Brighthouse problems, advice please.

[adarling2006]

if they are a DCA then if u offer to make a payment they have to accept, if they have refuse, which u say they have done, they are going against what the OFT guidelines on debt collecting, keep all letters and copy them, file a report on to OFT and TS, and tell them you've done so.

[angel49]

Further to a conversation with my friend this morning, could someone check the following letter please? This is going to Cavesham Finance T/A Brighthouse in Reading

 

 

With reference to the above account numbers,please find enclosed copies of two letters that I tried to deliver by hand to the branch indicated. The letters were opened and read then given back to me as I asked for a receipt and was told by the salesperson to post them and get my own receipt.

I would appreciate this letter being regarded as an official complaint about the attitude shown by the staff at Brighthouse.

I have a 2 yr old child with heart problems who is just recovering from major surgery and find it distressing and intrusive when staff come to my premises uninvited and banging my windows. I have received numerous phone calls throughout the week.

I also understand your staff made reference to my non-payment this week to a neighbour. Under the Data Protection Act, this is an offence.

Though I have always endeavoured to maintain my agreed payments, now and again as I’m sure you will appreciate, other problems occur. I have attempted to make reduced payment on occasion and cannot believe they are actually refused. Should it become necessary for you to consider court action against me I would welcome this as I am sure a judge would be more than interested in the tactics used/shown by Brighthouse.

It is not my intention to avoid payment on this account (currently 2 weeks in arrears) I merely needed to make a reduced payment which has been refused,whilst I make inquiries into the “optional insurance”. Again, I questioned the neccessity of this and have been repeatedly told I had to have it if I wanted the goods.

Please give this letter your immediate attention if you wish to avoid any action I am considering.

[Lefty]

Ah... BRIGHTHOUSE!!! My favourite subject!

 

The "interesting thread" regarding Brighthouse referred to earlier can be read here...

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/general/53098-anyone-taken-brighthouse.html

 

So far, you have done all the right things.

 

Be aware...

 

Brighthouse CAN reposses their goods without a court order if less than one third of the agreement total has been paid. However, they CANNOT forcibly enter your home - they can ONLY reposses in a "public" place - (this is a throwback to hire purchase law which is favoured by vehicle finace companies.)

 

However, if MORE than one third of the agreement has been paid they can ONLY reposses with a court order - and, furthermore - if they DO reposses their goods (against your wishes, and after one third has been paid, and WITHOUT a court order) you can claim back ALL money you have paid on the agreement to date.

 

Be careful when cancelling OPTIONAL SERVICE COVER. They will get you to sign a new agreement - and this agreement will SUPERCEDE your previous agreement and you will no longer be deemed to have paid more than one third of the agreement. Make sure you provide a letter (head office and branch) to this effect, and to be INTEGERAL to any new agreement...

 

IMPORTANT Payments made previously on this agreement (XX payments to date representing more than one third of the total amount payable) should be reflected in any revised agreement. I do not waive any of my rights under the Consumer Credit Act 1974 regarding, in particular, “early settlement” and “repossession” as set out in section J of the original agreement.

 

Hope this helps.

 

I shall keep my eye on this thread with interest!

 

 

Cheers

Lefty

[angel49]

Hi lefty

Thank you for your comments, have taken note of your advice re any new agreement. From what I can see on the agreements and statements, she has paid well over 50% on each agreement.

I'm just shocked with how they treat their customers. All the letters have been mailed with copies to Caversham Finance.

Will post with any developments.

[Lefty]

Brighthouse use every crafty trick in the book - but always just about manage to stay within the Law...

 

Another one of their favourite tricks is this one...

 

Say a customer is well past one third into their agreement and gets into difficulty. Brighthouse will apply the usual pressure and threaten repossesion etc. Brighthouse KNOW that to get around the Law they MUST apply for a court order...

 

So, after a few faceless threats the customer will get a call (usually from the manager or "defaults" manager) who will "very kindly" offer a practical alternative... He will offer to take your "outstanding" amounts and consolidate them all into one BRAND NEW agreement. A fresh start - and, most likely, lower payments. Brilliant!

 

However, your agreement has now become a BRAND NEW account, and you have lost all your rights regarding repossession - thus making it EASIER for Brighthouse to re-posses their goods if you get into difficulty again!!!

 

And... while we're at it...

 

OPTIONAL SERVICE COVER and DAMAGE LIABILTY INSURANCE.

 

Take note... that's TWO separate policies. Two!!! We've already discussed (at length) the con that is OPTIONAL SERVICE COVER - but what about their DAMAGE LIABILITY INSURANCE?

