Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaiming.

[pinkfloydianuk]

See below for an in depth story regarding BrightHouse, the SOGA and Charge reclaiming.

Please feel free to ask any questions.

[charitynjw]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

From what I've read

Rent-to-buy on a wide range of household goods, including electrical items.

Weekly or monthly payments (does this mean a new contract on each payment, or is it a renewal of existing?) - max 3 years - option to buy.

Optional *cough* service cover.

Same with accidental damage insurance cover, even if you already have alternative home contents cover.

Questionable late payment fees.

An 'interesting' method of debt collection.

[pinkfloydianuk]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

This Thread will help anyone who is or has been a customer of BrightHouse.

Please be aware that this is a cut and paste of MY thread from another forum, therefore some comments and identity's have been edited.

The story starts with our succesfull Sales of Goods Letter and then moves on to our current Legal Battle to reclaim ALL Optional Service Cover(OSC)
and Late Payment
Charges.

There is also some information regarding reclaiming Damage Liability Cover (DLC)

We (myself and my girlfriend) would take great pleasure in assisting anyone who has issues with faulty goods from Brighthouse.

Although not everyones issues will be the same as ours,
(i actually modified this letter from someone elses letter to BrightHouse who had been having a problem with their fridge freezer) dont give up your fight,

Consumer Law is there for our protection from companys like Caversham Finance (trading as Brighthouse).

Below is a copy of the our letter.

It will be going in the post via recorded delivery on Monday.

PLEASE feel free to cut paste and modify this letter to your hearts content, but please bare in mind you will have to change a considerable amount of it to suit your situation....

Its a good starting point though

Good luck

pinkfloydianuk (mark)

XXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXXX
XXXXXX

Caversham Finance Limited (Trading as Brighthouse)
Registered Office
5 Hercules Way
Leavesdon Park
Watford
Hertforsdshire
WD25 7GS

Xth Feb 2012

Ref: PHILIPS 42” AMBILIGHT TV 42PFL7603D/10

Agreement Number: 73XXXXXXXXXXXXX(please refer to document’s XXXXXX & XXXXXX).

Dear Sir or Madam

The above item was purchased new under a HIRE PURCHASE agreement with CAVERSHAM FINANCE LTD (trading as Brighthouse) on 19th August 2008. The cash price for the item (at the time of sale) was £1055.48. The total amount payable including interest and Optional Service Cover totalled £2338.44 (156 weekly payments of £14.99). The item was purchased from the Peterlee, Co Durham branch.

In august of 2011 we settled the account 2 weeks before the agreement was due to finish and within this 2 week period the Television ceased to function (no picture or sound). We contacted the store and they were unwilling to help, stating “You have paid the Television off it is no longer our responsibility”.

After many hours of internet research it appears that there are several disputed faults with the Philips 42” Ambilight television (the majority of disputes we have read are specifically aimed at the 42” and 50” model). The symptoms are referred to on many forums as “The flashing red lights of death” most variations in diagnosis ‘allegedly’ stem from the instalment of cheap parts during the manufacture of these Philips Ambilight television’s.

The flashing red light is actually a power-on self-test (P.O.S.T.) diagnostic code. Our televisions standby light blinks/flashes 8 times, we believe this suggests that there is a problem with the dc/dc converter, (please refer to document XXXXXX). The item has always been used in accordance with the manufacturer’s instructions, so we can therefore assume (backed up by evidence found online) this is a fault in design or manufacture.

Brighthouse (Peterlee) have refused to offer repair or replacement due to the fact the item is paid off in full, although the account was settled two weeks early and the television ceased to work in this 2 week period. Brighthouse (Peterlee) were unwilling to repair the television even as a good will gesture, which we did request in August 2011. We thus found ourselves in the situation of having paid all of this money for a television we couldn’t use and couldn’t afford to repair.

However, in December 2011 we became aware of the Sales of Goods Act 1979 through a television programme and therefore –

We would respectfully remind you that Optional Service Cover, manufacturer’s warranties (and indeed, any extended warranties) are IN ADDITION to consumer’s STATUTORY RIGHTS. These rights are very clear and in the case of a HIRE PURCHASE agreement, refer to the Supply of Goods (implied terms) Act 1973.

In particular:

1- Implied term about quality

(1) In section 14 of the [1979 c. 54.] Sale of Goods Act 1979 (implied terms about quality or fitness) for subsection (2) there is substituted—
“(2) Where the seller sells goods in the course of a business, there is an implied term that the goods supplied under the contract are of satisfactory quality.

(2A) For the purposes of this Act, goods are of satisfactory quality if they meet the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking account of any description of the goods, the price (if relevant) and all the other relevant circumstances.

(2B) For the purposes of this Act, the quality of goods includes their state and condition and the following (among others) are in appropriate cases aspects of the quality of goods—

(a) fitness for all the purposes for which goods of the kind in question are commonly supplied,

(b) appearance and finish,

(c) freedom from minor defects,

(d) safety, and

(e) durability.

One of many freely available guide’s (please refer to document’s XXXXXX & XXXXXX) suggests a “good quality” plasma television should last 60,000 hours. If you watch television for 8 hours a day, 30,000 hours would mean you have watched the television for 3,750 days or well over 10 years. After this 10 year period the only noticeable problem should be your plasma televisions brightness would have reduced by half.


The technical term for this phosphor-brightness inclination is “Life to Half Brightness” or LTHB (please refer to document XXXXXX). It can, therefore, be deduced from these figures and other readily available guides that a “reasonable” person would expect a “good quality” television to last at least 10 years of viewing and would certainly not expect it to cease function after only 3 years of viewing.


Please put yourself in our situation, if you paid £2338.44 for a television and it stopped working through no fault of your own after only 3 years of ownership, would you just say nothing and accept the added cost of having it repaired?


Legislation suggests that you can say we have had use of the item for 3 years and that you can offset any offer made considering this fact. However, we would like to point out that the Sales of Goods Act 1979 also states “you (the seller) must make all effort not to inconvenience the customer” which has quite simply, not been the case.


We would suggest you take in to consideration our poor treatment, both in customer service and the amount of time it is taking to get this issue resolved if you wish to consider settling the situation amicably. This has now been ongoing for approx 6 months and we have made several attempts via telephone conversations, with the store manager, deputy manager and staff to try and settle this matter, with no avail.


In fact without going in to too much detail (as foremost, the television is the issue), we would like to mention that we have been treat appallingly by the staff at Brighthouse (Peterlee).

In the last telephone conversation the store manager informed my partner (Mr. Mark XXXXXX) the matter had been handed over to head office, shortly after I received correspondence (please refer to document XXXXXX). We are not willing to accept this response.

What we require:

Confirmation (in writing and within 14 days) that CAVERSHAM FINANCE LTD (trading as Brighthouse) will facilitate a satisfactory repair to the above item, or supply a replacement item of comparable age and specification in full working order. If neither solution is practical, then a realistic partial refund would be the only recourse, any offer would have to be negotiated taking in to consideration how poorly we feel have been treated as a customer and how long the matter has been ongoing.

Regretfully, if we do not hear from you within 14 days, or if you fail to respond positively to our requests, we will have no alternative than to pursue the matter through the small claims court.





We look forward to hearing from you.



Yours faithfully

I'll be making other posts on this thread to let anyone who is interested how things are progressing........laterz

pinkfloydianuk

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Well, just had Brighthouse on the phone and RESULT.

They have offered a replacement television (not brand new), we were slightly concerned they were going to try and fob us off with another broken or damaged tv
(ours has been kept in mint condition) but they have offered to have the tv delivered to the store so we can go and have a look at it before we accept it.

As a "good will gesture" (this one being the only one they could locate, is probably closer to the truth)
the tv is a 47" instead of a 42", it is the same make, is an Ambilight tv and according to the store manger it is the next model up from ours.

