BrightHouse has filed for administration. The rent-to-own company provides household items such as televisions, cookers, washing machines and furniture on a high interest pay-weekly hire purchase agreement.

BrightHouse customers should continue with their repayments, even with the company going into administration. PCCU know that a number of account holders have used the pay weekly store; you must keep up with repayments in order to avoid a negative impact on your credit score. BrightHouse or the administrators will contact you with any changes to your contract.

The current coronavirus outbreak has resulted in 240 BrightHouse stores closing across the UK, making it almost impossible for the company to continue, however before the health crisis BrightHouse were already looking at administration after suffering a £43.5m pre-tax loss according to multiple reports at the start of March.

Credit Unions across the UK are well placed to provide the money members of the community need to purchase, not rent, electrical items such as TV’s, cookers or washing machines. If you have used or considered the pay weekly stores for furniture in the past – PCCU should be your first stop. Our interest rates are certainly cheaper, we do not require you to buy insurance which many BrightHouse customers did not need and you can be sure we only operate to benefit you and your neighbours – not fat cat shareholders.

There will be little joy for the 2,400 BrightHouse employees that face being out of work at an uncertain time, however it is hard to shed a tear for the company when people in the Burnley and Pendle communities have been purchasing items with representative interest rates of 69.9%APR, with some items attracting interest rates as high as 99.9%APR.

Unfortunately it may not be good news for those who are currently waiting on mis-selling complaints, in a similar situation to those who were waiting on repayment from payday lender Wonga when it went into administration in 2018. Where Wonga customers received around 5% of the value of their claims

Its insolvency is likely to mean that customers with outstanding mis-selling complaints will receive only a fraction of the sums they are seeking.

Mark Kleinman, Sky News

PCCU will not mourn the closing of BrightHouse. However if you’re one of 200,000 BrightHouse customers around the country who felt you had no options but to use the high interest pay weekly stores then contact your local Credit Union today.