all together as if it is just one agreement. I cannot explain why they do this as it does contravene regulations. Until they are challenged (as you have done with your letters), they will carry on saying no.

 

They have sent you a letter saying they are going to default you. As Lefty said, you should receive a leaflet with the official default notice (if it ever arrives ) which states that Brighthouse MUST negotiate repayments.

 

I'm sorry I can't provide much more on this, but Brighthouse are a law unto themselves. Speak to Trading Standards tomorrow and ask for their advice. You are right that each agreement should be separate though......be easier if BH saw it that way.

 

The letter you have sent explaining your financial situation should hopefully help. As it is the Christmas period, it will take longer than normal for you to get the reply. If all else fails, and you want to do something further, send an email to [email protected] and explain everything to her too. Tell her how the staff have treated you etc., etc. I have dealt with her many times. Put in the email that there is no point passing the email on to your local branch (as they are unhelpful to say the least) and ask her to pass it to the regional manager. Regional managers tend to help more than the staff at the store (that has been my experience anyway).

[clemma]

Hi i can see her point shes not offering part payment the 4 accounts are seperate and she wants to pay one

 

You know how they work DCA. They treat it as part payment regardless of how you ask for the money you pay to be used. It's just another tactic of theirs. I also see her point, and I know what she wants to do - BH don't/won't/can't see that though.

[DCA-KING]

Yes they just do what the want they have benn done before by the OFT

i didnt find anne healey any help i went to the top the CEO got a better responce

Regards DK

[chaz2]

thankyou for your help, i appreciate it so much and its because of you guys i feel confident in challenging them. Im going to speak to the OFT and the fsa tomorrow and seek advice as they cannot legally tie all your agreements together, its the same as the bank tieing in your credit cards and bank loan in one and not allowing you to pay one without the other. Il also send an e-mail to anne healey, DCA, do you have the address of the CEO. Im taking this all the way. In my line of work i am governed and certified by the FSA and have on-going training to ensure that we are always fully compliant. we are are very concious that the FSA are currently doing a generic sweep of any business that deal with finance and insurance through mystery shopping and audits, the consiquences of mis-informing or mis-advising are massive, they are even checking databases and contacting people that have recently purchased products on finance or had pensions or insurance products.,the reason i know that is because they called me and asked if they could visit me at my home and go through the details of the product insurance i took out recently. I invited them to my home and they went through my agreement with a fine tooth comb and the questions were very thorough. I just hope that bh receive a visit.

[clemma]

Send this to Anne Healey

 

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 four separate agreements with Brighthouse and have offered to pay the weekly payment of one in full and part pay on the others until my finances are in order. The store refused and said they would only accept full payment. This now amounts to two 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 was told that Brighthouse are able to obtain a court order in one day. This I know to be untrue. 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 third on all 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

Chaz2

Edited December 22, 2008 by clemma
confusion....

[chaz2]

clemma, your a star. thankyou for that

[clemma]

You're welcome. Take a stand against these bullies!!

Edited December 22, 2008 by clemma
bad grammer....:)

[chaz2]

I will do and keep you informed of my progress, have a great christmas.

[clemma]

if you haven't received the dealing with debt leaflet, but HAVE received a written default notice, let me know and I will scan the leaflet and post it here for you.

 

Please can you post this leaflet anyway? It'll give me a little more help

[Lefty]

You are abosultely correct in your thinking... Each contract/agreement you have with BrightHouse is a seperate entity.

By refusing payment on (any) one of them without good reason - and then aplying a penalty charge in respect of non-payment - is a direct breach of contract - and, furthermore, grounds for damages.

Lefty

[clemma]

I will do and keep you informed of my progress, have a great christmas.

 

 

Anymore news on this?

[mojo8]

Hi clemma, thanks for asking for an update.

 

We have e-mailed A healey and sent off a letter to the head office and local branch. We have so far not had any replies but the local branch keep calling and leaving a message to call them. We have done as you advised and requested everything in writing, however i find it strange that we have not received a formal default letter yet.

[plumberjon]

It doesn't surprise me because this is just down to laziness at the branch.

 

There is a clear protocol for being completely official with chasing debt, and to be honest, no-one pays any attention to it because it takes too long.

 

After only about 2-3 weeks they should technically send you a FDN (Final Default Notice). Thery have a form to fill in, in immense detail and then fax to head office where they print out a full FDN and issue it to you and the store. They have to wait either 14 or 21 days (I can't remember exactly) before they are allowed to do anything, they can't even say Hi to you if they see you in the street!

 

This amount of time that they are not allowed to call you frightens them, they would rather not bother with the FDN so they can keep harassing you!

 

As long as you keep the law on your side and do everything that we have suggested on here, it will go your way. You'll just have to put up with them for a little whil longer.

 

I almost pity them, it's almost like a last desperate gasp for breathe on their part, even though they know theyr'e doomed!!

 

PJ

Edited January 3, 2009 by plumberjon
someone keeps moving the keys when i'm typing!!!

[clemma]

You sent the harassment letter/do not telephone me letter, so they should not be calling you at all! I will have a dig around and see if I can find a follow up letter to send them. How many times a day are they calling you?

[chaz2]

Hi guys

Received default note today but had no respons from either Anne Healy or head office, just constant barrage of calls on both mobile phone and house phone asking for us to call them.

[clemma]

I really need to know if you sent the harassment by telephone letter? Also, what does the default notice state (very important). What date was it sent and what date does it tell you to resolve it by?

[clemma]

Also, which letters have you sent?? Did you keep copies?

[DCA-KING]

if the keep calling when you know its them say hello pines fish and chips if they can i speak with so and so say this isnt a message service and they dont work here would you like to place a order

keep saying that and if they say well thats the number we been give say well its the bloody number bt give me when i opened on 3 Jan

they think you then may have changed your number

I used my mobile to record a call i had and asked them to remove my numbers they refused OK fine if you call again you will incure a 35 charge for the call being answered if you do not want the charge please do not call gain if you do then it means you except my terms

Regards DK

sent my brighthouse a xmas card wiswh you a merry xmas please feel free to call im in spain for a month