Please help us with Brighthouse!!

[timpo1981]

Hi Guys,

I really don’t know where to start with this so please bear with me and I’ll try and put it down as best I can.

Basically we (My GF) have 6 agreements with bright house at the moment for a cooker, bunk beds, suite, TV, double bed and Xbox 360. The oldest agreement we have is for the cooker and we have paid 2/3rds of this agreement. The rest are all over 1 year old apart from the X box. We also had a re-write on all the agreements a few months back.

Now a bit of background.

We have 4 children 2 of whom (The eldest and 3rd) are severely disabled with a life threatening auto immune disorder, with the only possible cure being a bone marrow transplant. My youngest son went into hospital in Newcastle last June for his bone marrow transplant which meant we all as a family are away from home for the majority of the time. However we still managed to keep up our £59pw payments with bright house religiously, either by debit card over the phone or by one of us going into the store if we happened to have come home for a few days.

We did on occasion miss a few payments if we forgot due to all the stress we are under, but always always phoned them on our next pay day and paid by debit card including all the late fees and the next weeks payment. All of the BH staff at our local store are aware of our situation and didn’t even bother phoning when we missed as they knew that we would pay as soon as we could.

Anyway my son has been rejecting his transplant quite badly and has nearly died on occasion and now is in liver failure and is being assessed for a liver transplant, and on the 15th of November my GF also gave birth to our baby daughter. We also moved house on the 10th of November as the house we were renting from the council had a damp and mould problem which could cause life threatening problems for my eldest son who hasn’t yet had his transplant and would also not be appropriate to take my son who has had his transplant back to should he pull through and eventually be discharged from hospital!

Now our dilemma

Due to all the stress of the transplant, rejection, house move and birth paying BH was the last thing on our minds and we missed 3 weeks worth of payments and as we spend most of our time in the hospital with our mobiles turned off we missed BH’s calls so totally forgot about them. Anyway last Saturday which was a week after my gf had given birth she started getting severe stomach cramps and loosing a lot of blood and was rushed into hospital. Whilst in the hospital in severe pain she had a call from someone at BH who immediately started ranting and raving and threatened that unless we were at the store with payment within the next hour they would be coming to repossess their items. MY gf told him that she was in hospital and that she would try and sort something out as soon as she could, to which he replied “No you won’t try, you will sort it out and you’ll do it today” she again explained that she was in hospital and that she would try sort it out before they closed that day. He again told her that no she will not try and that she had better sort it or they will be coming for their stuff at 6pm and would kick the door in if they had to.

Anyway the problem at that point was as we had moved we had had to pay over £300 in removal costs and didn’t have the full amount they were asking for so we couldn’t pay on the card there and then but I was going to go and try and borrow some money from family to pay with, but they were all either out or at work so I couldn’t get hold of them. So to cut a long story short we decided we would hold out and would go into the store this week to pay them when we got our sons DLA payments and again put BH to the back of our minds.

Later that afternoon after I had returned home BH phoned my GF’s phone again (Which I had as it’s the only number the hospital in Newcastle has to get hold of us if they need to regarding our son who is up there) Again he immediately started the conversation with an aggressive tone and was asking to speak to my GF. I told him that she was still in hospital and that as I had her phone he obviously couldn’t speak to her. The following were his exact words!! “Well you’re a lying little sh*thouse because I spoke to her 5 minutes ago (It was actually 2 hours earlier) and I know she is there so just tell her that if she isn’t in here with the full amount in the next hour you can say bye bye to your goods, and ignoring the door won’t help as we have the power to kick your door in to recover OUR items” and with that he hung up.

As you can imagine I was absolutely livid. Not only was I extremely worried about my son who is in effect dieing, and my wife who could be bleeding to death and needing emergency surgery I was also looking after a one week old baby, a seriously ill 5 year old and my other son. In a moment of sheer madness I rang them back and told them that they could go whistle for their payment and their goods as we had just moved and wished them the best of luck in finding us.

After I had calmed down I immediately regretted phoning them and making that statement as our intention was not and is not to avoid paying for the goods and we were going to give them our new address when we went in with payment. Now everything is just a mess as BH have been to our old address and knocked on all our ex neighbours doors asking them if they know where we are and told them that if they see us to tell us that we are now wanted by the police for theft of their goods and that unless we go into the store with full payment which is now something like £400 they won’t stop the police action, and that we will be sent to jail and our kids will be put in care.

