Some advice please on brighthouse practice

[ukspooner]

:|HI all

 

firstly i apologise if my question has been answerd on a previous thread, i have looked but did not find it.

 

i currently have a tv through brighthouse which next month i will be 2 years into the agreement so clearly paid mpore than a third off.

ill be ahonest here im not the best payer in the world and frequently miss payments but by no more than 2 weeks.

my payments are usually a week late if anything but i always pay.

 

these last few months whenever my payment is late we are getting harrasing phonecalls on a daily basis to make payment.

at present i am 2 weeks in arrears which is a grand total of just under £20 (huge money)

today i have had a visit while i was out by 2 of the staff from my local store (both their names were written on the card.

the card was telling me they they called to discuss my account and remove goods to which i have to be honest about at first it did make me chuckle all for £20.

my wife fished out our agreement from when we took the finance out on 29th march 2010.

i was reading the bit about

REPOSSESION : YOUR RIGHTS.

"if you do not keep your side of the agreement but you have paid at least one third of the total ammount payable under this agreement that is xxxxxxx we may not take back the goods against your wishes unless we get a court order. if we do take th egoods without your consent or a court order you have the right to get back any money that you have paid under this agreement.

 

so my question is this, if they come to the house and im at work and my wife lets them in but refuses to sign the form and they remove the goods without ME giving consent.

would this mean that i can get my money back that i have paid so far,

 

i know this may sound strange to some but i am sick and tired of seeing these companies bully and harass people.

me and my wife have discussed this and we no longer wish to have any dealings with brighthouse.

so what could be classed as me giving consent to take the goods?

would it have to be my signature or would my wife letting them into the house be classed as consent.

i have advised my wife they if they come to the door and im at work just to let them in and try and talk about it reoasnably but not to try and stop them or cause a fuss if they want to remove goods but to stipulate that she is not giving them permission to do so.

this way i would be able to get my money back from them.

 

really sorry for the long speech but just want to make sure i know where i stand against these bullies.

 

just us a quick note, when i phone them to make my payment up from the previous week they always say that they cannot take it unless i pay that weeks payment at the same time althogh it is not due untill the saturday.

apparently the system does not allow this...

[citizenB]

Your wife doesnt even have to let them in - unless they have a court order and you would know about that as a claim would have needed to be issued in the first instance.

 

You should be making a complaint to the OFT about this harrassment.

[ukspooner]

thank you for such a quick response.

what i ultimatly wanted to do (yes this may be the wrong way to go about things ) but is to get my money back from them as i realy do not want this company inmy life any more.

i was hoping if we just played ball with them and let them carry out there nasty deed of removing the goods without my consent would this be the the bast way of getting my money back.

 

Your wife doesnt even have to let them in - unless they have a court order and you would know about that as a claim would have needed to be issued in the first instance.

 

You should be making a complaint to the OFT about this harrassment.

[silverfox1961]

keep that card safe as well. That is evidence.

Isn't it strange how when we hear of this, BH say it is a one off thing yet we hear this time and time again.

Do BrightHouse advocate unlawful practices. Answers on a postcard dropped through a letterbox.

 

The only way they can take the goods back is if

a) You let them

b) They get a court order

c) You leave the goods outside

[ukspooner]

i just figured that this was the best way to get one over on the bullies for a change

[dx100uk]

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?309656-Police-arrest-customer-to-allow-Buy-As-You-View-to-seize-goods(5-Viewing)-nbsp

[ukspooner]

dx

 

i understand what yu ared saying abut the same household.

but if my wife states that she is not giving them consent to remove goods then surely they are clearly in breach of the agreement if they do so

[dx100uk]

they would also be acting against the law

 

which is why i posted that link.

 

dx

[ukspooner]

thanks dx

i think we are on the same page now lol

apologies for my misunderstanding

[pinkfloydianuk]

If i'm right in what i'm thinking, you are wanting to give the goods back and recover any payments you have made thus far?

