Channel 4 tonight - Dispatches

[whitewidow]

It could well be!!

 

it would explain this post

 

Get a life these people cannot get credit ANYWHERE so have to use BH if it wasnt there they would all have to do it the old fashioned way like SAVE UP ........Nobody is holding a gun to there heads and making them use BH ........As for an undercover sales assistant she has stopped a REAL unemployed person getting the job !!!!!!!!!!! and getting paid

[lizilou]

Yep... I found that, too!

 

I wonder... Hmmmm...

 

 

 

Is it just me, or does anyone else detect a Scottish accent in there...

 

Cheers

Lefty

 

Sorry to disapoint but not Scottish ... Shop talk within ... But I do think that they knew they were being filmed ( I may be the only one that thinks that they knew) And I do agree that the underhand tactics should be highlighted but lets be honest no one makes them go

[loopinlouie]

Knew they were being filmed, rubbish. So why would bhouse employee want to make them look like that. Funny its the same with dca's, when they are recorded with their knowledge, they either dont want to talk or are as nice as pie. When not aware the call is recorded they are gobs****s, spouting off their views of the law, which of course is carp.

[Lefty]

Sorry to disapoint but not Scottish ... Shop talk within ... But I do think that they knew they were being filmed ( I may be the only one that thinks that they knew) And I do agree that the underhand tactics should be highlighted but lets be honest no one makes them go

 

Ahh... I see... Now I understand... The store staff all knew they were being secretly filmed, so they played along to deliberately make BrightHouse look bad... Er... Okay... As you say, "that's showbiz"

 

But, this "they don't have a gun at their heads", and "no one makes them shop there" argument really doesn't work. Every time BrightHouse are "outed" by the media, these comments come in thick and fast - almost like a smoke screen to hide the REAL issues...

 

Speaking from a purely personal point of view, I don't see myself as someone who automatically jumps to the defence of BrightHouse customers - some who, let's be honest, DO bring their problems on themselves. (Plasma TVs, laptops, game consoles, mobile phones etc - not exactly essential items I agree.)

 

But...

 

I DO see myself as someone determined to highlight the injustices and financial discrimination dished out to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society. My BIGGEST concern is the obscene levels of profit made by companies (like BrightHouse) at the direct expense of the UK benefit system... TAXPAYERS money!

Not so OK now, is it?

 

Cheers

Lefty

[loopinlouie]

I also think that as a large cross section of their customers are people who have no choice but to use them, then why have such large tellies on display. They cant tempt and then moan later. As much as poorer people shouldnt over burden themselves, we are after all human and make mistakes. If brighthouse stuck to the basics they wouldnt make so much dosh, so argument lost...that bhouse doesnt hold gun to head

[padre]

BLONDMUSIC. I had absolutely no intentions of insulting you.It never entered my mind, why would it.? I was just trying to get over a different perspective of the.film.When we feel strongly about an issue sometimes we cannn havve tunnel vision and objectivity can go out the window. Did i at ant time criticize your performance , no .On the contrary i agreed with LEFTY. It was because you were so good that made it all the more effective. Leftys arguement puzzles me in as much as again i was stating the obvious. It would be an indisputed fact that between 8pm and 9pm both BBC and ITV would have the vast majority of the viewing public figures of ALL SOCIAL CATAGORIES.watching their programmes, and his assumption that i would denigrate BH customers is really foolish and probably mischievous. Having said that i don't need the insults and bad feeling that this post has generated and will now withdraw from this forum. Have HAPPY AND HEALTHY LIFE. REGARDS . PADRE.

[Sol]

Get a life these people cannot get credit ANYWHERE so have to use BH if it wasnt there they would all have to do it the old fashioned way like SAVE UP ........Nobody is holding a gun to there heads and making them use BH ........As for an undercover sales assistant she has stopped a REAL unemployed person getting the job !!!!!!!!!!! and getting paid

 

Did you actually watch the programme from start to finish? If you had then I'd assume you wouldn't think it's right that employees of BH are adding extras on without telling the customers they have a choice.

 

The undercover reporter was doing a job, to show what they were doing!

[Sol]

She's probably the manager of the store. On the dole yet? lol

[reidnet]

I DO see myself as someone determined to highlight the injustices and financial discrimination dished out to some of the poorest and most vulnerable people in our society. My BIGGEST concern is the obscene levels of profit made by companies (like BrightHouse) at the direct expense of the UK benefit system... TAXPAYERS money!

 

Not so OK now, is it?

 

Cheers

Lefty

 

Well said m8, Totally agree with you there, Youve done a great Job for Brighthouse Customers on here. What some folk seem to forget too is that all the Time, Effert and Research you have done on this company has been done in yor own time for no personnal gain etc, Ive done a similar thing with the issues on PPI and I know the time spent on research etc can be enormous. But you are probably like me , If your research even helps one other person to get Justice over the bad parctises of the companies then it is all worth it.. Great work m8 ..

 

Ian

[lizilou]

Did you actually watch the programme from start to finish? If you had then I'd assume you wouldn't think it's right that employees of BH are adding extras on without telling the customers they have a choice.

 

The undercover reporter was doing a job, to show what they were doing!