I will be googling in store the Model number of the tv to see if there are any clear problems with this one
and i will be hanging around pressing buttons to my hearts content to make sure this one isnt a lemon before we accept it.

Im am now finding my self a bit confused as to why we and so many others have paid Optional Service Cover.
Why is there the need for it when you can claim for damaged or faulty goods under the Sales of Goods Act 1979?

I'll be posting again to let anyone whos following this know how things go when we go to have a look at this tv (should be next week according to Bhouse but im not holding my breath).

If anyone has any questions or if theres anything you think i may be able to help you with please feel free to ask

pinkfloydianuk

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I dont have a scanner so i'll write this correspondence word for word. Received this morning from Bhouse.

8th February 2012

Dear Ms W*****

Reference: FO620***

Thankyou for your letter dated the 06/02/12 received in our office on the 06/02/12

We are sorry that it has been necessary for you to contact us in connection with this matter.
Details of your complaint have been forwarded to our Regional Manager Gerry O'Connor,
who will telephone you by 10/02/12 to discuss your complaint in more detail and put in place actions to resolve this to your satisfaction.

If you have not heard from Gerry O'Connor, by the above date, please call on 0800 526 069


Yours Sincerely

Alex Turbayne
Customer Relations Department


All a bit confusing really, it was the store manager who rang us on Wed 8th and we've never heard of Gerry O'Connor?!. Another thing i forgot to mention from the phone conversation on Wednesday, the Store Manager was adamant that they were doing this as a "good will gesture" and that they are "not legally obliged" to offer us anything at all.

Yeah right! It has now been 3 and half years since we took out the agreement and 6 months since we paid it in full, they really expect me to believe that after everything thats gone on over the last 6 months, they are now doing this as a 'good will gesture'.

I suspect they are becoming worried people are going to start talking and that the consumer are becoming more aware of their statutory rights, so they are trying to 'smoke screen' me so i dont start telling everyone i know how much of a con they are with there O.S.C and D.L.C etc.

I cant help feeling Bhouse underestimted me and my partner, BIG mistake.................


pinkfloydianuk

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My girlfriend has been with Bhouse for about 4 and a half years now (tv payed for and currently 1 and a half years through paying for a washer)
since joining this group ive really had eyes opened.

My Question is this.....

All of the way through the three years paying for the tv and now the same for the last year and a half with the washer
my partner has been a regular late payer, every time if she has made late payment she has also payed the O.S.C for the gone weeks,
for example if her payments were £10 for tv and £5 for O.S.C and it was a week late she would pay £30 to catch up......

Now im starting to think this isnt right because ive read somewhere else that O.S.C is a week by week thing,
so if you miss a week then its gone basically and you would carry on from where you were?!

Is this right, and if so do we have a case to reclaim all of the O.S.C we have payed for weeks that we shouldnt have?

If my suspicions are right will we have to get the last 4 and half years of receipts to work out how much they owe us?
I really hope there will be an easier way,
that is if we are entitled to anything back???


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LETTER TO PRESS AGENCIES ETC

And here we have for your viewing, a copy of the letter i posted yesterday to : The Sun, The Daily Star, The Daily Mirror (Associated Newspapers) and two of our local papers The Journal and The Sunderland Echo. I may be tweaking it slightly and i will be sending it to more places, ive also emailed the BBC's Wathcdog. Any input from you guys as to how you think i could tweak it and who else you think i should send it would be appreciated.

Mr Mark *******
1 **** ****
******
Co. Durham
SR7 ***
Mobile: 07*********
Email: **************@yahoo.co.uk

17th Feb 2012

RE: Possible story about our fight with Brighthouse.

Dear sir/Madam

I am writing in the hope that you can help me to help so many others, who have been or are in a situation like ours. We have several issues currently being disputed with Caversham Finance LTD Trading as Brighthouse (your friendly weekly payment store). We firmly believe that if you could help us, we could help anyone who has dealt or is dealing with them to realise exactly what their consumer rights are and stop Brighthouse from blatantly ripping them off.

We have just about completed a negotiation with Brighthouse stores from whom we purchased a Philips Ambilight TV in Aug 2008. Shortly after the TV was paid in full (Aug 2011), it ceased to function. We tried contacting the store immediately who were unwilling to help in any way.

We found ourselves stuck with a TV we paid a lot of money for and couldn’t afford to fix. After learning about the Sales of Goods Act 1979 through a TV show in December 2011, we started doing some research and recently wrote to them threatening them with small claims court. 2 days after the letter was posted we received a call from the store offering us a replacement.

We are now in the process of retrieving payment records as we believe they have been mis-selling us Damage Liability Cover (until a few months ago we had our own contents insurance) and Optional Service Cover. We plan on threatening them with small claims court again unless they agree to pay any monies owed back to us.

Just today we had a conversation with the stores Deputy Manager who advised us that they have been increasing the amount we pay in Late Payment Charges without even notifying us, on our signed agreement we agreed to pay £3 but they have been charging us £3.50!



Brighthouse is a charlatan company and I have only scratched the surface with our particular story in this letter, I am certain there will be even more to this once we receive payment records etc. I have no doubt there are thousands of people across the country who are paying money to Brighthouse that they don’t even realise they shouldnt be.

I am a new member of (XXXXXXXXXXX) and I have a Thread ongoing regarding this matter, which includes a copy of the letter which was sent to Brighthouse in relation to the TV. It can be found at (XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX). There are also several other stories to be found here such as bullying and harassment to customers by Brighthouse Staff which support our case and will hopefully contribute to your wanting to help us expose Brighthouse for what they really are.

Please take some time to have a look at this, I fully intend on pushing and pushing until it is National. It would be great if someone could contact me at any of the above points of contact so we could discuss things in more detail.

I look forward to hearing from you



Mr Mark *******


any advice positive or negative appreciated, thanks


pinkfloydianuk

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I have just been chatting with my girlfriend about the telephone conversation we had on Friday with the Deputy Store Manager.

During the conversation my girlfriend was informed that Brighthouse had increased the amount of Late Payment Charges we pay by 50p without sending us any 'written notification'. Instead the Deputy Store Manager said "We put leaflets on the counter in the shop informing the customer about the increase in Late Payment Charges. Every time a customer came in to pay their account we would staple a leaflet to their receipt"


We 9 times out of 10 pay our payments over the phone so would never see a 'leaflet' stapled to a receipt and we definitely weren't aware of any price increase.

Is this another 50p per week since the increase was imposed that we can claim back?

If so, then we have never been made aware of any price increase in Late Payment Charges on both of our Agreements! Crikey, Brighthouse are in for some grief from me over the coming weeks!!

pinkfloydianuk

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THIS ONE IS GOING IN THE POST TOMORROW............

Mr Mark XXXXXXX
1 XXXXX View
XXXXXX
Co Durham
SR7 XXX

Complaints Department
Caversham Finance LTD (Trading as Brighthouse)
5 Hercules Way
Leavesden Park
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD25 7GS

21st February 2012

YOUR REF: F0XXXXXXXXX

REF: Official Complaint (Original Agreement Numbers 73XXXXXXXXXXXX & 7322XXXXXXXXXXX7)


Dear Sir/Madam

I am writing this letter on behalf of my partner Miss XXXXX XXXXXXX who has been a customer with Brighthouse (Peterlee Co Durham Branch) for approximately 4 years and 6 months. Although Miss XXXXXX’s name is the one on the Agreements, we share finances, so in essence we have both make the payments for our item(s). I have taken the responsibility of handling this matter, so any further correspondence will be written and addressed by me, Mr Mark XXXXXXXX.

Our problems started in August 2011 when our Philips Ambilight TV ceased to function. When we made the final payment(s) on the TV we were told that we had finished the agreement 2 weeks early, because of this fact we contacted the store in the hope that as a good will gesture they would offer us a repair.