Now gf has gone into a complete breakdown and refuses to even talk about BH as she gets severe panic attacks. I am also suffering from a great deal of stress and have been put on valium by my GP. We really want to sort this but just don’t feel like we have the will to live never mind deal with these monsters. I am also afraid that as we had a re-write earlier in the year when one of our boys was in hospital that we have lost all our repossession rights and that when we do give them our address they will just come and take our goods. Now as the cooker, and beds are essentials that would be another major problem for us. Also we have since returned to Newcastle as our little man is once again very poorly so don’t even know when we will have the time sort this mess out!!

Please help someone as we really are at breaking point!!

Timpo

[Naxxas]

first of all, worry not. no-one has the legal right to "kick your door in" its called technical burglary if they do. only the police may remove your door by force and even then they need a warrant signed by the duty sargent and they need good reason to do so, and i can assure you collecting goods for Brighthouse is not one of them.

Secondly i find the treatment you have suffered its intollerable and tantamount to harrassment, but im sure one of the more experienced guys here will reply soon and give you some advice. you had every intention of paying but brighthouse have forced the fight now. Seriously, they are making idle threats, i work for a Litigation Dept for a Large business, we employ DCA's ourselves, we would NEVER speak to a customer in this way, im pretty sure its unethical if not like i said harassment.

 

so bottom line, relax, they have no legal right without a court enforcement to seize goods from your premises, the last time i sought one of those against one of my debtors was well.... jees a long time ago its a long and costly process sometimes, theyre just bullying you into paying, which funnily enough you always admit you wanted to do anyway!!

my advice would be to ignore them for the time being until someone here suggests a course of action for you, concentrate on your family and your own health and let these play ground bullies spit the dummy on their own time.

[Naxxas]

on a side i would ask your neighbours to write down that the person who came and knocked said that your kids would be put into care and you wouod go to jail. id pop that off to their head office and shame them in the local paper! thats just got me soo angry, how anyone can think they have the right to make those allegations is beyond me!!

 

but i stand by what i said, i can 100% assure you they DO NOT have the "powers" (maybe in his derranged small mind) to kick your door in! so please dont worry, surely you can see how desperate they are in the current financial crisis to get money as to the tactics they are using. I can assure you these tactics are NOT legal! as im sure someone else here will confirm for me, and looking at their credit license im pretty sure certain bodies would be interested in hearing from you.

[clemma]

This has to be one of the worst cases I have read on here and my heart really goes out to you. I hope the following can help ease both of your minds:

 

Brighthouse CANNOT just take your items if you have paid over a third of the agreement. They also CANNOT forcibly enter your home or take goods without your permission. Before they can take goods they HAVE to obtain a court order. Before they can get a court order, they have to issue you with a default notice. Even if you have only made a few payments, they STILL CANNOT enter your home without your permission.

 

BH make these threats too often, and I have been on the receiving end of it myself. If they phone again and threaten you, tell them you wish to receive no more correspondence by telephone and want all further communication in writing. Send a letter off to Head Office and your local branch (recorded delivery) stating this, explaining your reasons (ie calls are of a threatening nature, persistent calling etc) and explain your circumstances clearly in the letter. Use this letter to help you as a guide http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/bank-templates-library/37006-harassment-telephone-response-letter.html.

 

Also, tell them when they phone that you are recording the conversation. They may well say it's illegal, but it's NOT (especially if you have genuine reasons i.e. witheld numbers and threatening calls ). They don't know your not......

 

You may also want to send the following letter:

 

Account(s) number(s) XXXXXXXXX

 

Dear Sirs

 

I have recently been experiencing some personal difficulties and, as a result, have fallen behind with my weekly payments to BrightHouse. This is most regrettable, so please accept my apologies

 

I do not wish to return the goods voluntarily, and as I cannot afford to pay this amount in one instalment, I would like to offer the sum of £(reasonable amount) per week on top of my regular weekly payment of £XX to clear my arrears over the next XX weeks. This payment plan can start immediately.

 

I have made this proposal (and made an offer of payment) at my local store, but my payment was refused. I was told that BrightHouse will not/cannot accept “part payments”. This “policy” only places my account(s) further into arrears and invokes further penalty charges. I find this both immoral, unfair and in direct contravention to OFT guidelines regarding the collection of debt.

 

Naturally, I hope you will accept my offer (above) and allow me time to bring my account(s) up to date in both a fair and affordable way. Of course, by accepting my offer, and by me maintaining regular payments (on time) you agree NOT to apply any further “penalty” or “late payment” charges to my account(s).

