Affording Christmas: How Brighthouse Makes It Easy to Fall into Debt

Christmas is a few weeks away now, and, as a parent, I've started to look at my budget for presents for the brats.

It seems now more than ever, despite the credit crisis still effecting lots of families, toys and tech is ever increasing in price. Most toys now start at £15, with some reaching well over £100. If you have older children who want the latest games console, for example, the latest XBox One, you wont have much change left from £370.

So, whilst the majority of us will think about how we'd love to buy everything our little cherubs write on their list, most will take a small selection and buy what we can afford.

For others, they find another way- the pay day loan or Brighthouse.

I decided to test Brighthouse after hearing some horror stories from friends who have been taken in by their glitzy adverts.

Brighthouse is the largest rent-to-own company in the UK with 270 shops in High Streets from South to North. They offer their "customers" the chance to own those "must have items" like iPhones and TVs, and rather than saving up for these luxuries, they can take them away almost straight off for a relatively small amount.

Sounds easy? The adverts certainly make it sound very simple.

They use normal looking mum characters who, for example, have had their pesky and much used washing machine go bang, and then show them happily putting their feet up after Brighthouse solves their issue- they even watch a big, pricey TV with their cuppa courtesy of Brighthouse, of course.

Its almost like Brighthouse paint itself as a modern day Fairy Godmother. However, when I saw this advert, I wondered why the Mum wouldn't simply claim from her home insurance, or use a laundrette. She could even have advertised on Freecycle, or bought a good second hand model for under £50 from eBay or Gumtree.

Sadly, for every person who feels like me that these ads are too good to be true, there are those who are taken in.

So,  just how easy is it to become a Brighthouse customer?

I picked a random product- a laptop- from their site, and in under 1 minute I was offered it. All they asked for was my address, phone number and email address, along with my marital status (all very easy to fake as they only ask for proof of your bank details to be brought into store).

If I had of decided to proceed, for £17 a week I could have had a top of the range Samsung model.

£17 a week doesn't sound like much really. And when you consider you would need to walk into a regular retailer with between £250 and £300 for the same Samsung model, that's not going to be possible for everyone, especially at Christmas.

However, when you read further, and yes, Brighthouse does make the full pay back clear on the site (although its a scroll down the page and its not clear right at the top what the interest is, in fact it makes more effort to tell you the spec and its £17 a week) you will pay 94.7% APR over the time you owe them money.

If you pay this loan off within 104 weeks (that's assuming you don't fall behind), you will pay a staggering £1,768 for a laptop.

That's an extra £1,468.

Not surprisingly, I wasn't in the market for that kind of mark up. No laptop is worth paying that much for (in fact, I think that was about the price of the first home PC my dad bought on Windows 95 in the mid 90s).

I had no intention of continuing with them. If I want a new laptop, I am much happier keeping an eye out for a bargain on second hand sites (my current laptop cost me a mere £20).

However, Brighthouse had my phone number and email address- part of the process to see whether they will take you on as a customer (and their owner, Caversham Finance promises they are a "responsible lender"). Once they have this, they will not leave you alone.

Since Thursday of last week, when I decided to investigate how easy it was to gain Brighthouse Customer status, I have been phoned 73 times on my mobile, from 8.30am until 9pm. 

I have been bombarded with calls from the local store to me, telling me they are happy to sign me up for whichever "must have" my heart desires. They have left voicemails to this effect. All I need to do, they say, is bring in my bank details and I can walk out with a range of items!

As for my inbox, well, its the same story. Despite clicking "unsubscribe"on the first email I got, I have had several "are you sure?" type emails.

Even if you decide that, actually, its not a luxury item or must have enough for you to be ripped off, Brighthouse just does not leave you alone.

It can be tough being a parent in financially difficult times, and, to my mind, Brighthouse makes it their business to sign you up by playing on the need for ever more impressive consumer goods.

Saying that a top of the range mobile phone or laptop is a "must have" for instance. Since when?

They seem to really play on the heart strings of the less well off.

Brighthouse should be avoided, but sadly, it's obvious that many will be taken in and no doubt will still be paying for this Christmas for many more Christmases to come.

Yes, in an ideal world we'd all love to give the family every top item they would wish for. But, in the longer term, Christmas is about family, about being with your loved ones and enjoying yourself, and no amount of debt is going to change that. Once there are presents under the tree, the younger kids will be happy that Santa has come, whether they have a sensible amount spent on them or not.

It doesn't hurt children to say no, nor does it hurt to want an iPhone but to settle for a second hand lesser model that works. Giving it, whatever the price, is never a good lesson to teach your children, but Brighthouse would disagree if it means ever more customers lining their pockets.

The only people who gain from Brighthouse is the fat cats that own it.

Don't Mention the C Word (Yet)

Why people?

Why is my sodding Facebook feed and my supermarket walk filled with the dreaded Christmas already?