Instead we were told “The agreement is now finished it isn’t our problem” or words to that effect.

We had no idea what to do, we ended up putting our 3 year old £2338.44 42” Plasma Television in our Bedroom with a dust sheet over it as we couldn’t afford to repair it. We have instead ended up with a 12 year old TV given to us by a family member.


When we have checked the date on our Agreement and the date on the final receipt it appears that the final payment was actually made 1 day after the Agreement was due to finish.

We don’t understand how this can be, as we were clearly told when we made the final payment on the TV, we were paying it 2 weeks in advance. I am in the process of retrieving bank statements to check when the payment shows as being paid from my account.

The only possible explanation is, that we may have had the Agreement rewritten due to the fact that we were quite far behind with payments, the store have done this for us to give us an extension on payments with the Washing Machine. We don’t recall whether we did have the contract rewritten at any point for the Television but this could explain the questioned 2 weeks.

We today requested copies of ALL agreements from the store original or rewritten. When we have got home and checked there are only 2 Agreements for each item, 1 with our old address on and one which is supposed to have our new address on. No copies of any requested, rewritten Agreements were given to us.

The address on the second contracts is actually incorrect and they are both also unsigned. The address reads as 1 XXXXX Vale, XXXXXXX, Durham. SR7 XXX. Both the street name and postcode are incorrect.

I will be seeking advice promptly, as to whether or not this would void the Agreements in any way. We have on more than one occasion, informed the store that the address they have for us, is incorrect.


In December of 2011 we became aware of the ‘Sales of Goods Act 1979’ but were still unsure of our Statutory Rights. After a lot of research we wrote to you on the 6th Feb 2012 and on the 8th February 2012 we received a reply via telephone offering us a resolution regarding our TV.

Although we have spoken to the Store Manager, we have never heard from Regional Manager Gerry O’Connor who it suggests in your correspondence was supposed to contact us.

We are still waiting to go in to store and have a look at our replacement TV.

We were told by the Store Manager on the 8th February that our replacement was coming from a store in Newcastle (which is roughly 15 miles down the road from Peterlee) and that it would take about 1 week but possibly up to 3 weeks for it to arrive.

Why it would take 3 weeks to take a TV 15 mile is questionable, but we were happy that the issue had been addressed.


I would like to add that the Store Manager has told us and others that you have “only offered us a replacement as a good will gesture”. There is no mention in the correspondence sent to us that this is the case, we also doubt that this is likely and feel that this statement is incorrect and needs to be addressed.


We hereby request copies of all Agreements, payment records and receipts held by you, so that we can start the process of reclaiming any mis-sold O.S.C and D.L.C.

We also want to check that everything is correct and as agreed in my partners written Agreements.

During a telephone conversation (on Friday 17th February 2012) with the Deputy Store Manager we were informed that Brighthouse have been charging us £3.50 for late fees (per week) when our agreement clearly states £3.00.

When we questioned her about it the Deputy Store Manager informed us that “the store had put leaflets out in store to advise the customer of this increase, every time a customer came in to pay their account we would staple a leaflet to their receipt”.

Surely this can’t be right; we signed an agreement agreeing to pay a set amount. How can you increase this amount without giving us any written notification?

As we are a busy family, it has always been easier for us to make payments over the phone. How would we see a leaflet stapled to a receipt if we make our payments over the phone?


We feel you should be made aware; the Deputy Store Manager at the Peterlee Branch is under the impression that if you go in to arrears on your account, you also have to pay any O.S.C for those gone weeks. We have been informed that this is not the case.

In fact O.S.C is a week by week payment if any payments should be missed then those payments should be cancelled in effect. This leads me to think, If the Store Manager thinks that O.S.C ‘arrears’ must be paid, is this store making every customer do the same?


We also have a query regarding D.L.C on our Washing Machine. Miss XXXXXXX signed the Agreement for the Washing Machine on the 12th August 2010. We both clearly remember taking in to store with us a copy of our contents insurance when we purchased the Washing Machine.

I still have all paperwork for the Contents Insurance. It was taken out with Barclays in both mine and Miss XXXXXXX’s names on 15th January 2009. Since receiving copies of Agreements it does appear that Miss XXXXXX signed for D.L.C. on the Washing Machine. This is not something we were aware of.

At the time of signing the Agreement, we had no reason not to trust Brighthouse and its Staff. We are assuming that this is why we hadn’t noticed Miss XXXXXX signed for D.L.C and that we have been paying D.L.C until now unnecessarily.

I have also been informed that we have been getting charged some sort of ‘interest’ on our payments. We would like some information regarding this ‘Interest’ and how we can claim it back


I would like to take this opportunity to tell you how disgusted we are at Caversham Finance LTD (trading as Brighthouse). Your stores staff are clearly lacking in training and are completely oblivious to the legal implications of some of their practices.

The Store Manager at the Peterlee Branch is completely unreasonable, talks over the top of you in conversation, won’t take on board any of our views and instead says “you will have to take it up with Head Office” as soon as we ask any complicated questions that could legally implicate her or the business.

I have written to several Press Agencies and contacted other Media sources such as BBC’S Watchdog regarding this whole ‘story’.

I will also be writing to the relevant Financial Authorities at some point over the coming weeks.

I today read a story on The Daily Mail website (http://blogs.thisismoney.co.uk/author-richard-dyson/ ), which talks about your unique product codes and how they make it difficult to compare your prices with comparable products from other High Street Electrical Retailers.


Unfortunately, other than the issues with the TV, the mis-sold O.S.C, D.L.C and the ‘Interest’, we are beyond any negotiation. We are completely astounded as to how Caversham Finance (Trading as Brighthouse) conducts its business and gets away with it. I personally will be making our particular ‘story’ as widely known as possible.


Thank you in advance for your attention to these matters.


Sincerely,



Mr Mark XXXXXXX


P.S

I XXXXX XXXXXXX hereby give authorisation to Mr Mark XXXXXXX who can deal with the above complaint(s) and act on my behalf, any further correspondence or conversations regarding this complaint will be brought to Mr XXXXXXX’s attention. Any response (if necessary) regarding this complaint will be written and addressed by Mr XXXXXXXX.






Miss XXXXX XXXXXX

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I know that the letter is long but i dont know how else to get my point across to them.This is more than just a case of reclaiming monies, i want to let Brighthouse know exactly how i feel about them and why.

It has been said on this site that anything you want to say to Brighthouse would be better put in to writing, so i took this on board and set away. I have never had to deal with anything like this before and i am no expert in letter writing (as you can tell).

Any constructive advice would be greatly appreciated.


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Great News Received Today..........

I have received a message today informing me that The Sun Newspaper may be interested in running a story about Brighthouse.

I don't want to 'jump the gun' so I'll say no more, however if it is possible I will keep you all posted on any further developments.

pinkfloydianuk

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Today we viewed our replacement TV......

Surprise surprise, Brighthouse have not stayed true to their word.

If you read above you will see that Brighthouse offered us a 47" instead of a 42" as a supposed "good will gesture". We noticed straight away that the replacement TV is actually a 42".

When I questioned the Management they denied ever telling me they were offering us a 47", guess I'm either a liar or I dreamt it huh!

I was tempted to argue but I 'held my tongue', trying to get them to listen is a waste of time and effort. I wouldn't have put it past them to call the Police and report me for Breach of the Peace aswell.

The replacement TV does have some light scuffs on the base but we plan on mounting the TV on the wall so the base will be being removed anyway. Other than that we were happy to accept.


I have spoken to a Journalist from The Sun Newspaper today and she confirmed they are going to run a 'story' about some of the things myself and my Girlfriend have been through with Brighthouse, as soon as I know when the 'story' will be published I'll give you all an update.

pinkfloydianuk

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LOOK OUT FOR OUR STORY IN THIS SUNDAYS 'SUN ON SUNDAY'...........

