Electricals retailer BrightHouse has been instructed by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to cough up £14.8mln to customers who were mis-sold items “on tick”.
Some 249,000 customers who are waiting for refunds after cancelling agreements during the “cooling off” period after purchase will be recompensed by BrightHouse.
The FCA said BrightHouse had not acted as a “responsible lender”, lending money to customers who were most unlikely to be able to afford the monthly payments.
BrightHouse has apologised to customers and said it had “identified customers that may have been treated unfairly where its processes fell short of FCA expectations”.
BrightHouse working with the FCA since 2014
Jonathan Davidson, executive director of supervision at the FCA, said he was pleased that BrightHouse had agreed to provide redress to those customers affected by the retailer’s iffy loans procedures.
BrightHouse has been working with the FCA since 2014 to get its house in order after the watchdog expressed alarm at the retailer’s lending assessment and collections processes.
“This [redress] scheme continues our work with the rent-to-own sector to resolve the concerns we have previously identified.
“Responsible lending and the fair treatment of consumers, especially those in financial difficulties or who are vulnerable, are key priorities for us,” Davidson said.