I swear if the supermarkets get any earlier, we'll get the run up to Christmas type adverts from January 1st onwards.

I say dreaded about Christmas, but I do enjoy it, I just enjoy it from the correct time in December.

I don't even start thinking about presents until mid November. Yes I know there will be those of you who have already done all their shopping, and had it wrapped, and their cards written, probably since July. That isn't what Christmas is about.

 Christmas wouldn't be fun in our house if I hadn't left it up until the last minute every year since records began. The only year I was ahead was last year, and it felt weird having everything sorted so early on (by early on I mean mid October).

It should be a law in this country that, until after firework night (another custom hijacked so now you get 3 months of fireworks rather than one night as it should be), no shop is allowed to display anything containing the words "tis the season" or " ho ho ho", or hang anything remotely tinsel related, anywhere.

As soon as Mini brought home an Operation Christmas Child leaflet from school, she came home and stuck her Christmas list to the fridge. It brought me out in a rash. That and my purse hid in trepidation. I don't think she quite got that the child she was meant to sort out for Christmas was many countries away, not in her house.

Every advert break is met with choruses of "I want that" about every multi-coloured plastic tat that the toy companies chose to display. And you just know that, if you do give in and buy a selection of the tat, by Boxing Day most will be chucked in the toy box, and the choruses of "I want that" will begin all over again.

I don't mind planning the food, I don't even mind the hit my bank account takes.

But please, lets be sensible, and celebrate Christmas when it should be celebrated.

So, That Was Christmas Then.

You know me guys- I am proper rubbish at actually wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year all on time. That is down to me being disorganised (6,000 emails in one inbox alone that I am yet to read), and trying to keep two mad kids from going crazy whilst stuck indoors down to awful weather.

However, we are yet to need the services of a boat to leave our house (although we were worried for a bit down to the fact we live at the bottom of a big old hill and the drains started to overflow by Christmas Eve), and, from tomorrow when the lazy arse teachers go back (damn their inset days) and the Brats are back at school, normal (for us) service should be resumed.

What will 2014 bring?

Silent Sunday 22.12.2013

Dear So and So- The Late Late Edition

Yeah so me being rubbish at keeping up with posts and such, here's my late edition of Dear So and So. So expect my Silent Sunday to be posted a week on Tuesday.

Massive Mummy Fail, or Why I Shouldn't Teach Mini Alternative Carols

Opps.


You know one of those moments when you can't help but slap the palm of your hand against your forehead, Homer Simpson style? Its usually that you've completely forgotten something important. Or you've gone out without brushing your hair and look like you've just been dragged through a hedge. Or possibly (as in my house) one of the Bratling's has overheard a ranty swear word you hadn't meant to say quite so loud. 


Well, I'm having a Doh moment.

Christmas is Coming... Look Busy

Bloody hell.

Sorry to begin in a less than customary fashion, but there I was, idly sitting in watching X Factor, with not a glass of vino nor a crisp in sight (Grrr Elder. Best not to ask), when Dermot O'lushbuttocks (sorry that's my own personal name for him there) declared that there are a mere 3 weeks left of the competition.


Three weeks of X Factor can only mean one thing.


Christmas.


In just over 3 weeks time.


Eek!

You Know It's Christmas When.......

Here's a little list of things I feel make it very obvious that Christmas is here, seen as we are but two days from the biggie itself:


...Even at night time the houses are lit up like Blackpool


Yes those blinking twinkling lights are everywhere, so much so that with my bedroom, still without curtains and the neighbours across the road leaving on the lights, I have moved into Mini's bedroom. In fact I think my neighbours lights are out doing the High Streets more muted version. You can probably see 'em from space...


...The kids feel Pringles are a great Breakfast option


Now Mini is growing at a rate of nots, height wise, no matter where we put something, she can reach. So when she kept nipping out to the kitchen every 2 minutes, then Littlest started to follow, I knew she was up to something.
She had found the half tube of Pringles, left over from the night before, and had been pinching them. At 10am.


...The TV schedules are filled with even more crap than usual


You'd think that being that its Christmas time, and we've put up with some truly shocking TV already, the Channels could come up with some decent offerings. Except that it appears that Christmas just means time for ever more ageing repeats of programmes first shown when I was but a twinkle in my Mother's Eye. Some I do admit to liking, but others just leave me colder than the weather. I am so bored I am actually wondering why I thought getting all the shopping done in advance, rather than leaving it to the last minute as usual, was a good idea. So bored!!!!


...Everyone thinks that Everything Will Go Wrong.


If you order something online about a week before you want it to turn up the rest of the year, and it gets on a bit in time with no parcel, you blame yourself, right? Not in December. 


Now I've been a Toyologist this year for TRU. They're a great bunch of people, very friendly, always happy to help. I have also been a customer since a child and have never had a big problem.


But I have been really shocked to see the doom laden messages of some of their customers on their Facebook page. Jeez! 


