To be irritated by people on C4 news taking out payday loans

[SilverSixpence]

I am at people taking out loans to buy brand new fridge freezers and playstations from Bright House instead of buying secondhand/doing without if they can't afford it. 8 year olds are old enough to understand they cant have the latest thing if their parents can't afford it. If your kids are influenced by ads just turn them off! Isn't this basic common sense?

So why isn't there a scheme where I can save the same money for similar interest where it goes to fund small low interest loans for essentials?

What you're describing is a credit union. There's almost certainly one in your town.

The government could introduce tax advantages to a scheme like that

Tax allowances only benefit those who are paying enough tax to benefit from them.

FWIW a few years ago my cooker broke and I went to Bright house. Stood there like a fruitcake for about 60minutes before being attended too and then got told Ihad to produce about 50 5 lots of I'D and references etc before they would entertain me. On the way back out I noticed a small print on one of the shop floors items. Most bright house products are only refurbished (second hand) goods sold on at extortionate APR rates to someone who didn't check the smallprint properly and Just the £5 a week signs. No I most certainly did not get my cooker from there then. I got one from a second hand high street shop and its still going strong now. So is my 8year old second hand freezer .

Is BH really selling refurbished stuff? I thought it was all brand spanking overpriced new.

Yes. The things like the Xboxes etc are normally new but a lot of their hi big things like washing machines happen to be. I would have nver had noticed had I not read the small print on one of their tickets that time on my way out of there.