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Low-pay Britain, where working families have to rent a fridge
theguardian.com ^ | 15 February 2015 | Heather Stewart

Posted on 02/16/2015 10:43:40 AM PST by Berlin_Freeper

There’s a minor domestic crisis in any family when the fridge-freezer breaks down. Wasted food; no fresh milk; pools of water on the kitchen floor. But for some households, the demise of the washing machine, the tumble dryer or the telly is more than a hiccup – it throws up a major financial challenge.

That’s where firms like BrightHouse come in: pop into one of its 291 stores, and instead of having to find several hundred pounds up front, you can replace a busted appliance for a much more manageable £10-£15 a week.

Except there’s a sting in the tail. When MPs on the all-party parliamentary group on debt and personal finance looked into these “rent-to-own” retailers, of which BrightHouse is the leader, they found that by the time delivery charges, insurance and servicing are loaded on, consumers who can ill afford it end up paying several times over. One fridge-freezer with a five-year service plan, which sells for £644 at middle-class favourite John Lewis, ended up costing £1,716.

(Excerpt) Read more at theguardian.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; United Kingdom
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To: Berlin_Freeper

If you don’t want to pay the $10-$15 a month, then pay the $650. If you can’t afford the $650, then be grateful for the alternative.

They are creating a controversy where there isn’t one. I’ve done the rent-to-own thing several times. Back when I couldn’t afford anything and didn’t have credit, it was a blessing.

Things in Britain cost about twice what they do here. Thats due to the tax built in. A social paradise has costs. Everyone thinks the other guy is going to pay for it, but its the poor who wind up paying with higher prices and lost opportunities.


41 posted on 02/16/2015 11:43:54 AM PST by marron
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To: 21twelve

In earlier times I had heard of London homes which had gas meters which required you to drop coins in a slot.


42 posted on 02/16/2015 11:45:00 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Mercat

I have a big desk in my office at home. I am not sure if I will ever be able to get it out of the house again.


43 posted on 02/16/2015 11:46:03 AM PST by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: cripplecreek

If you ever decide you want a dryer again, these guys can hook you up.

http://www.southhillsusedwashersanddryers.com/

They’ve developed a huge following, since Obama’s eco-friendly “green” washers and dryers just can’t cut the mustard.


44 posted on 02/16/2015 11:46:38 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog
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To: Berlin_Freeper

Don’t they have Craigslist over there?


45 posted on 02/16/2015 11:48:24 AM PST by equaviator (There's nothing like the universe to bring you down to earth.)
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To: Mercat

You are correct. No one is forcing anyone to rent a fridge for $20 a week. I find it a bit strange, but these “rental” outfits seem to be doing well hereabouts.


46 posted on 02/16/2015 11:50:12 AM PST by Eric in the Ozarks (Rip it out by the roots.)
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To: Gay State Conservative

“Ten bucks says they don’t have to rent their beer, their fags or their football tickets.”

One always rents beer. How much of it does one actually get to keep?


47 posted on 02/16/2015 11:58:36 AM PST by castlebrew (Gun Control means hitting where you're aiming!))
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To: Da Coyote

“Sixty pounds a month?

Highway robbery.”

More like a “stupid tax”.


48 posted on 02/16/2015 12:06:36 PM PST by Boogieman
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To: napscoordinator

If you buy a 25 SQ’ French door refrigerator with Ice and Water through the door and pay full price, maybe. I just bought a 30” wide french door with water through the door for $1,200 a washer and dryer for $650 for the set (gas dryer) and the only reason I spent so much on the refrigerator was because I really wanted a top fridge french door and I have a limited space situation. Had I been able to buy a bigger one I could have paid less. Regardless a very good Fridge Freezer at 20 sq’ is still under $600 in most appliance stores. For fifty bucks more you can get an Ice maker.

You can find $3,000 refrigerator for home use, but if you want to pay that much for a Sub-Zero you are better off to get a commercial product is a better fit & better quality than ridiculously h for high end home appliances.

For Example:

http://www.hhgregg.com/appliances-home/refrigerators


49 posted on 02/16/2015 12:09:27 PM PST by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: napscoordinator

another example:

http://www.hhgregg.com/haier-18-1-cu-ft-top-freezer-refrigerator/item/HT18TS32SW


50 posted on 02/16/2015 12:11:27 PM PST by Jim from C-Town (The government is rarely benevolent, often malevolent and never benign!)
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To: castlebrew

The part that appears around one’s waist.


51 posted on 02/16/2015 12:11:38 PM PST by HartleyMBaldwin
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To: NorthstarMom
You can dry clothes outside in the winter, if you get enough sun, but it can be tricky.

Or you can just use the "Kramer" method :)


52 posted on 02/16/2015 12:12:08 PM PST by Boogieman
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To: NorthstarMom
Right now we just smack it a few times to get the drum spinning.

Anything against spending a few dollars on a repair service, or looking at YouTube videos to see if you can actually fix the sensor that's likely stuck?

53 posted on 02/16/2015 12:18:32 PM PST by Lou L (Health "insurance" is NOT the same as health "care")
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To: cripplecreek
"I hang my clothes on the line during the summer "

Oh lucky you because your HOA or city councikl does not prohibit that.

54 posted on 02/16/2015 12:20:37 PM PST by I am Richard Brandon
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To: Jim from C-Town

Holy cow.....great bargains. Thank you for the link.....I have to replace the dishwasher soon so this will be very helpful.


55 posted on 02/16/2015 12:40:35 PM PST by napscoordinator (Walker for President 2016. The only candidate with actual real RESULTS!!!!! The rest...talkers!)
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To: Berlin_Freeper

Even if you own your telly you have to buy an annual license from the BBC. The annual licence fee is £145.50 for each color set and £49.00 for black and white TV.


56 posted on 02/16/2015 12:44:17 PM PST by The Great RJ (Pants up...Don't loot!)
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To: Jim from C-Town

We hired some big guys to do this last move and they managed but just. The thing is a monster.


57 posted on 02/16/2015 12:50:11 PM PST by Mercat (Many people merely want relief, not healing.)
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To: cripplecreek
I hang my clothes on the line during the summer and during the winter I hang them on the sun porch where a space heater provides heat.

You sound like one of my wife's brothers. He hangs his clothes on clothes-lines. Says he doesn't need a dryer, and lives very simply (and cheaply). I have fond memories of helping my mom hang clothes on a clothes-line, and retrieving downed clothes from the yard on windy days. She also used a scrub-board in the bathtub for washing clothes, until my dad bought her a washing machine. It had a set of rollers on top for inserting clothing to wring out water. People take modern appliances for granted today, but they weren't a necessity in the past.

58 posted on 02/16/2015 1:15:11 PM PST by roadcat
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To: Lou L

We need to re-build the fund as we recently repaired the fridge, oven and washing machine along with replacing the dishwasher.

The YouTube video is a good idea. I’m pretty cautious about working with gas appliances so that has been what has held me back from some DIY. My husband is very handy at just about anything that does not involve machines ;)so I haven’t pushed him to do it either.


59 posted on 02/16/2015 1:43:45 PM PST by NorthstarMom (My)
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To: The Great RJ

Monty Python “Cat Detector Van” sketch is priceless.

“The man told me that their equipment could pinpoint a purr at forty yards, and Eric being such a happy cat was a piece of cake!”


60 posted on 02/16/2015 2:35:57 PM PST by elcid1970 ("I: am a radicalized infidel.")
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