UPDATE – in April 2022 the administrators said there was unlikely to be any money to pay any refunds to customers. See below.
On 20 March 2020, BrightHouse went into administration.
BrightHouse sold electrical appliances, furniture, computers and mobiles on hire purchase. Its customers made weekly payments, sometimes described as “rent-to-own”. Some 172,000 people were buying an item from BrightHouse at the end of December.
Coronavirus has meant that its 240 shops have had to shut and many customers are likely to be asking for payment holidays as their income has fallen and they can’t manage the normal weekly payments.
But BrightHouse’s finances were already precarious in February. Sky News reported “Rent-to-own giant BrightHouse on brink of collapse“. That said:
- there has been a “surge” of complaints, currently costing BrightHouse more than £1million a month;
- management is worried about getting increasing numbers of complaints from claims companies;
- they are talking to the FCA about a possible “Scheme of Arrangement” but discussions so far have proved “inconclusive”;
- accountancy firm Grant Thornton is said to be on standby if the company is forced to go into administration;
- “An insider close to one of BrightHouse’s shareholders said an insolvency was not inevitable but that it had become more likely in recent weeks.”
Now, with the new coronavirus problems this month, it is not surprising that BrightHouse has given up and gone into administration.
Background – BrightHouse’s high prices
The FCA found that high product prices plus high interest and the cost of insurance and warranties meant a customer could pay £800 over three years for a fridge that would cost £260 on the high street.
This cost is very high for many BrightHouse customers – only one third are in work and a half have children.
BrightHouse hasn’t been checking properly that the credit it is giving is affordable. The FCA says a loan is unaffordable if paying it leaves a customer so short of money they get behind with essential bills or have to borrow more.
This led to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) capping the cost of buying from BrightHouse, PerfectHome and other pay weekly shops from April 2019.
It wasn’t just a cap on the interest, where the FCA has imposed the same 100% cap that currently applies to payday lending. It included controls over the prices of the goods the shops are allowed to charge. Current prices are often much higher than for similar goods elsewhere. Controlling these was essential otherwise the shops can get around any interest rate cap by just upping their prices.
Customers have been making increasing numbers of affordability complaints. Brighthouse has said:
the level of redress claims from customers is putting increasing pressure on the available liquidity in the group.
Are you still paying Brighthouse for an item?
You may be struggling to pay the amounts even if you haven’t been affected by Coronavirus. If this is happening to you, contact BrightHouse using the form here http://www.brighthouse.co.uk/contact-us and ask for the payments to be reduced. Just say what you can now afford to pay.
You may be worried that the goods may be repossessed. This is VERY unlikely to happen.
Repossessing goods at the height of social distancing is going to be very hard. And I expect the administrators would much prefer to get reduced payments from you than have a lot of second-hand items to have to try to sell!
BAD NEWS – there will probably be no money to pay any refunds to customers
The latest administrators report says:
“it is unlikely that a distribution to unsecured creditors will be made.”
That is legal jargon for saying that customers who were sold items on unaffordable finance (“the unsecured creditors”) will not be paid anything at all.
Because of this, there is little point in making an affordability complaint now and I have deleted the section in this article that explained how to do this.
Craig says
Has anyone actually heard anymore from Brighthouse I put a complaint in january 2020 they acknowledged that but not heard anything else apart from a email telling me I could have 75% knocked off which I told them there was a complaint they tryed to tell me I had to pay and they deal with it later so I sent them a copy of a article on step change saying not to pay if there a complaint and they gone quiet for last 3 4 months I know they prob can’t give us anything but I paid well over what items where and shouldn’t been given items so want it offset and removed from my credit report
Christina Leigh says
I made a complaint in April 2020. Still been making payments in the meantime but I rang and emailed today to say that I wouldn’t be making anymore payments until the complaint had been dealt with. The call handler was rude and said I shouldn’t have got the items in the first place if I couldn’t afford them. Carol refused to provide me with her surname/managers details stating I had enough information to make a complaint against her for being rude. I began to record her and asked her to confirm she was refusing to provide me with her managers info and she confirmed that was correct.
Linda says
I recieved a letter from them with my arrears on it and they are now charging me for arrears even tho i have an affordability complaint in!