 

 

I did watch all of the show and I dont assume anything No BH shouldnt be adding on anything without telling there customers but there has been enough hype on these issues that customers should always check what they are signing for ...... I am not the manager of the store Im better looking but apart from that I did once use BH and vowed never again "" Once bitten and all that"" and I now use my experience when buying other items I am a sales person and the price you see is the top whack with all extras added its used as a bargaining tool if you dont ASK you dont GET always ask for the top price to be lowered (most places have a 15% bargaining tool) and if they want your custom they will reduce the price

[lizilou]

She's probably the manager of the store. On the dole yet? lol

 

 

Not the manager I wouldnt work there for all the tea in china And Ive never been on the dole I work for my money

[Lefty]

What we must all remember is that Channel 4 Dispatches focused on the high(er) cost of borrowing for people who can least afford it. It wasn't just a BrightHouse piece.

 

BrightHouse were featured because the OVERALL cost of buying from them is actually much, much higher that most people (including BrightHouse customers) realise. And, as BrightHouse actively target people on lower incomes (and the credit impaired) it grapically showed just how "the poorer you are, the more you pay."

 

As the program demonstrated, BrightHouse are not the only company in the UK that milk the poor and exploit the desperate... Provident Finacial, Log Book Loans, Cash Converters, Pounds Till Payday... the list goes on.

 

The program really only scratched the surface when it comes to BrightHouse. Although exposing their Optional Service Cover as both extortinate and totally unnecessary, it could have gone much further. Blatent disregard to consumer law perhaps? Denying customers their legal rights? Selling OSC contracts on agreements over 1 year when the product is fully guaranteed anyway? And the same old nugget came out once again... "customers can return their product at any time without finacial penalty"... Customers can do that ANYWAY after having paid 50% of their agreement. So, once again, mis-selling an insurance "product" that's unnecessary and already part of your basic consumer rights!

 

Damage Liabilty Insurance (DLC) was only mentioned very briefly - but there lies another giant can of worms... Dodgy Malta based insurance company mis-selling in the UK? Most BrightHouse customers believe their product to be fully insured against damage, fire and theft. It isn't! DLC policies only insure the customer's liability to make any further payments. In the event of a claim they end up with absolutely nothing!

 

And, worse of all, both of the above "policies" are simply pay-as-you-go weekly services. If you miss a payment (or get into arrears) the services (policies) cease. The customer has NO cover whatsoever. BUT (and here's the bit that I genuinely believe borders on downright illegal) when the customer brings their account back up to date, they have to pay the arrears on the OSC and DLC policies, too! How can that be? How can you pay arrears on an insurance policy that had lapsed?

 

I use this example:

 

If I allowed my car insurance to lapse through non payment, then had an accident or a claim, I would be in big, big trouble. I couldn't go to my insurer, offer to pay back the arrears, then be "magically" re-insured for a period in the past, could I? No. You're either insured, or you're not. And in the case of OSC and DLC policies you are NOT. And by being "forced" to make arrears payments on them does not mean you WERE! It is absolutely ridiculous!

 

And what about BrightHouse and their (almost legendary) approach to debt collection and repossession? Channel 4 could have filled an entire hour of programming on that subject alone. Harrasment, bullying, lying, increasing payments, flouting trespass laws... again, the list goes on...

 

But, on the whole, I think the program was well made and did what it said on the tin. But, if I'm completely honest, I would have to say I was a little disappointed in the way the program made no conclusions or recommendations - particularly with the access they had to ministers and politicians.

 

How about LET'S OVERHAUL THE SOCIAL FUND!!! Let's make sensible and responsible credit available to the 10 million UK families totally dependant on benefit. Not small interest free loans, not hand-outs or grants - but a FAIR and AFFORDABLE form of credit, with baseline interest rates, RESPONSIBLE monitoring, a degree of COMMON SENSE and all deducted directly from benefit payments.

 

Remember, around 70% of BrightHouse customers are totally dependant on benefit. BrightHouse made an operating profit of £16 Million last year. £11 Million of that came DIRECTLY from the UK benefit system...

 

 

Cheers

Lefty

[ladybird74]

Totally agree with you lefty. Overhalling the social loans would cripple brighthouse.

[lizilou]

Totally agree with you lefty. Overhalling the social loans would cripple brighthouse.

 

tOTALLY AGREE

[Blondmusic]

BLONDMUSIC. I had absolutely no intentions of insulting you.It never entered my mind, why would it.? I was just trying to get over a different perspective of the.film.When we feel strongly about an issue sometimes we cannn havve tunnel vision and objectivity can go out the window. Did i at ant time criticize your performance , no .On the contrary i agreed with LEFTY. It was because you were so good that made it all the more effective. Leftys arguement puzzles me in as much as again i was stating the obvious. It would be an indisputed fact that between 8pm and 9pm both BBC and ITV would have the vast majority of the viewing public figures of ALL SOCIAL CATAGORIES.watching their programmes, and his assumption that i would denigrate BH customers is really foolish and probably mischievous. Having said that i don't need the insults and bad feeling that this post has generated and will now withdraw from this forum. Have HAPPY AND HEALTHY LIFE. REGARDS . PADRE.

 

I thought you were insulting me when you said i had been manipulated. I was never manipulated into anything. I just told the truth.