 

Please confirm in writing your acceptance or refusal of my offer in order for me to make the necessary payment arrangements, or to prepare for my defence in the County Court as appropriate.

 

Kindest Regards

 

YOU

 

 

cc - BrightHouse local store

your local Trading Standards (this never hurts)

 

Bear in mind, and to help ease you problems, BH rarely (if ever) obtain court orders.

 

There is also the possibility of asking them for an account re-set, so the arrears are placed on to the end of your agreement. BH will probably prefer to reset your agreement than take you to court (as they would have to to reclaim their goods).

 

You should think very carefully before agreeing to this, because you risk losing all the rights you have accrued regarding repossession and early settlement, making it easier for BrightHouse to repossess their goods should you get into difficulty again.

 

If you do decide to accept an account re-set, use the following letter and make sure the store manager signs it. Attach it to your new agreement

 

Original agreement number XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

New Agreement number XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

 

Date

 

Updated agreement to reflect Account Re-Set

 

IMPORTANT Payments made previously on this agreement (XX payments to date representing XX of the total amount payable) are to be reflected, and form part of, any revised agreement.

 

All rights under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 regarding, in particular, “early settlement” and “repossession” as set out in section J of the original agreement remain intact and continue uninterrupted into any revised agreement.

 

Signed - YOU

(Print name)

 

Signed - Store Manager (for and on behalf of Caversham Finance trading as BrightHouse)

(print name)

 

Brighthouse are renowned for being bullies, but they DO back down as I can testify for. First thing tomorrow, contact Trading Standards and explain everything to them - get them into the loop so you can send all correspondence on to them too.

I hope some of this information helps. I know it's difficult, but try not to panic. As a consumer, there are many laws that protect you from harassment/unfair conduct etc., etc. BH is NOT a priority debt. Above all else, the health of your girlfriend and children come first.

 

If you need any further help, please just ask.

 

p.s. As an afterthought, if BH come to your house and threaten you or try to force their way into your home, do not hesitate to call the police. This is intimidation and harassment and is therefore against the law.

Edited December 1, 2008 by clemma

[davethorp]

You may want to file a complaint using their complaints procedure over their dealings with you making sure you submit a copy to trading standards (the information commissioner wouldn't hurt too as their discussing your account with your ex neighbours is a clear breach of data protection)

[clemma]

Also, to help reduce further payments, I would suggest removing Optional Service Cover and Damage Liability Cover (although you must have your own home insurance to remove DLC). There is a letter in Lefty's factsheet sticky.

[clemma]

You may want to file a complaint using their complaints procedure

 

 

As well as sending letters, also email Anne Healey - [email protected]

 

You will get a standard reply from her, but it was her I dealt with and she did pursue my complaint and it has been resolved. If you have heard nothing from her after 7 days, email her again. Always remain polite - I never put any anger into my emails (difficult as it was). My case for my unfair treatment and the mis-selling of policies was resolved within 2 weeks

[timpo1981]

Thanks guys for the very quick responses!!

 

There is some very good advice here and i feel much better now having read it. At the moment it feels like our world is upside down with all the medical things going on and the last thing we need is people harrasing us for money!

 

Unfortunately my other half is extremely mentaly unstable at the moment and the last thing on her mind is dealing with brighthouse, but I will try and get my head round all your excellent advise and try and ease some of the preasure!

 

Thanks again for all the help

Timpo

[clemma]

You're more than welcome. Once you have sent the letters, told them to stop calling, informed trading standards and emailed Anne Healey (a lot of things, I know) trust me, you will feel more in control of the situation and therefore less stressed. Thats the key to this.

 

Keep us informed.

 

I have forgot to mention - phone your branch and ask them FIRST about spreading the arrears on top of your normal weekly payments. They will more than likely refuse, but at least the letter you send to head office about your financial difficulties will be accurate, as it states you have contacted the branch.....Be polite and tell them you are wanting to make payments, but their refusal to help you pay the arrears is frustrating and leading to you becoming more in arrears. If they become threatening, remember the advice given above.

Edited December 1, 2008 by clemma

[Lefty]

Hi

Clemma's post is absolutely SPOT ON! Couldn't have said it better myself! (Well, I suppose I did say most of it!) LOL! Seriously, great post, Clemma...