Excellent news everyone, the photographer just left and our story will be in this Sundays, Sun on Sunday (the new paper that is to replace The News of the World).

I am thrilled and excited to be getting our 'story' out there, even if it only helps a few people it will have been worth it.

Next step is to try and get our 'story' on TV and take it to the next level, the more people that know about Brighthouse's questionable business ethics, the better.

pinkfloydianuk

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STORY FROM 'SUN ON SUNDAY' Feb 26th 2012

WE FELT LEFT IN THE LURCH....

BRIGHTHOUSE customers Mark ******* and Jamie ****** slammed the weekly payment firm.

In 2008 the couple, shelled out for a Philips Ambilight 42in TV. The cash price was £1,055.48 - but student Mark, 31, and power firm worker Jamie, 26, decided to pay for the telly over 156 weeks.

Once interst and optional service cover were added, the cost more than doubled to £2338.44.

In August last year the couple paid off the £14.99 a week charge a fortnight before the end of the agreement - but the TV immediately broke down. After a dispute, the store agreed to replace it.

Mark said: "We contacted the store and the staff told us, 'you have paid it off so it is no longer our responsibility.' We felt that we should still be repaired or replaced."

Brighthouse point out that the optional service cover period and manufacturer's warranty had expired and believe that their customer service was satisfactory and they agreed to a replacement.

By Jane Hamilton

.......pinkfloydianuk

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We spoke to Head Office on the phone this morning and this email was sent as a result...............

To Whom it May Concern,

My partner sent a letter to you by recorded delivery on 22nd Feb 2012 (please find attached a copy of this letter). We are still to receive a response. I have checked the Royal Mail Recorded Delivery Tracker and the letter was signed for on the 24th Feb (please find copy of signature attached).

I have just spoken to someone from your head office by phone, who informed me that there was no record of the letter being received.

Therefore,

Ref: Subject access request under the Data Protection Act 1988

Please send me copies of all payment history(s) for both my TV and Washing Machine, exact details of all OSC payed on both items, exact details of all late payment charges paid on both items, exact details of DLC paid on the Washing Machine and exact details of all interest and any other applicable charges etc. Which I am entitled to under Section 7(1) of the Data Protection Act 1998.

If you need further information from me, please let me know as soon as possible.

If you do not normally handle these requests for your organisation, please pass this letter to your data protection officer or another appropriate official.

Regretfully as you have already had 13 days from the date of our last request for this information, if we do not recieve the requested information within the next 7 days we will have no choice but to pursue the matter through small claims court.

Miss ***** *******
1 ***** *****
******
Co. Durham
SR7 ***

pinkfloydianuk

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This is from quite a while ago but still applicable and something i am aiming to do.

Any constructive help or advice appreciated.........

http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2004/05/290276.html

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Just been on the phone to BrightHouse to make sure they got my email on Monday and that it was being looked in to.

We were told 'yes' it is being looked in to but the person handling it is on another line at the moment, he will call you back..........how much you betting i have a long wait.

Never mind, it gave us the chance to tell them once more that if it isnt responded to by end of this week, we will be in county court on monday morning.

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It would apper that Elvis Lives!

The person dealing with our complaint "has left the building" and will call us back tomorrow morning.

I'll let you know if they call or not.........

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Well, the person we spoke to yesterday told us the chap handling our complaint would call 'this morning' specifically.

I was at college till 12pm so the missus rang them to see what was happening as they still hadn't contacted us by 11am.

It would appear that suggesting your customers are liars is common practice in this 'company', apparently we were never told the call would be returned 'this morning'.

They then went on to say that some one would contact us by the end of the day. Half Three and still waiting.

Don't these people realise that by treating their customers in such a poor manner time after time, just makes us more angry and more determined to get a result.

I don't know how anyone employed by BrightHouse sleeps at night. I know I couldn't treat people like this and have it rest on my conscience.


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Just a quick one........BrightHouse never rang back today.

Maybe i should give them the same treatment us customers recieve tomorrow, phone them 10 times, one call after the other and see how they like it!

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URGENT ADVICE NEEDED........

We today received a negetavie response from BrightHouse regarding our attempt to recover all OSC and Late Payment Charges ETC (not that we expected any different).

So PLEASE some clarification, as I don't want to waste time and money going through the county court Small Claims Process on Monday if it is going to be in vane.

I also want to make sure I have my facts right so I can advise others accurately.


Please read the below comments from the correspondence recieved this morning and advise me as to whether or not my views are correct....

Quote

"In order for us to honour a repair, replacement or refund you were required to provide evidence that the product sold to you was inherently faulty at the time of sale, which was not forthcoming. We would usually accept an engineer's report from a reputable TV or electrical goods repair company confirming the nature of the fault".

My View

I have been given the impression that we could argue our case under the 'Durability' section of the Sales of Goods Act 1979. I sent correspondence to BrightHouse quoting this section of the SOGA in our written complaint, but BrightHouse just keep saying, "we offered you the replacement TV as a 'good will gesture'". They have NEVER acknowledged or mentioned the 'Durability' section of the SoGA.

So my question on this, Who is right? If the matter went to court would i have had to provide an Engineers Report as suggested by BrightHouse or could i have argued my case under Durability?

(The matter regarding the TV has been resolved as we accepted a replacement but in order for me to advise others accuratelly i need to know, could you argue faulty electrical goods such as TV's and Fridge Freezers etc under durability at court, or would you need an engineer's report?).

Quote

"You advise that the Late Fee has increased to £3.50 and you were not informed. Although our stores did make every effort to inform customers, we are not legally bound to notify our customers as it states on the first page of your Hire Purchase Agreement under

Charges
(e) Variation of charges - We may vary these charges from time to time without notice to you to reflect our costs. The current rates of these charges are available to you in store or on written request."

My View

So that means they can just increase the charge whenever they feel like it and not tell you, even though you signed an Agreement to pay a specific amount?

I have read on these forums that there is 'no remit' in law to say BrightHouse can even charge a Late Pament Fee. My understanding of this is that BrightHouse have just made this charge up and in reality they aren't allowed to do it.

Is it therefore right that i can reclaim every penny of this back, or are BrightHouse allowed to charge a late payment fee?

Quote

"With regards to OSC, these payments are still due under the agreement if they are missed because they were due before you went late. The fact that the payment is missed DOES NOT mean that it is forfeit. It is like any insurance or service cover policy. You have agreed to pay the amount detailed in the Agreement and, therefore, the amounts are due regardless of whether you pay them in advance or not".

"If the OSC payments were not due when they are missed, this would leave the agreement open to abuse and effectively would mean you could reduce the cost of your agreement by missing payments. As a responsible credit lender this is not the kind of message we want to be advising our customers."

My View

If you miss a payment for OSC does this payment lapse as suggested in BrightHouses T&C's;

"Subject to its right to terminate the OSC Contract in accordance with condition E, the OSC Contract is renewable each time your regular installment is due under the Agreement. If the amount due is not paid the OSC Contract will lapse".

My question is, if you miss a payment on your goods does the OSC for this week or weeks lapse? Or as suggested by BrightHouse, do you have to pay OSC 'arrears'?

Quote

"Having decided to take out a contract, every customer is taken through our Agreement Guide Presenter. During this process, the details of the contract are verbally explained in full to customers. Also during this process, which takes approximately 30 minutes, the customer is encouraged to ask as many questions as they like to ensure they fully understand the contract. This process includes a full explaination of the Optional Service Cover Product, including the cost, features and benefits, customer's rights with and without this product and the fact that it can be cancelled at seven days notice".

"We can find no evidence that the process has not been followed. We therefore conclude that Ms W***** was given all of the information necessary to make an informed decision".

