To be totally shocked at the Brighthouse Ad I have just seen.

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Of ill with tonsillitis at the moment so don't usually watch day time TV, I have heard of Brighthouse before of course but didn't know just what they charged.

Perky lady has just told me the company doesn't use jingles, slogans or cartoon characters, just goods I might want at affordable prices - which she boasts THEY DO NOT HIDE.

She then showed a washing machine - the type a young mum with a family may need, sales price with delivery and installation £235.50 (yes got ad on pause whilst typing this) but for 156 payments of £3 it will cost £468 that's 69.9% apr but that's OK because the customer knows they are going to be paying that much but of course a lot of people on low wages or on benefits have no choice but to use places especially for essentials if they cant get credit elsewhere or cant afford to buy without credit.
Why are these people allowed to charge this much, its no wonder people get into debt.
I am really appalled its seems so unfair

T'was ever thus, unfortunately. It costs a lot of money to be poor.

Preying on the vulnerable makes me physically sick. It's disgusting. Yeah, it's a business, but there are other ways to make a buck than wringing it from the pockets of those who can least afford it.

With the prepay meter I think the actual gas and electricity prices are not that much more than normal - it's just if you have a huge debt that it looks expensive.

I moved into a rented flat with prepay meters. The last tenant had run up a huge gas bill so they'd installed the prepay meter. Each time he topped it up, a portion of the credit would go to paying off his debt.

When I moved in, the landlord had no idea the debt was on the prepay meter. I put £20 on the prepayment card - £18 went to pay of the last tenants debt so for every £20 I was only getting £2 worth of gas! I had to get the landlord to settle the debt and get the meter reset then he had to try and get the money back from the ex tenant.

Genuinely, would people like to see them gone?

The problem is that no washing machine is still more expensive than a really expensive washing machine.

When I first moved out of my parents house I furnished my flat with stuff from charity shops and replaced the stuff gradually. If people want brand new top of the range stuff then they have to take some responsibility for their own decisions. These's nothing wrong with starting out with second hand stuff.

Its better than nowt though.
Even if these places were banned, what would replace them? The current gov isn't going to step up and do something (as suggested upthread).
My washing machine packed up and as a single parent to four it was an absolute nightmare. I also don't live near enough to anyone to make using their machine logistically possible. It cost me £15pw for 3 wash loads (IKEA bag sized wash loads!) , not to mention the fact it was only possible as I had a car. Using the bus etc would've been a nightmare.
Thankfully I only needed to do that for a month before I got paid and got one outright at Curry's but even if I'd got a brighthouse one I still wouldve been saving money.

I have really struggled to explain 'Brighthouse' to people. I've tried to encourage buying second hand furniture and using freecycle. It's no use.

Everyone wants brand new stuff and they don't want to wait. It all gets delivered and set up for them. They get taken in by the low weekly prices.

Isn’t The Queen an investor or Brighthouse? Paradise Papers etc?

Apparently so.

I thik some of the appeal to those already in a lot of debt is that Brighthouse doesn't offer purchases where you buy on credit.

Their contracts are set up as Hire-Purchase contracts. This means that you don't own the item legally at all until you've completed the payment or a majority of the payments. This means that those items are immune from being confiscated by bailiffs for other debts as technically they are not yours but belong to Brighthouse still.

This can be reassuring for people who are in serious financial straits and fear that they may have the wolves at the door anytime.

Bang on. I think this is a point that a lot of people miss in these discussions. I'm not saying Brighthouse don't charge extortionate amounts, but it's one very good reason why a person might quite legitimately be better off doing this than scraping money together for something second hand or getting a credit union loan.

We have one in our town, it always looks empty to me. I have promised myself if I see someone in their who needs a washing machine I will get them one from argos 2 shops down. I hate the poverty trap this society creates

We don't have bailiffs in Scotland, Brighthouse is still up here.

roseandelderflower I would like to see them gone its unethical to have business model whose sole premise is to charge poor people extortionate rates to buy essential white goods. I understand why they need to stay though while there is no other alternative credit options for people living on the breadline.

In Birmingham city centre there was a Brighthouse and a similar high credit store in the same street. A British Heart Foundation furniture & home store opened a few doors up and both high interest stores have since closed down.

I was just going say how good the BHF shops are in Birmingham for home items. There's Hoovers, microwaves and all sorts in the branch in Erdington.

My DS's bestie had a job selling extortionate guarantees to people who had bought Brighthouse appliances. He was making a lot of money and trying to persuade DS to join him.

We had a chat about it and DS agreed it was pretty immoral.