I would just add that, at this point, I would cease ALL communications with your local branch, and deal DIRECTLY (in writing) with head office.

And yes, PLEASE keep us informed. We are here to help.

Cheers

Lefty

[DCA-KING]

If they phone you just tell them all calls are now recorded and that you will only deal with there head office from now on and even ask head office to move your account to another store and stse im not refusing to pay im refusing to be verbally abused and harrassed by that store telling them that you have statments from you x neighbours and that if the outcome isnt satasfactory you will contact the media as they have threatened you will the police and your kids in care and you have proof i would also tell them you are even prepared to go to court for a district judge to hear how you have been treated and you want something done about the manager

Best regards and hope you all get well soon DK

my motto never leave these barstools grind you down

[clemma]

Hi

Clemma's post is absolutely SPOT ON! Couldn't have said it better myself! (Well, I suppose I did say most of it!) LOL! Seriously, great post, Clemma...

I would just add that, at this point, I would cease ALL communications with your local branch, and deal DIRECTLY (in writing) with head office.

And yes, PLEASE keep us informed. We are here to help.

Cheers

Lefty

 

Sorry - usually quote you when I write my replies!! Just showing initiative

[Lefty]

Sorry - usually quote you when I write my replies!! Just showing initiative

 

You are rapidly becoming a very valued member of the team! Keep it up!

Cheers

Lefty

[clemma]

You are rapidly becoming a very valued member of the team! Keep it up!

Cheers

Lefty

 

Thanks This particular post has really got to me. I just want to help others and I have used CAG to help me gain some knowledge. You're busy at the moment , so whilst you keep a low profile, I'll pinch your advice!

[timpo1981]

Ok I think I've got my head round what I need to do first, and am going to get these letters written up. The only problem is I don't have my agreement/account numbers and don't really want to phone the store to get them. Most of the templates have a secton to insert these numbers so don't really know how to go about this.

 

Any ideas anyone?

[clemma]

Have you got any old receipts as they show your agreement numbers? If you don't want to phone the branch, then call customer services on 0800 526 069. If you would prefer not to do this, then your address on the letter should be suffice for them to pull up your details (if they still have your old address, then include that in the letter). Maybe try emailing Anne Healey (email address above) just asking her for your agreement numbers (again, remembering to put the address they have for you).

[steven4064]

Some great advice here.

 

I would also suggest that you keep detailed records of all phone calls - record them if you can. BH are bullies and, like all bullies, will run if you stand up to them. You need evidence though.

[clemma]

BH are bullies - but Timpo1981, once you take a stand, they WILL back down. I have said somewhere that they think all customers are "stupid" (a word I hate, but I can't think of another). Just stick to your guns. As Lefty said - deal with head office only, and all letters you write cc them to your branch (remember to send recorded delivery). They WILL take you seriously then. I talk from experience

[plumberjon]

My God!

 

I was always ashamed to admit that I used to work for BH, but this time BH really have over-stepped the mark.

 

I am so sorry you have had this burden and also sorry that I did not log on and respond t this thread earlier, but hat's off to Clemma and everyone else, their advice is right on the nail.

 

Just keep this in mind, you are their CUSTOMER. For some reason, BH seem to think it's OK to bully their customers, I still to this day wonder how the hell they manage to thrive the way they do, they're more like a virus than a business!!

 

I really hope all goes well for you and your family, and take no notice of the threats whatsoever. Deal directly with head office and not the store. As soon as you sort things out a bit I would also recommend you get BH head office, to transfer ALL of your accounts to your next nearest store, just so you never have to deal with them again. Never take aything else out with them, and simply set up either a direct debit or pay over the phone.

 

Keep your contact with them to a minimum, you have more important priorities to deal with.

 

All the best

 

PJ

[clemma]

Bump!

 

Timpo1981 - Just wondering if you have any news?? Have you sent the letters etc.? Have you had anymore hassle?

[timpo1981]

Just thought I'd post and say that the letters were sent some weeks ago but up until Xmas eve I have had no reply!! Since then I haven't been home as we are still in Newcastle and will be for a few more weeks. We haven't even had any phone calls from them, but I'm sure they will be in touch soon!

[clemma]

No news is good news

 

At least you have had a few hassle free weeks, but no doubt they will be in touch. However, if they have all the letters, they will realise you know what your rights are and will hopefully reach a compromise.

[plumberjon]

Hi Timpo

 

Was just wondering, as this really got to a few of us, how are things now?

 

PJ