My View

This is the first time we have ever even heard of an 'Agreement Guide Presenter'. When signing our Agreements we most certainly did not spend 30 mins having it explained to us and we certainly did not have the OSC Contract explained to us, if we did then we would have told them we did not want it on there, as would any sane person. Infact when we took out the Agreement on our TV we were pretty much given the impression, if we didn't take out the OSC then they wouldn't give us the TV. We therefore assumed the same when we took out the Agreement on our Washer.

My question is, If your goods are covered under manufacturers warranties and current Consumer Legislation is there any need for OSC? If not then surely myself and every other customer have been mis sold as we do not need it?

Furthermore in our particular case, we did not have the 30 min 'Agreement Guide Presenter', does this also mean that they are in breach of Agreement?

Any help or advice is greatly appreciated.

P.S. When we emailed Head Office on Monday 5th Feb we requested copies of all payment history's etc quoting the Data Protection Act 1988.

There are no copies of the requested information included with the correspondence sent to us today. How long (if there is a specific time period set out in law) do BrightHouse have to send us this information from the date it was requested?

------------------------------- merged -------------------------------

I just received this from an online, county court, Small Claims Free Advice specialist,

"If they have incurred expenses by dealing with your late payments, and it is in their terms and conditions, then they can apply reasonable charges.


The OSC is another matter which you should claim back".

Thats made my mind up then, we will definately be going to Sunderland County Court on Monday and filing a Claim.

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TAKING THE FIRST STEPS TOWARDS SMALL CLAIMS PROCEEDINGS.........

Today we visited our local county court and aquired the relevent forms etc to begin legal proceedings against Caversham Finance LTD.

Making a claim and gathering evidence to support our case is all going to be new to me (i've never dealt with County Court before) but i am actually looking forward to doing it.

I have received professional advice and i have been told by 2 independents that we can DEFINATELY claim back ALL of the OSC we have paid!

The Late Payment Charges may however prove to be a little more difficult, we have to provide evidence to support our accusation that the Charges are 'an unfair contract term'.

We can argue that BrightHouse have not contacted us every time they have increased the Late Payment Charge.

Also we can dispute that they have not contacted us every time we have been late with our payments thus them not incurring any costs.

If any one reading this has been through the Small Claims Process with BrightHouse or a similar company i would appreciate any relevant input.


------------------------------- merged -------------------------------

Whilst sitting dwelling i remembered something that should be documented.

If you are following this thread you will recall me saying that we normally pay our installments over the phone.

My partner is the person named on the Agreement(s), and BrightHouse have only ever dealt with her up until we started having 'disputes' with them.

For 4 and a Half years Brighthouse have asked for my verbal authorisation to take a payment from my bank account on no more than three occasions, even then it has only because we have prompted them to.

When we questioned them about it, they tried to say that it was my partner who was in the wrong for using my card.

Another load of crap, as long as I give authorisation then she can hand over my details.


Just to make this clear, i am saying that BrightHouse staff have nearly always taken payments from my bank account via phone transaction without my verbal authorisation even though i am not named on the Agreements. (It has always been easier for my partner to make the payment's with my debit card).

Just another example of poor business practice by BrightHouse.

[pinkfloydianuk]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

A GIUDE TO FILING A CLAIM......

Anyone filing a county court Small Claim should find the following guide VERY helpfull,

First, find out were your local County Court is. This information can easily be found on any Search Engine, eg 'Google'

Go along and ask at the Enquiries desk for '3 claim forms', a 'Notes for claimant on completing a claim form' and any advice leaflets they deem appropriate (eg 'EX302 How To Make A Claim')

On the front of the claim form(s), in the top right hand corner, there is a box in which the name of the Court and the claim number are inserted, the Court will do this for you so you should start with:-

(Use Black Ink and write in Block Capitals)

Claimant

- this is where your details go.

- If you are a private individual then enter your full name and title followed by your address.

Defendants

- This is where your opponent's details go.

-The full Postal address of the company. Don't forget to include the postcode, failing to include it can delay your claim.

-It is also important to include 'LTD' or any other appropriate suffix.

Brief details of claim

Give a summary of the type of claim it is and if possible the remedy you seek e.g. "Breach of Contract - return of money", "Claim for mis sold Optional Service Cover (OSC) and unreasonable Late Payment Charges - return of money" etc.

Value

Please refer to the 'Notes for claimant on completing a form'.

There are clear instructions under the 'Value' section on how to add the relevant information.

The Court fee you have to pay will be based upon the amount specified.

Don't panic, depending on your personal circumstances you may not have to pay a fee. Details of whether or not you will have to pay or not can be found in leaflet EX160A, which is also available from the County Court.

Defendant's Name and Address

Repeat the Defendant's name and give the correct address for service of the Claim Form.

If your opponent is a limited company then you can choose between the company's "usual" place of business, its principal office or, if different, its registered office.

Should your opponent have retained a firm of solicitors to represent them don't be put off! You should only insert that firm's details here if they have specifically confirmed in writing that they are instructed to "accept service".

Amount Claimed

Simply insert the basic amount of money you are claiming. Or leave blank if you are not able to put a value on your claim.

Court Fee

A Court fee will be payable when you issue a Claim Form unless you are on a low income and qualify for an exemption.
The fee is calculated on a sliding scale; the higher the claim, the higher the fee.

Solicitor's Costs

This box should only be completed if a solicitor is issuing the proceedings.

Total Amount

Add up the sums in the previous 3 boxes and insert the total amount.

Issue Date

There is no need to complete this, the Court will do it for you when the Claim is issued.

We turn now to the reverse side of the Claim Form.

Does, or will, your claim include any issues under the Human Rights Act 1998?

Unless you know for certain whether or not your claim involves a Human Rights Act issue you can safely ignore this part of the form.

Particulars of Claim (attached) (to follow)

This is where you should include a summary of the facts you intend to rely upon. If the facts of the claim are simple and can be stated concisely then include them on the form here, otherwise use a separate piece(s) of paper.

Set out your claim as clearly as possible. Keep to the point and include all relevant facts.

Remember to include details of any misrepresentation (untrue statement) fraud or illegality. If you are relying on the terms of a contract then refer to that contract and attach a copy. The same goes for conditions of sale.

If you are claiming interest then your claim must be specified in clear and precise terms.

Finally remember to delete the "(attached)" "(to follow)" options unless they are applicable. Be careful about using the "to follow" option. If you decide to issue the Claim Form without Particulars and fail to follow up with Particulars of Claim within 14 days then the claim could be struck out. You will also be required to prepare a Certificate of Service and file it with the Court within 7 days together with a copy of the Particulars.

Statement of Truth

The rules require various documents such as the Claim Form to be verified by a Statement of Truth.

If you are issuing your own claim then the appropriate statement will be "I believe that the facts stated in these Particulars of Claim are true". Delete as appropriate, sign the form as Claimant and remember that deliberately lying can amount to contempt of Court!

I hope you have found this information helpfull.

pinkfloydianuk

------------------------------- merged -------------------------------

Rant begins,

I will not be disheartened by any one. I even think that some of my family and friends think i've 'lost the plot' and that i'm wasting my time.

I firmly believe in what i'm fighting for and that is justice for the Consumer, not money, glory or any other personal reason as some people are probably thinking.

Getting an end result won't be the end of the matter for me, on the contrary, it will be the beginning. Whether i get the result i'm aiming for or not, someone needs to take a stand against this company and others like it. I WILL do anything i can to help with public awareness.

The attitude i have received from a few people on the internet has been quite frankly as disgusting as these company's ethics.

One particular person said things along the lines of 'If you are late then you are late!, If you are late with your payments then they are entitled to charge you a reasonable fee' and 'If you did'nt have bad credit then you wouldn't have to go to BrightHouse'.

