We looked at the Brighthouse website. Goods are priced up with how much customers pay each week and how much the goods cost in total. A Philips Audio System, was advertised at £219.98.
Weekly payments are £2.03 for three years. The total cost, clearly displayed, is £316.68, almost half as much again on top of the cash price. The website says customers may have to take out Damage Liability Cover if they don’t have home contents insurance and it says optional Service Cover costs £1.09 a week. In total, with this cover, payments would total £486.72, well over twice as much as the stereo itself costs. A few quid a week sounds good but there is a difference between affordable and value for money.
Online store Amazon sells the Philips FWM377 Audio System for £155.01 (reduced from £201.05).
Leanne could have applied for a loan from the Bristol Credit Union. Paying £5 a week, a loan of £150 would have been clear in just 33 weeks, not three years. Interest would only have cost £11.83.
If Leanne spread payments over three years, she’d have paid £1.36 per week. Interest would only have been £60.11.
Credit Unions are community-based schemes, not businesses making profits for shareholders, so are affordable and value for money.