Messages like "I ordered about 200 quid worth of toys for my kids on FRIDAY! Where are they!!!!!!!???? I will NEVER SHOP WITH YOU AGAIN!!! You have RUINED my Christmas, and I'm going to go on DayBreak and tell 'em how my Christmas is wrecked."


 Erm, well, if you decide to leave your shopping until the week before, at which point it snows, do you really think moaning on a Facebook page is the right course of action? If PLANES, BUSES AND TRAINS cant get over the snow, delivery drivers with online booty are not going to make it either. And to be frank, with online shopping I always think its best to do the present shopping this way at least 4 weeks before I want it to arrive, just in case your electronic order goes missing. 


And seriously, there are people moaning they ordered mid November and they still haven't received their stuff. Well, seriously, if that was me, I'd have moaned weeks back, not now, and certainly not on the Facebook page- how about contact the company on their email? 


Some of the rubberneckers (who probably have not ordered anything at all, but are even more bored with the TV than I am), are coming out with some laughable things. Such as "TRU don't care about children, they want to ruin Christmas". Are they mad, really, a company are not going to think that holding onto lots of gifts is funny- if it gets in the press it'll be bad for them financially.  They're not Scrooge. Dear me.


Let's all be calm and ignore the sooth-sayers and the miserable gits, and pay them the same lack of notice as we would January through November. Chill out!


...The kids have gone mental.


My kids, if you read often, are quite a few pegs close to nuts anyway. But mix in the last dregs of flu, not being able to go out since Friday last week, boredom and their Dad's refusal to watch CBeebies or Tiny Pop, and you have a recipe for a nervous breakdown. My nervous breakdown to be exact. They are seriously bored, ill, cabin fevered to the top of their tiny heads. And so its inevitable that everything leads way to fighting. Even the sofa and who sits where is a battle waiting to happen. It doesn't help that Mini is a) now refusing to answer to Mini and prefers her actual Christian name all of a sudden, which Littlest doesn't know her as and thus can't yet pronounce and b) has a voice which sounds like Panzee from ZingZillahs, and its all going crazier than an Eastenders Christmas episode in my house. 


Christmas huh? 


Bah humbug everyone.

Dear So and So.... Christmas In July

Morning all, hope you're having a great weekend. I haven't posted a Dear So and So for a while, so here's one for you all. 

Dear New Neighbours at 39

Erm, I get it, right. I "did" the shared house thing in 1999-2000, and I'll admit, it was a crazy time of impromptu late nights and giddy drinking sessions. In fact as the kitchen was painted bright yellow it was often said that you needed sunglasses in the morning to walk through after a bit of a session. Girl friends would come over due to the amount of Flat Mate Jon's friends who would be in the kitchen in boxers purely for a good perv.

But seriously- we would not have been so ignorant as to have a party in the garden that starts at 9.30pm, with loud (shite) music and shouting, knowing full well that the houses on either side contain young children. We also turned our noise right down and chilled at 11pm. Not once did anyone ever complain about us to our Landlord. 

Warning: Wake my babies up again and my landlord will hear about it- his bro is your landlord, get me?

Thanks, Irate Mummy with no sleep.

Dear Cutest Blog on the Block

PLEASE do not have a big sign on my blog saying my back ground will be deleted. I just about know how to turn a PC on, let alone have to re-do my whole site. Whenever I have uttered about changing my site, I've had loud "NOOOs!". Please do not do that again.

Thanks

Blogger of 20SM

Dear Disney and Wilkinsons

Thanks for letting me have a sneaky peek of Christmas stuff.

But July? Seriously? It was hot outside, and I also predict that I will be skint again at Christmas as I saw loads of stuff for the brats. Bugger.

Oh but as an aside, to the lady who called me a Journalist- mwah I love you x

Respectfully

Claire

Dear Man on Train

Yeah, thanks for making me think my train was about to be blown up. Really great.

DO NOT wait until a train is racing out of Paddington, after I've had delayed tubes and want to get home before the brats go to bed,  to stand up (in a big puffa coat) and begin waffling on about how we are all lost and seeking salvation, and must all go to God. People literally ran through the carriage with fear. So not good.

I believe in freedom of speech and that for some religion is great, but please not on a packed commuter train in a big coat.

Off you run to church where they like that kind of devoution

Harrassed commuter.

Dear Blog Readers

Sorry in advance if I'm a bit quiet over the next few weeks. We're off to Camp Bestival next weekend and I will tweet whilst my battery is alive.

But I am also helping my friend Carrie Ann set up a very special site for Victims of Serious crime. You see, Carrie is very brave and even though she was viciously and sexually attacked by three men, she has waived her anonymity so she can bring the lack of good support out in the open and raise funds and awareness to help others. She is frankly amazing. So, yes, blog may be a little quietish depending on the site and launching it. It's called SOS Speak Out Support by the way.

Thanks in advance x

Dear Dorset

Camp Bestival here we come-yay

Love Claire who is doing a little excited dance in her chair