I'm shocked this is allowed to be aired.

Hm that’s like comparing if you’d rather be shot or hung - not much of a choice either way

I think the APR mentioned is 99%. Look at the payday loans percentages, they are much higher.

I once helped a guy who couldn't read. He loved Brighthouse and they certainly loved him.

Good point EV

British heart, hospice charity shops sell brilliant furniture and electrical goods at a reasonable prices. Accommodation can be furnished very cheaply from charity shops.

A £100 sofa isnt cheap if you dont have £100. You have to have the cash up front for those shops (and they're not that cheap either)

You can be on certain benefits/low income AND still have to pay your own council tax!

Secondhand electrical goods are dodgy unless P A T tested with proof of such.
I wouldn't buy them as there are too many unscrupulous individuals about who are a danger to peoples lives with no other thought than getting themselves a quick buck.

GG if you do not already have a prepayment meter then an energy company can only in general that you change to one if you’re in debt to them. The rules are clearly laid down by Ofgem and pensioners/people with disabilities are excerpt from being forced to change. The PP moved into a house that had a prepayment meter and I guess EON didn’t want to have to pay to u install it and/or wanted to continue make an extra profit out of them.

The PayPal option is not automatic and people with debt problems already would almost certainly be refused

Re council tax - the system was changed in 2013 when this government passed the national scheme over to LAs to decide on some of the rules with the deliberate wicked intent of making the poor often pay more. The scheme is called council tax support.

Re your points about energy efficiency and private rented and prepayment meters- your own personal example is only about your own personal example. The facts are that privately rented homes are more likely to be less energy efficient and it’s also a FACT that using a prepayment meter costs more

BB in this area it’s very difficult to get second hand electrical goods and even if you do, there’s costs such as delivery and installation. I doubt it’sas easy as you suggest everywhere. And you would have to upfront the costs anyway.

I agree BB

British heart, hospice charity shops sell brilliant furniture and electrical goods at a reasonable prices. Accommodation can be furnished very cheaply from charity shops. However some people have to have the latest models of electrical goods and gadgets. It is a choice to go to Brighthouse.

Notanan2. I wasn't having a go at people with low incomes buying high end goods. Its the sales people pressure selling things to people who clearly can't afford them that i think should be regulated. Sorry, didnt make myself clear.

I've been with BG, nPower and now Brilliant Energy in the past 11 years, none of which have ever mentioned changing my meter to a prepayment meter although I live on my own and have been retired for 14 years which begs the question, 'Why do Eon refuse standard meters to retirees?'

Another reason why I'm against the millions in foreign aid that this country sends to others------Why ?? Billions !
Our own are starving and many are destitute. On the news earlier it was announced that over 200 youngsters will be on the streets of Liverpool over the festive season. Does anyone listen ? This is just one city out of many. Back to Victorian times where greedy landlords just looked on ! This country is a disgrace.

An interesting discussion. But things were different back in the day! If you could not afford something then you went without, this was my parents view and one I lived by. I did go without as a child but still enjoyed my childhood. It is a fact that living on credit has become the norm for many. This is also true of relatively wealthy people not just those who are on low incomes.
To quote Charles Dickens, “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery.”

gillybob
That's the most ridiculous suggestion I've heard in a long time. How about banks lending money for a new car but only being allowed to charge you for the basic cost? How do you think they or any other company, make their money? They're businesses fgs.
It's really finance companies who set the rate according to risk, not banks or so called lenders.

On the topic of prepayment meters, when we moved to our present home it had a prepayment meter. I asked the energy supplier (Eon) to change it. Initially they agreed - until I mentioned that we were retired. They said we were categorised as low income and therefore a financial liability (his words, not mine) and we would have to stay on a prepayment meter. I complained and he began to ask intrusive questions about our finances. I, of course, told him to mind his own business and said I would be changing suppliers. He immediately said we couldn't change because we owed them money, we'd only been there 2 weeks! After a strongly worded letter from our solicitor (which she did for free) Eon 'allowed' us as a gesture of goodwill to change to another supplier. No apology was given. I complained again in writing but received no reply. What a way to treat a new customer!

PayPal lets you buy items over £150, 4 months later, without paying interest. Then you pay £5pm or settle the amount outright. Their APR is very low.

* which is.

CarlyD7
That's a bit mixed up.
Anyone on benefits is likely to have their council tax paid and if their benefit covers housing costs, the limit is whatever the LHA deem a fair rent whuch us in each council's website. Anything more, then the difference would have to be met by the benefit recipient.

maryeliza54
I disagree. I have single glazed windows (they look much prettier) in a period property.
My heating bills are lower than the lowest for a single occupant in a 2 bedroom property. My DD is £14pm and I'm £22 in credit ATM.
Standing charge us 5.5ppd
Unit price is 3.4p.
All good.
It's a normal metric meter.

If you are on very low wages (or living on benefit) and having to pay high private rents (no social housing available) then, after paying council tax, utilities, food, etc. there will be very little over to buy things like washing machines (personally, I don't consider this a luxury, especially if you have children). The ideal alternative is a Credit Union but not enough of those exist, so these people have no alternative (going to a loan shark would be even worse). It's just the equivalent of buying from a catalogue and lots of us did that in the past. It was never the cheapest way of buying things but it was do-able on a low income.

It has been investigated by ?last year and this is the new improved version

Is this store to be investigated by the Ombudsman?

I saw that advert a couple of days ago. Appalling APR !! I don't think that should be televised in the run up to Christmas when many children will be wanting a new Xbox. But more importantly Brighthouse shouldn't be allowed to charge that much interest! We have a local Brighthouse store, I have never been in there, but I have noticed it's always very busy with shoppers. I wondered do they allow buyers to purchase outright at the cash price, or do you have to pay in installments as that is clearly how they make a (huge) profit?

maryeliza
I think that there are far fewer real victims than there appear to be on the surface.
I should imagine that there are some who are greedy, have never saved, want it all but have not built up a decent credit history. Craving the good things but not reflecting on the reality of their ability to pay it back.
£6+ change pw seems insignificant to them at the time but, should illness or accident befall the borrower, who ultimately pays? That's why those lenders have to cover their massive insurance and investments.
If borrowers default, there is not much lenders can do as the items will be second hand and their redeemable value seriously diminished.