I'm shocked this is allowed to be aired.

Excellent post Notanan2

I think there is one launderette left in our town and it mainly serves the foreign students . Heaven help anyone who lived on my dads estate and had to use that laundrette it would cost them £8 in bus fare before they even got there .

www.gransnet.com/forums/charities/1254641-Child-Poverty

Fingers crossed this works .

Actually, there wasn’t a laundrette on every corner everywhere!
In any case the point I was making was that gadgets such as XBoxes are not needed, wanted, but not needed.
Not everyone is ‘vulnerable’ btw though I realise it’s a fashionable word.
There were plenty of poor people back in tbe day, as well.
Yes, these loan sharks do need more regulation, but people need a bit of ‘will’ too.An unpopular view I know.

All the willing in the world will not magic money from nowhere lemon . I would like to see a government backed fair lending scheme which would help those with no other choice but to use the vile Brighthouse . No interest (or very low interest) charged. All children talk about what they got for Christmas at school and I can imagine the reason some parents turn to BH to buy an XBox or whatever is that they don’t want their child to feel left out . I can totally understand that .

I remember loads if launderettes when I was a child and can only think of one in the whole town these days .

I think there is talk of passing legislation to forbid these companies for charging any more in interest than the original cost . Problem with that is they already hike up the original cost and will hike it even further, so it won’t make any difference whatsoever .

Disgustingly greedy !! I'd have nightmares if I was forced to rely on a company such as this. It should not be allowed.

lemon It must be hard being in such a minority on this thread that you have to resort to singling me out yet again. Your posts demonstrate a complete lack of compassion and understanding about the nature of poverty and the impact it has on the lives of the people experiencing it. It’s the very relentlessness of it all, the lack of hope that things might get better, the need to for once treat your child like others are treated. I’ve never been hard up and at the same time had no hope - it was always short term and I knew without doubt that it would not always be like this. But the world is not like this for so many - read the heartbreaking stores of those on UC, of people sanctioned for missing appointments when the letter was sent to the wrong address or they were in hospital. And this government is deliberately and maliciously rolling out UC at the moment so that the 5 week ( if you are lucky) waiting period coincides with Christmas. So yes I am angry - angry at this shitty government, at people pontificating about how people with so very little should behave rationally and sensibly and be criticised for wanting to bring some joy into their children’s life, angry at a system which allows wicked companies like Brightside to operate unfettered. And anyone that isn’t angry at all this should damn well be ashamed of themselves rather than making comments about others anger and posting stupid pathetic childish emojis.

There are other options available these days. Most towns now have "local banks" such as credit unions which those on low income can use to save a little and obtain loans at minimal interest rates.

It’s not that simple wild. CUs vary enormously in who they will lend to in what circumstances. For some, you have to have saved with them for several months first or to demonstrate an ability to repay the loan. They are wonderful organisations but cannot just lend money ( which they are lent by other people) in the vague hope it might be paid back. Sometimes people’s lives are so chaotic and hard that they cannot be organised enough to do the sensible thing.

Whilst there is talk of a cap on the interest charged these companies will find a way around it. Just like when they were told they have to show the interest rate in TV commercials - they are shown but in very small print in white on a light background so it is almost impossible to read them. I think the actor voicing the ad should state the interest and the total amount that would end up being paid, speaking in the same speed as the rest of the ad - not speeded up.

Sadly true old about companies finding a way round any legislation and the illegal loan sharks will continue to thrive I’m sure.

Singling you out? Only for your unpleasant and personal comments MaryE as you well know.
You dish it out but can’t take it.

I realise my view is unpopular on this thread and have said so. Nevertheless, it’s my view.
Nobody could have had a poorer upbringing than me ( at least in the UK) but our Mother was never lured into HP and neither was I or DH when first married.
Other views are available.

Of course it’s your view and in most people’s opinions on this thread , it’s wrong. So what? And trading early experiences is irrelevant - people either have empathy or they don’t. I rather think I can take your comments - responding to them doesn’t mean I can’t take them. Your posts are hardly a model are they?

Just as I said up thread Oldwoman Capping the total interest payable to no more than the original price just means they raise the original price even higher.

Your own posts are a model are they MaryE ?
Perhaps so ( although I won’t say a model of what.)
I have already said that regulation would be a good idea for these loan firms, but since the OP was talking of the Brighthouse XBox offer then I still hold the view that parents shouldn’t allow themselves to be suckered.
Because you don’t have much money doesn’t mean you are unintelligent or vulnerable.
Over and out.

I too thought there was legislation being brought in to do something about this but obviously not yet. Not only do I object to the advertisement clearly aimed at the most vulnerable at an extortionate rate of interest but also to Channel 4 who presumably are adding to their revenue by showing this advert.

Brighthouse should be tackled in the same way as Wonga, they are nothing more than usurers with fancy shop windows. Forget all the distractions about X-Boxes and such, they are sometimes the only way for people to replace essential items such as cookers, fridges, washing machines. When you are living pound to pound, finding £100 or so for a second hand cooker is impossible, that's without the difficulties of getting it delivered. I would have thought it is quite a simple piece of legislation to limit the amount a customer pays for an item compared to the RRP. The business principle of buying a new cooker for £6 a week is fine, adding interest is fine, but the customer paying 4 or 5 times the RRP certainly is not.

Sadly some people don't understand interest rates and places like Brighthouse exploit them.

When I was working at CAB the thing that people understood and which impacted on their lives was weekly rates of repayment not interest rates - it’s this that is exploited.

Exactly Maryeliza a lot of people don’t understand the 99% interest rate but see the £6 (or whatever ) per week as being affordable which is such a shame.

There is talk of legislation toscalily but sadly they have already worked a way around it.

I agree, it IS horrendous. However, surely what they are also doing is giving people an informed choice? I haven't seen the ad, but if they are telling you the full price, plus stating how much the full cost is if paying £6.25 a week, and that the APR is 99.9%, then at least they are not hiding anything so no getting sales under false pretences?

Happy to say they took over a big store in my area. Always looked bright and inviting in there. Then they gave up and moved out. Immoral company and I don’t know why it is allowed to prey on the unfortunate and unwise.

Take for example a basic washing machine (and I have it on good authority they often have specials so it is hard to compare models exactly ) . Similar item £200 in say Curry’s or Argos. They inflate their price (bearing in mind you cannot find the exact model anywhere else) to say £500. Legislation will (possibly) say that they cannot charge more than the original price in interest which will still make a £200 washing machine £1000 !

Only because they have been forced to do this notgoneyet and in the advert they are clever as to what they say out loud and what appears in writing .

I need to win the Euro lottery tonight and stand outside that bloody Brighthouse near my work with a banner and a wad of money ! I will probably get mugged but hey ho.

Totally agree I saw the advertisement the other evening and was absolutely shocked to see how much you would finally pay apr was horrendous seems very unfair encouraging people to get into debt for items especially that are not vital like a huge widescreen tv.

gillybob. I will join you. I don't know what angers me the most the fact that people are so desperate that they have to resort to these appalling companies or the fact that there are still people on GN and elsewhere who just do not/will not understand how life is for others. I am lucky if my washing machine dies I can look online, pick the best deal and pay. It is not right that people with less income will pay more.