So the fact my financial circumstances aren't great at the moment and i have bad credit makes it okay for BrightHouse to treat me like some sort of idiot?

I think not!

Infact let's all face it, BrightHouse aim at people lower down the economic scale. They believe that because we can't manage our finance's that makes us easy targets.

They don't take in to account that people may have come in to financial hardship in the past due to personal circumstances resulting in their credit being affected.

Thus not leaving us much choice but to go with these company's if we require/desire something normaly outside of our financial capabilities.

The way in which this company conduct's is business is 'shocking' to say the least, everything from thier bully boy tactics to their blatant disregard for the law.

Surely all this needs to be addressed and stopped by somebody who has the powers to do so!

Rant over.

------------------------------- merged -------------------------------



ANY GOOD ADVICE APPRECIATED.......

Has any one got any strong suggestions, on how i can suggest to the courts in our evidence, that BrightHouse's Late Payment Charges are an 'unreasonable contract term'?

I have a couple of things in our evidence that i feel make a good argument but i would love to have something concrete.

I would prefer any suggestions via PM just incase BrightHouse are watching. I don't want to give them a heads up on whats to come.

Don't worry about advice on the OSC, BrightHouse haven't got a leg to stand on with that one.


------------------------------- merged -------------------------------

Group 5: Financial penalties – paragraph 1(e) of Schedule 2

Schedule 2, paragraph 1, states that terms may be unfair if
they have the object or effect of:

(e) requiring any consumer who fails to fulfill his obligation to
pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.

5.1 It is unfair to impose disproportionate sanctions for breach of contract.

A requirement to pay more in compensation for a breach than a reasonable pre-estimate of the loss caused to the supplier is one kind of excessive
penalty.

Such a requirement will, in any case, normally be void to the extent that it amounts to a penalty under English common law.

Other types of disproportionate sanction are considered below – Part III, Group 18(c).

Nice one!!

------------------------------- merged -------------------------------



PLEASE NOTE,

We have just been to hand in our Claim/Evidence to the court.

While there we were informed that if you do not put an amount on the Application and you lose the case, you WILL be liable for the defendants costs.

We have been informed that it is best to put an approximate figure.

I'll add more detail after I've done some research, unless any of you reading this can shed more light.


------------------------------- merged -------------------------------

After a weekend of resting my brain, today i will be adding the finishing touches to our county court Small Claim (with regards to the Amount we expect to recover). I will be making a post later today to let everyone know how i got on with that.

I am also going to write to the FSA, FOS, OFT, Trading Standards and the Information Commisioner.

We have recieved some paperwork from Caversham Finance which i'm presuming is supposed to be the payment history information etc, which i requested from them on the 5th March.

The information is FALSE and DOES NOT match up with any of the payment records that we have!

This company totally disgusts me, however i would like to thank Caversham Finance for supplying me with even more evidence of what they deem to be acceptable.

Needless to say a copy of this information will be being forwarded to the Information Commisioner and others accordingly.

More to follow...............

------------------------------- merged -------------------------------




QUESTION REGARDING INTEREST...



You say 'their Interest'.

Do you mean the 29.9% APR?

If so on what grounds do you suggest i could argue the amount of Interest paid?

I've been having a think about it and discussing it with my Girlfriend and we have come to this conclusion.

Due to our financial circumstances, we new when we took out the Agreements how much we were going to pay in Interest (with regards to 29.9% APR not the total monies paid on Agreements). We accepted this as something we would have to deal with due to our poor credit.

It is not unusual to pay a higher rate of Interest when you have poor credit in my opinion.

So, if we understood the APR was 29.9%, we wouldn't be able to testify otherwise. We are honest people and we want to do everything correctly.

I'm sure BrightHouse would also be able to argue, the APR is a higher rate to protect the business from customers who fail to settle their Accounts etc.



To all following the thread, I know I've been quiet lately but please don't think I've given up.

It all has been a bit mind boggling, from the TV saga back in February, to now filing county court claims. So I have been giving my self a well deserved break from the whole thing.

Now I have two weeks off college, I can focus some of my energy's back on this.


Unfortunately as of the 17th March the County Court Small Claims Application forms/processes have changed slightly. Due to this change and the fact we dated our Application's the 15th March we are going to have to go back to the court on Monday and get a 3 copy's of the new Application Form.

A bit of a pain to have to fill in 3 Application forms again but if it has to be done, it has to be done.


We have done a bit calculating today and we have come up with a figure around £800ish.

From the Information we have this is the sum we believe due back to us in OSC and Late Payment Charges.

This is on 2 Items, one paid in full and one half way through Agreement. We would like all reading this who have Items from BrightHouse to bare in mind, the more items you have had, the more you should be able to claim back from them.

Once we have parused the new County Court Small Claims forms on Monday and filled them in I'll be back to give you all an update.

Apologies to all who have been wondering why the thread has not been updated for a couple of weeks.

pinkfloydianuk


------------------------------- merged -------------------------------



As far as i aware, this isnt how it works with BrightHouse.


Using the figures from our TV Agreement i will give an example of how it is worded and my interpretation of this,

In the Key Financial Information section it states

A - Total amount of credit £1055.48 (this amount is the cash price of the TV)

B - APR 29.9%

C - Duration of the Agreement 156 weeks

D - Total Amount Payable £1519.44, to be paid by 156 Weekly payments of £9.74 commencing on 19-Aug-2008

E,F and G are details of the product and the cash price

H - Total Charge for Credit (all of which is interest) £463.96

I and J are the rate of Annual Interst and cost of Charges


In the bottom box on the Agreeement it states,

The figures set out above do not include the financial details for Optional Service Cover or Damage Liability Cover.

Please tick the following box(es) if you wish to apply for

K - Optional Service Cover (Weekly payment) £5.25

L - Damage Liability Cover (Weekly payment) £N/A

The following information is then relevant:

M - Total Weekly Payment (the total weekly payments set out in D,K and L) £14.99

N - Total Amount Payable (156 payments of £14.99) £2338.44


So the way i see it is, the Interest is calculated at 29.9% on the Cash price of the Item and is added straight away.

As far as i am aware we have never paid 'Interest ' on charges, be it Late Payment or OSC.

It is not stated any where in the Agreement, that any other Interest other than the 29.9% APR, calculated on the cash price of the goods would have to be paid.


Therefore my question regarding APR still stands.


(AMMENDED)

Just after posting this i noticed a little sentence in the Charges section it reads,

If you are late in payment then you must pay Interest on the late payment (to the extent that the interest exceeds the late payment charge) at the rate of 4% per annum over the Royal Bank of Scotland base rate - see clause 9(d) of this agreement.

Interesting!

There is nothing in the OSC section regarding interest.



------------------------------- merged -------------------------------



In essence i have already applied for a 'Subject access request', on the 5th March i emailed them requesting all Account info quoting the Data Protection Act 1988 Section 7(1).

They sent me incomplete account details, not showing Late Payment Charges, OSC or any interest etc.

As i am applying to take them to Small Claims Court i need to specify an amount that i aim to reclaim, these amounts vary from £500 to £1500, £1500 to £3000 and so on.

I have been informed by the court that if i make an application and i don't specify an amount i aim to claim back then Caversham Finanace should win the case (doubtfull but i want to cover my back) i would be liable for their legal costs etc.

This is not something i want to take a chance on for obvious reasons.

So, do i just make an approximation on the figures i have then wait for my day in court and go for the maximum in that range?

The thing I am worried about is are BrightHouse withholding the information we have requested because there is even more to this than meets the eye, if they are then who knows how much we have paid over the last 4 and half years.

In an ideal world i would like some one to force Caversham Finance to come forward with this info.

Infact, one thinks its time to write to the Information Commisioner.

I'll be back later with a copy of the draught letter.


