it seems the rich really do get things for cheaper, also it's a scandal that most people on the breadline are forced to have the pre-payment meters for gas and electricity, and the associated higher tariffs. Never mind though, I'm sure there'll be words of consolation such as, "I'm alright Jack"

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-16348405

Pull the ladder up Mick

Its shit Mick,but pointless saying anything here as The Bunker philosophy is tough shit to anyone worse off than me & if anyones donig better than me jealousy dictates we must drag the bastards down & take it off them.

The thing is that these places offer a solution where the alternative was for folk to use a catalogue or be forced to save up for months to buy something that a lot of us take for granted.

Another point is that if an organisation like Barnardos felt inclined to do so they have the financial resources to open their own stores buying at wholesale prices and selling to those on low incomes at retail price allowing weekly payments. If they broke even on their costs but people got a fair deal that is more useful than bleating about it on the BBC website.

When I'm speaking to tenants I generally advise them against using shops like Brighthouse, Provident etc... We signpost them to credit unions but you'll find the lure of a 50 inch tv which you can have within a couple of days is simply too exciting to consider the alternatives!!

While Barnardos have shut up one building in this town they haven't lost many staff locally and are still doing a lot of very good work. Beyond the local picture as a national chairty they are one of the more financially secure charities and are much better placed than many to actually do something pro-active rather than simply talk about the problem. They turned over £240,000,000 in the year April 2010 - March 2011 a charity or company that size doesn't go pop overnight when it has more assets than liabilities so is hardly on its knees and unable to do something.

There are 2 things that are clear.

1) There is a demand for certain goods from people who aren't in a position to go and pay cash or take on standard credit agreements.

2) The current weekly payment store solutions make things hugely expensive in the long run for people and at least one of them requires you to go back to the shop on a weekly basis and be presented with things that look nice and seem temptingly priced at only another £5 per week.

I know of a few people who have ended up owing over the stores limit for things due to the way that stuff is pushed on them.

The thing is that beyond a charitable organisation plugging the gap and selling new good on a not for profit basis, the only other solution is to close the weekly payment stores down (which is probably impossible) and make people rely on second hand items which could end up more expensive if their second hand stuff keeps breaking down.

Chip if presenting a potential solution to a problem that I understand makes me the boards resident Clarkson you're entitled to your opinion not that you'll read this as you're ignoring me.

That's very true. As is how ludicrously easy it seems to be to borrow cash at mental rates of interest from Wonga etc. I saw one advertised on tv this morning where you can borrow up to £2000 a year at an interest rate of 278% APR!!!!

The trouble is a lot of people look at that and think £2k wonderful and its only going to cost us £x a month and rarely add up that it will cost them £4k to pay back and any missed payments are probably worse than having borrowed from a dodgy bloke with a big stick and rotweiller.

The fault is that nobody is taught about APR and savings v borrowing from a young age, and the people who give advice are generally those who are seeking to profit from selling you what they are advising you to buy.

That's the problem. And the numb gets think they're getting a good deal because they only pay £7 a week or something.

If you only have a spare tenner a week and try saving for a £600 tv I can guarantee that something else will eat your money before you get £600 in the pot.

If a shop offers you that TV next week at £7 a week over 150 weeks it will be very hard to resist, especially if your mates all have one and you're watching everything on an old knackered TV.

The crux of the matter is these people don't have jobs and probably never will, this fuels the debt culture, and that will have an affect on all of us. Things will only get worse. It pains me to say this but this country is well and truly f*ck*d!!,Its a race to the bottom of the barrel, unless instead of tearing strips off each other, we awake from our slumber and stand up as one to the rich b*st*rds who are shafting us.

Agree the overall cost should be more transparent.
But at the end of the day its down to credit worthiness, the more likely a person is to default the higher you have to charge everyone to make money once those defaults have been built into your cost model.
Its the same reason Italys borrowing costs were so high recently.

Its also why refusing to let companies do proprer financial checks on people doesn't work as the 'not knowing' part leads to higher charges for everyone.

Don't forget that these companies force insurance onto the purchaser too. Which is probably why so many of these 50' tellys seem to get stolen only to be replaced after the Police have issued a crime number, by a spookily similar model.