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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To be delighted that Brighthouse is about to go bust?

326 replies

AgeLikeWine · 27/03/2020 15:48

It’s not all bad news at the moment. Smile.

Brighthouse is a nasty, exploitative business which rips off the poor, the uneducated and the vulnerable by selling household goods at inflated prices on finance at extortionate interest rates. Their business model relies on creating spirals of debt in a similar way to Wonga.

Normally I would sympathise with the staff of businesses which go bust, but not in this case. Good riddance.

OP posts:
PinkSparklyPussyCat · 27/03/2020 17:50

Wow, stop defending exploitative businesses.

So if a job at Brighthouse a was the difference between losing your home or not you'd turn it down? Yeah, right.

bd67thSaysReinstateLangCleg · 27/03/2020 17:52

Not everywhere has credit unions easily accessible.

Most have websites these days, and a library card entitling you to use the library computers is free.

Plus the credit union where I live for your first loan you can only borrow out the same as what you've paid in. So to borrow £150 for a cooker someone would have to have been paying in for the best part of a year already

That's a bizarre business model. I can understand restricting loans to deposit holders, but to limit the value of the first loan like that makes no sense.

Port1aCastis · 27/03/2020 17:56

If the job centre sent someone to work there they would not have the choice to refuse employment, and I do feel sorry those that are going back to JSA, a tescos job is not guaranteed or permanent employment for anyone

lyralalala · 27/03/2020 17:58

Most have websites these days, and a library card entitling you to use the library computers is free.

That's only any use if you have a library that is still open

That's a bizarre business model. I can understand restricting loans to deposit holders, but to limit the value of the first loan like that makes no sense.

Presumably it's to stop people signing up, depositing £20, borrowing £150 for a cooker and never being able to pay it back.

Once you've paid back your first loan you can borrow double your deposit.

MonkeyToesOfDoom · 27/03/2020 18:02

Everyone championing credit unions...
Firstly, they credit check the same as the big lenders and often won't lend to the most in need as they assess risk to be too high.

Secondly, of you think bright House are bad.. what would you call a company literally taking money from.kids? That's what the oh so amazing credit unions do.. Child Benefit loans. Money, meant to give kids a standard of living, is taken by the credit union every month as payment for a loan taken by the parents.

bd67thSaysReinstateLangCleg · 27/03/2020 18:05

So if a job at Brighthouse a was the difference between losing your home or not you'd turn it down? Yeah, right.

  1. Brighthouse shouldn't exist for people to be able to make that decision. The harm done to their victims outweighs the benefit to their sales staff.
  2. If we still had a vaguely humane benefits system, people wouldn't be in that bind. My mum was unemployed for a while when I was growing up and, whilst she couldn't repay any capital on her mortgage, the interest was paid for and our home wasn't at risk.
  3. I'd personally rather lose my home and move back in with my mum than know that my mortgage or rent was paid because I deceived and exploited the poorest in my country.

Are you OK with Philip Green not paying his taxes whilst we struggle to pay the nation's Adult Social Care bill? What about Amazon's treatment of their workers? When does exploiting others for your own gain become unacceptable to you? For me, working at Brighthouse would be the wrong side of that line.

category12 · 27/03/2020 18:11

I've been really skint and needed big ticket items - and how I got them was from refurbishing places, second-hand places, and charity shops, and by saving up a fiver a week until I could afford to buy. Buying new on tick is a trap, and I can understand why it's tempting, but if you can't get credit, there's a reason for that - and these sort of companies, Bright House and payday loans etc, are bad news.

Al1Langdownthecleghole · 27/03/2020 18:11

So about those cheap deals at Argos. It’s worth checking if the “bargain” on their website is actually available - anywhere. It’s a well known tactic to appear competitive, even though customers need to spend more if they want an available item.

Sonichu · 27/03/2020 18:18

"3) I'd personally rather lose my home and move back in with my mum than know that my mortgage or rent was paid because I deceived and exploited the poorest in my country."

You do understand that not everyone has the luxury of this choice?

But I'm sure that people sleeping on the street get a warm fuzzy feeling know that some clowns on MN won't judge their choice of employment.

"Credit unions charge reasonable interest and you can spend the loan at any shop on the most suitable appliance for you, you're not tied into Brighthouse's range.

If you don't need a loan right now, join a credit union anyway: you save your money for a rainy day and it's lent to others who need it."

Many credit unions require you to have some amount of savings with them first BEFORE they'll give you a loan...

I really do wonder what planet half of the people on here live on. No wonder these forums have such a bad rep.

Sonichu · 27/03/2020 18:20

Oh and just to make it clear, I'm not defending Bright House, I just think revelling in the misery of others who are about to be unemployed is a fucking shit thing to do.

Elieza · 27/03/2020 18:24

Bright house will reinvent itself under a new name. I think it did that before too?
I feel sorry for those staff losing their jobs but I don’t feel sorry that a bunch of money grabbing bastards’ company is down the swanny.

emmcan · 27/03/2020 18:26

AgeLikeWine obviously never had to get a job they didn't like doing just to pay the bills...

Absentwomen · 27/03/2020 18:27

how are poor people meant to get finance?

