After opening stores all around the United Kingdom and having served a customer base of more than 285,000 customers, its no wonder that BrightHouse are considered by the majority as the leading rent-to-own retailer of the nation. What started with just 4 stores in 1994 and grew to 23 of them in a year; is now a well established home shopping catalogue that runs 285 outlets all around the UK.
Accessible credit for all
One of the main aims of the operation BrightHouse are running is to provide finance for everyone, even if you have bad credit. They understand that not everyone can afford to make a large payment upfront and just because someone has made bad financial decisions in the past, does not mean that they shouldn’t have access to a credit limit again.
Irrespective poor credit history, all customers enjoy the same privileges and add on services that BrightHouse provides with every order that is placed. They are certainly the easiest catalogue company to get acceptance for compared to other companies such as Littlewoods, Freemans, or Very.
Credit agreement
When you sign a hire purchase agreement with then, you have the option of paying for the purchases you make via easy, weekly or monthly installments. You can visit their stores or apply on their website to be considered for a credit limit. Irrespective of their credit history, all customers enjoy the same privileges and add on services that BrightHouse provides with every order that is placed.
For instance, all orders are delivered within 7 days and there is no extra charge for this. In case any installation or setup is required, it is handled by the BrightHouse support staff themselves. The same goes for any instances where any repair or replacement is needed for a purchased item.
Interest
Brighthouse are not cheap but then this is expected of a company that offers credit to those with bad credit history. They are clear about the cost of the agreement when you sign up so there are no surprises. They have an representative 67.7% APR on goods purchased through them. If you add this on top of any optional service cover charges it can be very expensive over the whole length of the agreement.
They are not cheap and seem to really push the added extra of optional service cover, but they are clear with the costs and charges. The range of products on offer is good and covers most things for the home, add to the simple signup process and we feel BrightHouse are worthy of the 3.5 stars we have given them.
In the post we mentioned the late payment fee was £3.50 a week. Since writing the review this has now increased and is a staggering £5.50 per week, per agreement.
When using Brighthouse as with any other credit agreement, make sure you stay on top of your repayments as the penalty for falling behind is often very costly.
What if I default?
BrightHouse are clear with the amount payable and schedule of payments for their products so this shouldn’t come up, but sometimes we do miss payments for various reasons. If you are late paying then they will charge you a fee which is currently £3.50 per item, per week.
There are things you can do to avoid these. I found that I would sometimes forget to pop into the store and make the payment because I was busy at work and now call my local branch to make payment each week. If I forget I often get a call from the store to remind me, however it is important to remember that it is not the stores responsibility to call you for payment.
BrightHouse also offer the facility to pay by direct debit and automatic payment from your debit card, which can make it easier to ensure that the weekly payment is always made on time.
Even in a situation where a customer is unable to make continued payments, there is no reason for panic. If a customer changes his or her mind about the financial obligation involved in a purchase, they can return the item any point or downgrade it to a lower model that better suits their financial resources.
To sum it up, BrightHouse aims to provide you with a large range of products at highly competitive rates that others find difficult to match. Supplement it with their lucrative credit plans and you have a win-win for everyone – especially if you have a poor credit score and have been declined from the other catalogues on this website.
Leave a Reply