------------------------------- merged -------------------------------



I have just found out about the £10 maximum statutory charge for a SAR.

So it would appear that this route may be best first,


Section 7 – Data Protection Act 1998

Dear Sir/Madam

Account: xxxxxxxx

I am in receipt of the documents that you have supplied in response to my Data Protection Act information request dated 5th March 2012. The disclosure of personal data is incomplete in that at least the following documentsare missing.


1) You have failed to provide a complete list of transactions and charges.

This is not an exhaustive request by any means.

Accordingly, I have to tell you that you have not yet complied with your obligations under the Data Protection Act 1998.
You have a further 12days to comply.

Yours faithfully,

Mr M. XXXXXXX



I'll give them a chance to respond then if they are not forthcoming I shall apply to the county court for an order to enforce compliance, together with damages at the discretion of the court.



------------------------------- merged -------------------------------



From the Information Commisioner search page,


Data Protection Register - Entry Details



Registration Number: Z7324905
Date Registered: 20 December 2002 Registration Expires: 19 December 2012

Data Controller: CAVERSHAM FINANCE LIMITED

Address:

5 HERCULES WAY
LEAVESDEN PARK
WATFORD
HERTS
WD25 7GS

Other Names:

BRIGHTHOUSE

This register entry describes, in very general terms, the personal data being processed by:
CAVERSHAM FINANCE LIMITED

This register entry contains personal data held for 5 purpose(s)



------------------------------- merged -------------------------------

TEMPLATE LETTER TO THE OFT REGARDING LATE PAYMENT CHARGES.....

Mr Mark XXXXXXXX
1 XXXX XXXX
XXXXXX
Co. XXXXXX
SR7 XXX

Enquiries Unit
Office of Fair Trading
Fleetbank House
2-6 Salisbury Square
London, EC4Y 8JX.



Dear Sir/Madam

Re: [Caversham Finance LTD (BrightHouse)] – Referral of potentially unfair contract terms.

Please find enclosed a copy of the above trader's contractual terms and conditions. I am referring this on to you for your consideration as I am concerned that the following terms are potentially unfair terms pursuant to The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999:

Unfair/Unreasonable Late Payment Charges-

I believe that the Late Payment Charges are an ‘unfair contract term’.

I have received professional advice from two independents, one of which advised me that “They are entitled to charge you if they contact you for late payment”.

BrightHouse have not contacted me every time I have been late with payment, on the contrary, majority of times I have been late on my account, I have contacted them.

Thus I suggest, they have not incurred any considerable costs by contacting me.

Please see below a section from the Office of Fair Trading’s, Guidance for the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999.


(Group 5: Financial penalties – paragraph 1(e) of Schedule 2)

Schedule 2, paragraph 1, states that terms may be unfair if
they have the object or effect of:

(e) requiring any consumer who fails to fulfill his obligation to
pay a disproportionately high sum in compensation.

5.1 It is unfair to impose disproportionate sanctions for breach of contract.

A requirement to pay more in compensation for a breach than a reasonable pre-estimate of the loss caused to the supplier is one kind of excessive penalty.

Such a requirement will, in any case, normally be void to the extent that it amounts to a penalty under English common law.


I also dispute the amount ‘variation’ in charges for late payment as being ‘unreasonable’. When I signed my first Agreement with BrightHouse, the Late Payment Charge was £2.70.

It currently stands at £3.50.

I have never, during the duration of each individual Agreement, been made aware of any price increase in this charge.


BrightHouse have responded to my questioning of this increase, please find attached letter numbered BH0005 and duly note page 1, paragraph 5 beginning ‘Secondly’.

I believe the total paid in Late Payment Charges since my original Agreement was signed on 19th August 2008 to be a considerable amount.




I look forward to your response.

Yours sincerely,

Mr. Mark XXXXXXX

(Mobile) 0XXXXXXXXXX
(email) XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

------------------------------- merged -------------------------------

FINANCIAL OMBUDSMAN COMPLAINT FORM...

http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct...ZLWn1ZZIGTCtNg

------------------------------- merged -------------------------------




BrightHouse made the following statement's on the BBC's My Worst Deal,

"Our prices are competitive and fair, as you point out your self, comparing them with those of other stores which may not offer a finance arrangement and may require payment up front which would not be possible for some low earners, is like comparing Apples with Oranges - completely misleading".

"BrightHouse takes all reasonable steps to ensure customers do not enter in to Agreements that they can not afford".

"If a customer does encounter difficulties, we will do our best to deal with the problem sensibly".

Take particular note of the parts highlited red.

What a load of bull!

Actions speak louder than words and all of the 'actions' i have seen carried out by BrightHouse, totally contradict this statement.

See the full episode on BBC iPlayer at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b01fnmwp/My_Worst_Deal_Episode_2/

[pinkfloydianuk]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

I am currently waiting for the SAR coming back from Caversham Finance.

Until i recieve it everything is at a standstill.

pfuk (09/04/12):beagle:

[pinkfloydianuk]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

Avatar and Signature edited.

[pinkfloydianuk]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

Signature

[labman]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

Really interesting reading. I know several people who purchase products from Bright House and their understanding is, I believe, that the insurances are a condition of purchase.

Please keep posting updates - you could help an awful lot of people.

[pinkfloydianuk]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

Thanks LABMAN its nice to know that someone appreciates my efforts.

Its not something you get on the 'other' forum.

I am still getting unjustified grief from their Site Team.

A shame really that a handfull of keyboard warriors are spoiling it for every one else.

The only reason i'm hanging around on their forum is because i feel a loyalty to my viewers.

I know i said in my intro that i was shunning the 'other forum' but Ive had nearly 7000 views since Feb 5th 2012 and i don't want to leave those people in the lurch.

I also believe that having my thread active on 2 forums will help it reach a wider audience and help more people.

All i want is to help others, you would think that the Site Team from the other forum would appreciate everything ive done, but NO, they just want to question my motives and give me lip.

Never mind, i have thick skin so i'll plod on.

[pinkfloydianuk]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

For anyone who's reading, I just want to say a couple of things to add some clarification regarding OSC, DLC and Late Payment Charges.

1(OSC). Optional Service Cover or OSC is 'Optional' no argument, should ANY BrightHouse employee, or anyone else for that matter, try and suggest otherwise then they are lying.

I would strongly recommend that each and every BrightHouse customer right to Caversham Finance head office, giving your Agreement number(s). Inform them that you are giving them the required 7 days notice that you wish to cancel your OSC.

OSC is nothing more than a warranty in disguise. Your goods are protected by manufacturers warranties (normaly 1 year) and current consumer legislation (up to 6 years, depending on certain criteria).

The only 'benefit' (and I use the word loosely) that BrightHouse will argue OSC offers is the capability to have your Agreement 're written' or 'bridged' should you come across any problems and miss a considerable amount of payments.

I would suggest to everyone NEVER to have an Agreement re written, not only will it add more to what you pay to BrightHouse, I firmly believe that it is a contradiction of responsible lending guidelines, why is there the need to have a facility to have an agreement re written when BrightHouse have a duty to ensure each and every customer can afford their weekly payments.

Further to that, BrightHouse should be helping customers catch up with any missed payments without the need to have Agreements re written, simple as.

2(DLC). When you enter into a DLC contract you are dealing with Caversham Insurance (Malta). (Interesting one isnt it?)

DLC DOES NOT replace your items like for like should they be damaged stolen etc, infact all it does is cancel any remaining balance on the Agreement(s). Yes, that means BrightHouse keep all monies you have paid so far and you get sweet F A.

If you have your own Contents Insurance and you are paying DLC then you have been mis sold, no argument.

In this case you should write to Caversham Finance enclosing a copy of your Contents Insurance policy, inform them that you have been mis sold DLC as you have had valid contents insurance throughout the Agreement(s) (it is important to check the terms and conditions of your policy and make sure HP items are covered, if in doubt contact the insurer).