What?

So 'poor people' should be shafted by organisations like this ? Because they cant access mainstream credit options?

The rise of such extortionate business models was following the financial crash. It was a way of keeping credit rolling for the 'poor'

It is a terrible model of providing credit. Some fat twat in a hedge fund was rolling his Havanna cigars and swigging whiskey as he robbed the poor of everything they had.

OP, I'm with you. I feel for the staff but the less models like this on our high streets the better.

Sapphiresunrise · 27/03/2020 18:28

"i'd rather lose my job and move back in with my Mum" haha, what planet are you on ? Do you think everyone has this luxury of running back home, rent free to parents ? Many people's parents are not even with us anymore.

playthestation · 27/03/2020 18:31

how are poor people meant to get finance?

They are not. It just makes them poorer.

category12 · 27/03/2020 18:32

The reason you can't get credit when you're on a low income, is because you can't bloody afford it. So you make do with people's hand-me-downs and freebies, and you scrimp and save, and you go without for a bit.

ocarinan · 27/03/2020 18:33

I'd personally rather lose my home and move back in with my mum than know that my mortgage or rent was paid because I deceived and exploited the poorest in my country.

It's a good that everyone in the country has living family near by who are both willing and able to take in their entire family for free for an indefinite amount of time.

lyralalala · 27/03/2020 18:34

They are not. It just makes them poorer.

So what do you suggest they do when their cooker or washing machine breaks then? If they don't have the money to pay out £30 or £50 in one go to buy one from Facebook or a second hand shop what exactly do you suggest they do?

MonkeyToesOfDoom · 27/03/2020 18:36

Seems lately that I'm having my worst opinions of other people completely confirmed.
What a world.

Port1aCastis · 27/03/2020 18:37

I'd rather lose my my job and move back in with my Mum
Well lucky you most people do not have a choice of accommodation and are living in poverty.
An awful lot of us have had to work in shitty jobs to make ends meet because we've left abusive relationships and are struggling, so losing any job is a disaster.
If the redundant have to claim benefits to survive they'd still be vilified

category12 · 27/03/2020 18:38

Longterm it's better to go without for a few weeks until you can scrape up the £50, than it is to start a massive debt for a brand new machine at inflated price. Sometimes you can't afford things. So you wash your clothes in the bath, and you use the one ring that still works on the hob, or you have pot noodles and sandwiches.

playthestation · 27/03/2020 18:38

So what do you suggest they do when their cooker or washing machine breaks then?

Why do I have to suggest something to argue against the rip off merchants? How ridiculous.

When my washing machine broke, many years ago when I had 2 small children I washed by hand. The problem today is that people seem to think credit is necessary and that they have an entitlement.

Anybody arguing 'what do you suggest' when it's pointed out how fucked that that kind of borrowing is clearly doesn't understand the basics of financing.

SciFiScream · 27/03/2020 18:39

I've read and totally understand Terry Pratchett's theory of boots.

But why doesn't the Captain anticipate the spend on new boots and save? He can obviously afford £10 to buy the crummy boots occasionally. So why doesn't he save £3 or £5 a month until he can afford the expensive boots (not touching that money come hell or high water!) and then he will be quids in after a year with new long lasting expensive boots, and dry feet and then not having to spend the £10 every year.

I get it, I really do but that's a loophole (unless there's more detail in the story)

WaxOnFeckOff · 27/03/2020 18:39

I feel for the staff but not for the company.

It's stuff like this that keeps widening the gap between rich and poor and seriously needs looked at.

Access to decent credit has to be a priority, the poor get constantly shafted. If you are well off, you can hunt for a bargain and pay up front, you can buy quality items that last, you can on many occasions save on delivery and pick up items yourself.

If you are on a limited income then you struggle with financial resilience. If your washing machine breaks down, you can't afford to call out someone to repair and it's most likely not a quality item and can't be repaired anyway, you then need to buy the cheapest replacement model you can and you have to get it from somewhere that will allow low payments for a long term, usually on astronomical interest. It'll probably break in a couple of years, most likely while you are still paying for it. Unless of course you've also added in their overpriced insurance as well, then you find that what has happened to yours isn't covered. You need to pay to get it delivered and probably installed and probably also to get the other one taken away.

The poor are paying more for electricity via meters, more for shopping as they can't buy in bulk and have no car to go to cheaper places.

Even things like a pair of shoes. If you are well off, you can invest in a decent leather pair for say £100 that last and can be repaired and probably keep them for 5 years or more. If you are poor, you need to buy cheap and replace them a couple of times a year at least so maybe £20 a pair x 10/15 pairs over 5 years.

I really hate the way it works.

I was brought up in poverty and my parents used to take small loans for things like school clothes for us and paid back extortionate amounts. It makes me really angry.

WaxOnFeckOff · 27/03/2020 18:43

SciFi, because he can't afford to not have boots at all, so he either needs to go barefoot until he can afford the expensive ones or buy the cheap ones to wear while he saves, before he has enough for the expensive ones, the cheap boots break and he needs to buy another pair of cheap ones or go barefoot - and so the cycle continues. Is that really that hard to understand?