 

Firstly if i was you i would NOT let them in to your property unless they turn up with a court order or you are consenting for them to take the goods,

anything they wish to discuss can be talked about at the door,

after all we are only talking about 2 weeks late payments here (plus late payment charges).

 

Unfortunately (im no expert so i would double check) you will not be able to claim any money back from them if you wish to return the goods.

On your agreement there will be a section titled Termination: Your Rights.

 

On an agreement i have in front of my from an item i have purchased from them it states :

 

'You have a right to end this agreement.

To do so, you should write to the person you make your payments to.

We will then be entitled to the return of the goods and to HALF the total amount payable under the agreement, that is £XXX.XX.

If you have already payed at least this amount plus any overdue instalments and have taken reasonable care of the goods, you will not have to pay any more.'

 

I understand where you are coming when you say 'if they take the goods without consent are they breaching the agreement'.

If i were you i would find out if they need written consent to remove goods.

If you invite them in and let them remove goods, in my opinion this would be considered as consent and it doesnt state on the agreement that it has to be 'written' consent.

 

If this was to get messy and go to small claims court, you might have a battle on your hands proving you did not give them verbal consent,

i would also consider the fact you are a self admitted regular late payer.

 

Lets get thing in to perspective,

i know you are angry about the harrasment and this issue definately needs to be adressed

but are you really willing to let them walk away with your two years of payments then put your tv back on the shelf as reconditioned or alternatively have a small claims court battle,

all because of two weeks late paymnets (plus any late payment charges).

 

If i were you i would just bite the bullet pay the account up to date,

finish paying the last year on the tv off and never deal with them again now you know what to expect from them.

 

pinkfloydianuk

[dx100uk]

'they' can NEVER take goods even WITH a COURT ORDER

 

they are NOT bailiffs and NEVER EVER will be

 

only court bailiffs can take goods - end of!!!

 

dx

[dx100uk]

and they have NO remit to add ANY penalty charges either.

 

dx

[Anus Horribilis]

but if my wife states that she is not giving them consent to remove goods then surely they are clearly in breach of the agreement if they do so

 

They will lie. They will say that she consented, and there's two of them to swear to it. You will never prove otherwise. Unless your wife is able and willing to wear a recording device, this is a poor tactic. If she's ready for a bit of espionage then it might work out really well - catch them on tape saying that they are taking the goods against her protests, and you have an unloseable claim.

[ukspooner]

so how long will it take them to get a court order to remove my goods? and if they cannot remove my goods as you say DX how do they go about getting their items back.

 

 

im currently 2 weeks i arears and my local store called me threatening to come and remocve my goods. but when i spke up and said "fine go get yourself a court order then come back to me" she shut up then tried to explain that they do not need a court order,n after the discussion went on for a few more mins she finaly gave in and i think she recognised that i was not going to juts lay down and take it and that i knew what i was talking about (all thanks to CAG).

 

apologies for the bad spelling.

[silverfox1961]

I can't say I have heard of any company (BH,BAYV,Perfect Homes) going to court. I'm sure it must happen on occasion.

Obviously you could hand the goods back or you could come to some arrangement to clear the arrears but do not sign a new agreement without checking with CAG first

[ukspooner]

Hi silver fox

I have just spoke their head office and they refuse to let me make the payments up over a period if time as they don't accept part payments.

I stated that if it wasn't for there unlawful fees I would be able to bring my account up to date. I asked if they would waive these fees to which they refused.

 

I'm currently waiting for my paperwork from Brighthouse do I claim back all the fees they have charged me over the last few years.

Bit don't know where I go from here in my current situation. Even if I offer to make a small payment try actually refuse to take it

[Anus Horribilis]

Write to head office, with the account number. Say that you are struggling financially, but you wish to pay as much as you can towards the arrears. Enclose a cheque for a small but useful amount - £20 to £50. They will phone you to refuse it, because they know that to put that in writing makes them look very bad. Have a tape recorder ready.