Craig says
Ah ok then so there still up to there old tricks then if u look up bright house on stepchange it comes up about not paying them if there a undelt complaint in they been dead quiet since I sent them a screen shot of that without charging me extra from what I’m aware maybe will work with u
Linda says
Thank you craig i will try that
Craig says
https://www.stepchange.org/brighthouse.aspx
This was the article I used it’s 3rd paragraph down I just screen shot it and sent it to them
Gemma says
How did you get on with your complaint as we are still waiting
Craig says
Bright house sold debt to aci I phoned them saying there’s a complaint in that Bright house ain’t looked in to so should never of sold it and I can prove it and how it wouldent stand up in court due to that now it’s with aci disputes department that was 3/4 days ago I haven’t heard the result from disputes yet every day just get a text saying how bright house debts with them and as a good will they removed all interest that Brighthouse put on so 2500 changed to 271
Sarah says
Hi keep getting letters from this company and someone came to my house yesterday.
Craig says
If u have a affordability complaint in phone fos they told me to tell aci as there fca regulated they are now responsible for the complaint less then 24 hours I got a email saying they don’t by disputed debts and they written it off before that they tryed everything even though I told them it’s disputed and brighthouse never even sent a final response to ring fca there tell u what to do
Hannah Longman says
Hi I have complained to brighthouse for an irresponsible lending in April this year. Its with customer relations joint administrators I have still not heard anything ill I keep getting is there is no time scale when it says it takes 8weeks yet I’ve waited 4 months to get interest back on all items .as I’ve been with brighthouse 13 years
Craig says
Proberly have a long wait I put a complaint in January 2020 I got a acknowledgment then and then they went bust and heard nothing more except trying to offer me 75% off the items which I told them I have a complaint and should not pay anything like step change have advised and I had a letter saying they removed interest over a 6 month period as they never sent me some letter when it was due I think we got a long wait from them lot
Daniel @ Bridget says
My wife phoned the administrator today trying to sort things out she got put on to some manager she explained the situation and he hung up the phone she phoned back several times and he cut her of every time she is now phoning customers service who is of no help atall we are now going to stop payments until it is all sorted out we have struggled to pay as much as we can in past 2 years we offers £10 each per week and they refused it we will wait until they contact us and accept the amount we Ofer’s if not we will not be paying them atall we have been with the company for 26 years way back when it was crazy George never missed payment has sent body had the same problem as us
adele says
Hi – I put in a claim for irresponsible lending with Brighthouse in March 2019 using Ingram Toft. After a few months I then asked Ingram Toft to send my claim to the Financial Ombudsman but then Brighthouse went into administration in March 2020 so X {claims firm] told me I would have to be patient – that was over 2 years ago – I regularly send emails to X for updates but am just told to be patient as Brighthouse are in administration. I put in my claim over 3 years ago – surely I should have had an update by now – is there anything I can do or anyone I can contact about this as X don’t seem to have done much for me over the last 3 years.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Claims firms aren’t generally much help and the one you named is no exception.
The administrators said in April that it is unlikely that there will be any money for distribution to people that should have got refunds, so they will probably not even ask people to make claims.
Who is getting the money? Well reading the latest administrators report https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/00785922/filing-history it sounds like Greensill – the large finance company advised by David Cameron who itself filed for insolvency protection last year – got £30million. Nice.
Do you currently owe them any money?
adele says
No – I managed, with help, to clear all my debt to Brighthouse – put in an irresponsible claim with them through X in March 2019
Sara (Debt Camel) says
then I am afraid you should expect to get nothing.
Do you have any other debts you could make affordabilty complainsts about? Has a credit card or catalogue or overdraft increased your limit to a level that was unaffordable?
adele says
Yes I have a couple of ongoing claims. I think that Brighthouse should just close all the claims against them instead of keeping people waiting for years – it is like everything has gone really quiet since they went into administraion in March 2020 – would be good if they could just make some sort of anouncement that everyone who has put in a claim will get nothing and then that will be the end of it – sad for everyone who has put in a claim like myself but it is better than all this holding on and being patient for an update that never comes.
Paul says
If everybody stops paying them they will eventually have to windup, at the moment they are still making 100s of thousands a week which are going to creditors and not customers, once the company has gone it will be removed off your credit file, while they are making money they will never stop, the same thing happened to wonga, once people stopped paying the company ceased to exist and was removed off peoples credit files.
Dave L says
I’ve made a complaint about Brighthouse and GT to the ICO for failing to update peoples credit files . Brighthouse found my complaint in my favour but then refused to compensate me and said I had no other recourse arrogantly. Wrong ICO now investigating them
Sarah h says
So all my debt with Brighthouse is in a debt relief order and I’ve been getting letters and emails from a debt company called ArI I’ve told the them and sent a copy of debt relief order yet someone came to my home yesterday asking for repayment. However I wasn’t home and got a letter in the door asking me to ring. I’ve been in the debt relief order since March 2022. Has anyone else been contacted by this company? Thanks Sarah
Sara (Debt Camel) says
tell the adviser that set up your DRO about this.