Make it clear to them, that unless they refund you ALL DLC paid then you will persue the matter through Small Claims Court.

3(Late Payment Charges). In the coming months, I am to argue in court that Late Payment Charges are an 'unfair contract term' quoting the OFT traders guidelines, when I succeed, I will be encouraging each and every customer to use my case as an example and claim back their Late Payment Charges.

I cant wait for our SAR coming back, until I get that I cant proceed with court.

More to follow......

pfuk

[pinkfloydianuk]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

I got spammed lol

[Hurricane Puffrose]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

you buying his tennis racket then???

[charitynjw]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

Lol

Payment over 3 years with optional compulsory service plan & insurance.

Cushty!!

[Bill-K]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

Hi Floyd - sorry, but I've only just got around to reading your full story as posted above. I won't comment on the legalities, as I mainly just work on the figures for claims, but - aside from the problems with replacing the TV - this is now an ongoing claim for a refund of mis-sold insurance associated with a loan, and a reclaim of penalty charges. It may not be termed PPI, but it is still potentially mis-sold insurance, and can be treated as such, IMO.

It's probably too little too late now, but I would have preferred to claim this initially via the FOS, as there is no risk of costs to you. You then still have the option of going through the court if you are not happy with the outcome. If you go the court route first, you close off the FOS option. Also, you do not have to quote a claim 'quantum' figure with an FOS claim - you wait and see what is offered or awarded, and then you compare this with what you expected.

Regarding the figures in the agreement - yes, it shows a cash price, and then the interest charged on it at 29.9% APR. However, this interest is not technically an 'upfront' payment. The figure shown is based on a projection of the loan if it runs entirely to 'schedule' - and this is usually calculated by a method known as 'amortisation.' Although each payment is composed of an element of 'Principal' repayment and loan interest, the ratio between these elements changes as time passes, with the initial payments consisting mostly of interest, and later payments mostly of Principal.

The interest is calculated from the account balance owing each month, and is added to the balance owing monthly. So - late or missed payments will incur additional interest - and any penalty charges made will also incur interest. So, by the end of the loan period, if there have been such changes to (or departures from) the original loan schedule as set out in the agreement, then the Total Amount Payable will be altered.

If you are reclaiming the insurance and the penalties, then you might find the attached spreadsheets helpful in arriving at a claim quantum. As I understand it, the insurance charges are fixed premiums paid each week at a total of £14.99. As such, they attract no account interest, but I believe you would be justified in claiming Compensatory interest on these payments at the Statutory rate of 8% simple interest. This shows a reclaim of £2338.44 in insurance payments plus Statutory interest of £420.58 as at 19/04/12 - totalling £2759.02. You may need to check it and adjust where payments were missed or late.

The penalties might be a little more difficult to reclaim, but if they are charges which relate to the missed payment of insurance premiums, then the FOS should uphold the reclaim of these as well, pursuant to the Mis-sold PPI Redress Handbook in the FSA's PS 10/12 which states:

DISP APP 3.7.2 Where the firm concludes that the complainant would not have bought the payment protection contract he bought, and the firm is not using the alternative approach to redress (set out in DISP App 3.7.7 E to 3.7.15 E) or other appropriate redress (see DISP App 3.8), the firm should, as far as practicable, put the complainant in the position he would have been if he had not bought any payment protection contract.

[My emphases]
I believe that - as the penalties were charges made to the account (debited to it), then they would attract account interest at 29.9% APR. If you enter the penalties into the second spreadsheet, it should calculate this. You should also be able to claim Statutory interest on any amounts which would have been 'overpayments,' due to these penalties - ie., any period where the 'notional' account balance would have been in credit if these penalties had not been added.

Some further quotes from DISP. APP. 3, which you might find useful:

DISP APP 3.2.2 The firm should seek to establish the true substance of the complaint, rather than taking a narrow interpretation of the issues raised, and should not focus solely on the specific expression of the complaint. This is likely to require an approach to complaint handling that seeks to clarify the nature of the complaint.

DISP APP 3.3.1 Where a complaint is made, the firm should assess the complaint fairly, giving appropriate weight and balanced consideration to all available evidence, including what the complainant says and other information about the sale that the firm identifies. The firm is not expected automatically to assume that there has been a breach or failing.

DISP APP 3.3.2 The firm should not rely solely on the detail within the wording of a policy's terms and conditions to reject what a complainant recalls was said during the sale.

DISP APP 3.3.3 The firm should recognise that oral evidence may be sufficient evidence and not dismiss evidence from the complainant solely because it is not supported by documentary proof. The firm should take account of a complainant's limited ability fully to articulate his complaint or to explain his actions or decisions made at the time of the sale.

DISP APP 3.3.4 Where the complainant's account of events conflicts with the firm's own records or leaves doubt, the firm should assess the reliability of the complainant's account fairly and in good faith. The firm should make all reasonable efforts (including by contact with the complainant where necessary) to clarify ambiguous issues or conflicts of evidence before making any finding against the complainant.

DISP APP 3.3.5 The firm should not reject a complainant's account of events solely on the basis that the complainant signed documentation relevant to the purchase of the policy.

DISP APP 3.3.9 In determining a particular complaint, the firm should (unless there are reasons not to because of the quality and plausibility of the respective evidence) give more weight to any specific evidence of what happened during the sale (including any relevant documentation and oral testimony) than to general evidence of selling practices at the time (such as training, instructions or sales scripts or relevant audit or compliance reports on those practices).

DISP APP 3.9.4 The firm should make any offer of redress to the complainant in a fair and balanced way. In particular, the firm should explain clearly to the complainant the basis for the redress offered including how any compensation is calculated and, where relevant, the rescheduling of the loan, and the consequences of accepting the offer of redress.

Please be aware that these are FSA/FOS guidelines, and are NOT directly actionable at Law.

[pinkfloydianuk]

Re: Sales of Goods letter to BrightHouse and OSC, DLC - Late Payment Charge Reclaimin

We today recieved some paperwork from BrightHouse in connection with our recent SAR.

The information is still incomplete, they have sent several copies of the same pages (im guessing this is where my tenner went), the pages are a supposed Breakdown of telephone communications beteween ourselves and the store.

These pages make up approx two thirds of what they have sent us, the rest is copies of agreements etc and just 2 pages of supposed payment information.

There is still no accurate information regarding how much we have paid and when.

Something tells me BrightHouse are trying to hide something.

The payment information we have recieved basically goes,

our weekly payment was £14.99, so if we were one week late it would be £29.98 + their Late Payment Charge,

however this is not what we have recieved, they have sent me 2 pages which show a date followed by agreement number and how much was (supposedly) paid on that date,

strange thing is, where we have been late it only shows £29.98 (for 2 weeks @ £14.99 per week) or £44.97 for 3 weeks etc, NO RECORD of any Late Payment Charges or interest etc.

I would love to know what they have done with my £10 SAR charge because they have not sent me the information i require to make an accurate calculation as to how much they owe me. (How Frustrating!!!)

So next step i think is to give Caversham Finance one last chance to get the information i require out to me. Ive heard of one person saying that their store printed out a till reciept for every payment made. This is what i want and i will make it perfectly clear this time.

If i dont get what i need after this final request then i will be going at them 'all guns blazing'.

I'm tired of messing around with these incompetent fools.

They still have a few days before the 40 day SAR limit is up, so i will honour this and give them the chance to get their fingers out.

Once there time is up i will be taking them down.

pfuk



ps, BillK,

I havent started legal proceedings against BrightHouse as we have been waiting for our SAR coming back.

How would i go about making a claim through the FOS?

If this does end up in court, then i want the court to be satisfied that i have exhausted every other possible route.

Regards

pfuk