BrightHouse, the ‘rent-to-own’ company, which has 280 branches around the country (including Newport, Isle of Wight) has been ordered by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to pay a whopping £14.8m compensation to customers.
The company – which supplies household goods on high-cost credit – was found by the FCA as not having been ‘a responsible lender’.
Who will get compensation?
Customers who signed up to an agreement that “may not have been affordable” and those who cancelled their agreement after one down payment but didn’t receive a refund, are set to receive between £27 and £147.
The company will contact all 213,000 customers directly by the end of the year.
High cost credit
A BBC investigation carried out in 2016 found that a £358 washing machine could end up costing a customer over £1,000 in repayments.
Andrew Bailey, FCA CEO, told Radio 5 Live the move set a “very important precedent … BrightHouse did not behave as responsible lenders and they failed to meet our expectations”.
Thanks to Leif for the heads-up.
Source: BBC
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