 

This insurance (around £250 on a £800 cash price product) is loaded AUTOMATICALLY and will only be removed if you can supply proof of "suitable" home contents insurance. (Brighthouse reserve the right to determine what is and what is not "suitable").

 

Please appreciate that this cover applies solely to the one product subject to your agreement (a TV for instance) and will be applied separately for each agreement you have.

 

You are told this insurance covers your product for damage, theft, fire, flood etc. However, unlike "real" home contents insurance it WILL NOT provide you with a replacement product should it become necessary (not even like-for-like) and will only release you from your agreement with Brighthouse - who, ultimately, benefit from the policy. You end up with NOTHING!!!

 

I live in a "high risk" insurance area, and yet I can insure the ENTIRE contents of my home (plus three high risk items) for less than £120 per year! However, as I am the policy holder (and would benefit from any payouts) my policy is deemed "unsuitable" by Brighthouse.

 

So, essentially, OPTIONAL SERVICE COVER and DAMAGE LIABILITY INSURANCE are, for all intents and purposes, one single policy split into two - and, when added to their very high APR on your hire purchase agreement - literally DOUBLE the original cash price.

 

 

Cheers

Lefty

[angel49]

Thanks for that lefty, at least forewarned is forearmed in every sense. I'm getting so involved with this Brighthouse thing my own problems seem quite straightforward.

[adarling2006]

seems to me they are due for a taking down a peg or 2, not to worry, the people here will help as always.

[angel49]

Hi adarling

Quite agree, they really do sound unpleasant. Having seen how they treated my pal for being 2 weeks behind is enough to keep me from stepping inside their shop................

We'll see what happens by way of response from these people.

thanks for your support.

[Lefty]

Just found a useful web reference site you may find interesting...

 

Community Legal Service Direct

 

OK, none of this is exactly rocket science - and should be all well known by now - but it can be reassuring to find actual LEGAL rulings on specific items of consumer Law...

 

In particular...

 

Hire Purchase (HP) problems

 

If you buy goods such as a car or furniture under hire purchase (HP) or a similar scheme, known as a 'conditional sale agreement', you don't own it until you have made the final payment. Until then, it belongs to the creditor (the finance company).

 

If you miss payments before you've paid a third of the total amount you owe, the creditor can repossess (take back) the item. This amount will be on the front of your agreement. However, the creditor can repossess the item only if it is in a public place, so they may be able to repossess a car, but they cannot come into your home and take furniture.

 

If you have paid a third or more of the total amount you owe, the creditor must start court action to get the goods back, or to get you to pay.

In this case, the court will send you a hearing date, when it will decide whether you must return the item or whether it can accept an offer by you to make payment.

 

 

You can ask the court for a 'time order', under which it can reduce the payments to a level you can afford (see 'Time Order' for more about how this works). The court can also make a 'suspended order', which means that the finance company can get the goods back only if you miss payments in the future.

 

If you want to avoid court action, you can write to the creditor to end your contract and return the goods.

You will then be liable for:

• not more than half of the total amount you originally owed (this figure will be on the front of your HP agreement); plus
  
• any arrears and the cost of repairing any damage to the goods; minus the payments you have already made.

This snippet may be of use, too...

 

My creditors keep calling me. What can I do?

 

People you owe money to are called creditors. Both creditors and collection agents use letters and telephone calls to recover debts as an alternative to court action. Most creditors have limited powers to recover a debt unless court action has been taken against you and you have not paid as ordered by the court. Some creditors may mention that they can make you bankrupt for debts of £750 or over. It is very rare for a creditor to take this action.

 

If you receive telephone calls from your creditors, it is important to explain that you are having financial difficulties and how you hope to resolve the situation. If you have done this and you are still receiving persistent calls from your creditors or their collectors, this may count as harassment.

 

Creditors should not put undue pressure on you to pay more than you can afford. Office of Fair Trading guidelines state that, for example, creditors should not:

• contact you by telephone too frequently;
  
• pressure you into selling any of your property or assets; or
  
• pressure you into taking on further debt to repay existing debts.

If your creditor isn’t following these guidelines then you should keep a note of calls from your creditor including the date and time as well as the name of the person you are speaking to. You should also keep a copy of all letters. This information can then be used to complain to the Office of Fair Trading or your local Trading Standards Office.

 

 

 

All good stuff!

 

 

Cheers

Lefty

[angel49]

Thanks Lefty,

As you say....all good stuff.