Craig says
I had this with aci brighthouse sold my debt when it was in dispute I informed aci tryed everything to carry it on I phoned fos withen 24 hours got a email saying they don’t buy disputed debts because of that they wiped it clean phone the fos asap
Paul whitehead says
Brighthouse always have been a joke of a company, the downside of all this is no matter what investigations take place now it’s over and done with, nothing left to investigate, no money to pay out, it’s just done, we just need them off our credit files.
Sharron says
So today I received 4 letters saying I owe them money for items that were sent back to the store as faulty just before it went into administration, I don’t have any paperwork but did put In a complaint and never heard anything back, should I be worried as I don’t own these things as they were returned but can’t find the paperwork from 2 years ago? I don’t want to have to pay for something that I don’t have, I have sent them an email and told them you actually owe me money for the payments I made before they were returned.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
did your complaint say the items had been returned?
Sharron says
I have just received a letter back to say there is no record of anything going back and no trace of the items in the inventory according to special codes on them so they won’t uphold my complaint, I don’t have these items so will they still chase me for payment even though someone’s not done their job correctly and logged the items, one of the items was refused at the door, I don’t know what else I can do?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
What date did you send a complaint and did it say you had returned the items?
Sharron says
I sent the complaint in over a year ago, got something back to say it is taking longer than expected, and no I didnt mention about the returned items as this was just a complaint about extortionate Apr and being overcharged.
I can’t prove the items were returned what can I do? Its nearly £2000.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
do you have any record that you returned the goods to the store? Was this before you made the complaint or after?
What are your finances like at the moment? Do these debts show on your credit record? As defaulted?
Craig says
Who else noticed that Brighthouse just closed there online portal for payments hopefully this the end and they start looking at complaints been waiting since March 2020 for them to even look at it and tired seeing late payments on my credit report from them
Erin says
They sent me a letter offering a reduced settlement payment even though I have a complaint in.
They gave me to the 15th October to accept the offer as basically this is the end of them from what I gathered from the letter.
They said pay the reduced amount and they’d then remove it from my credit file.
As they’d not responded to my complaint obviously this offer was ignored.
I think it was one last ditch attempt to get money before they finished for good.
Unsure as to what will happen with all the accounts now. Will they sell the debts on? Or will that be the end of it? Doubtful
Craig says
I had one them letters few years back I sent them a email and saying that step changed told me not to pay anything till they dealt with my complaint no more letters calls or anything just annoyingly sat on my credit report
Craig says
Fuming just received a letter from aci Brighthouse sold my debt without even looking at my complaint that’s been in since March 2020!!!!!
hayley stacey says
Just got a letter today to say that all my items are to be wiped off my account and nothing left to owe and they wi update my credit file
Sara lou says
Hi im currently in a debt relief order and I’ve received an email from ACI saying that they have bought all debt from Bright House. It’s asking me to pay 277 and how to pay. All my debt with Bright House is included in the debt relief order.
Do I contact this company and inform them or just ignore the email. As no contact except a phone number at 1.50 per min 🙈 has anyone else heard from thus company?
Sara (Debt Camel) says
reply by email giving the date of your DRO and saying the BH debts were included.
Amy Knowles says
I’ve had a letter a few days ago saying they’re wiping my file and will update everyone and my credit file accordingly (bhouse now removed of my credit file) and i owe nothing and keep the item I have
Craig says
Anyone who had a complaint in and it never got looked in to and sold to aci ring aci as I have explained situation apprently my accounts been put in to dispute as illegal for Brighthouse to sell debts and not look in to them the man I spoke to said a lot of people are calling in saying this you do need to send them a copy of the complaint the problem they got is they can’t get hold of Brighthouse but hay that’s not are problem
Craig says
Hi thought I’d let people know l g you had a complaint in with bright house and they sold
It to aci inform aci and the fos as I done this fos informed aci that they have brought my complaint so must deal with it as if the complaint went in with them as there fca regulated withen 24hrs said debt is now written off as aci do not intentionally buy disputed debts you got to be able to prove that you have a dispute in though now waiting to see brighthouse drop off my credit report
paul barrell says
I had got a tv from brighthouse some time back and before they stopped trading I had to pay 300 then I fine out the shop where I live was closing down so I asked how was I to pay them they said you can’t and now it is affecting my credit rating so who do I contact
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Is there a default date showing on your credit record?