The latest in this little saga is that Notice of Default Action has now been received. Have yet to see the letter which I hope will be tomorrow. Meantime, this letter will be heading in their direction.

 

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am in receipt of your correspondence regarding notice of default action.

Please be aware that it is an offence to continue to pursue payment on a disputed account. Non-compliance of a CCA request is a complete defence in any court action taken that you may take and as such, any action that you do take will be vigorously defended.

On the 1st may 2007, I made a legal request for the Consumer Credit Agreement in relation to the above account (Consumer Credit Act, 1974)

To date, you have failed to fully comply with this request insofar as you have not supplied me with a complete list of all monies paid to you by way of statements as per my request under the said act. I enclose a copy of that letter for your convenience.

I must make you aware that I believe you are already in breach of The Office of Fair Trading Code of Guidance in which it states:

PUTTING PRESSURE ON DEBTORS OR THIRD PARTIES IS CONSIDERED TO BE OPPRESSIVE

This includes:

Ignoring disputes about whether you owe the money,

Refusing to freeze action if you dispute the debt.

Yours faithfully

[adarling2006]

sorry i've not really been active on here for abit, been busy fighting my own war with HBOS, how's things going on with your friends battle???

[angel49]

Hi adarling

Same here,trying to catch up on my own little battles.

It seems pretty much quietened down, the last I heard was that Head Office had sent her a letter asking her to call the manager of the branch as he is not "allowed" to call her. To my knowledge she has not done so as yet. I may get time to catch up with her tomorrow for an update.

Will post with any development.

Thanks for your interest.

Hope your war is going better than mine,I'm battling with HFC part of HBOS

Regards

[Lefty]

Bump Bumpity Bump!

 

Greetings folks!

 

Hopefully, we will have successfully lured you back to this thread via a “new post” notification email!

 

We are trying to collect stories of people's experience with Brighthouse. Eventually we would like to make up a dossier.

 

We would like to know about how Brighthouse staff have treated you, particularly if you have got behind with payments.

 

We would also like to know if you have been pressurised to take out any insurance or optional service cover (OSC).

 

Furthermore we would like to know about problems you have had with goods from this company and how Brighthouse have handled repairs or replacements.

 

Here is the link to the thread to post your stories.

 

 

 

http://www.consumeractiongroup.c o.uk/forum/brighthouse/131337-brighthouse-horror.html

 

 

Please don't add your story to this thread. Use the thread in the link above.

 

 

 

Cheers

Lefty

[sjvb]

Hello I'm new to this thread, I have had an account with BH for a couple of years and I have found them to be rude and nasty but I am not the type of person who will take threats and harassment lightly, I have form the offset told all the staff that I will not tolerate any rubbish from them and I also report any attitude to the head office, and this tends to shut them up, I have been told about their stupid idea of collecting and holding goods till you can pay for them, what a stupid idea, people need most of the goods that they sell and wouldn't look at this company as a viable option if they could buy elsewhere. As for intimidating people with or without children is deplorable. They have been told by me in no uncertain terms not to threaten me at all. They have called me a couple of times in the early days of my agreement and I have said that if you carry on ringing me then I will not pay a single penny and you can do what you like and I will see you in court, that I have found works for me. if anyone would like me to tell them where to go iI would quite happily do this for them, with great pleasure. This is 2012 and not 1912 where we should all be grateful for our lot in life those days are long since gone. X

[locutus]

Hello I'm new to this thread, I have had an account with BH for a couple of years and I have found them to be rude and nasty but I am not the type of person who will take threats and harassment lightly, I have form the offset told all the staff that I will not tolerate any rubbish from them and I also report any attitude to the head office, and this tends to shut them up, I have been told about their stupid idea of collecting and holding goods till you can pay for them, what a stupid idea, people need most of the goods that they sell and wouldn't look at this company as a viable option if they could buy elsewhere. As for intimidating people with or without children is deplorable. They have been told by me in no uncertain terms not to threaten me at all. They have called me a couple of times in the early days of my agreement and I have said that if you carry on ringing me then I will not pay a single penny and you can do what you like and I will see you in court, that I have found works for me. if anyone would like me to tell them where to go iI would quite happily do this for them, with great pleasure. This is 2012 and not 1912 where we should all be grateful for our lot in life those days are long since gone. X

 

(pst... check the date of the last post)

 

There is a sub-forum dedicated to these antics if you want to offer people helpful advice, check http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/forumdisplay.php?164-BrightHouse-and-other-rent-to-own-Hire-Purchase-Stores