new council tenants, need help to get funding for new carpets, furnishings etc

katiesmummy

jamespir wrote: »

well everyone has there horror stories

Not being rude, but if you google Bright House, you will find no end of horror stories about them as a company and about their employees.

The interest rate they charge is extortionate, they send huge men to your house to scare the hell out of you if you miss a single payment, they will not negotiate on one single thing even if you are upfront and honest with them and say you cannot afford to keep up the payments any longer.

Bright House are an awful company, they really really are.

Robbie64

There's a number of threads in MSE and elsewhere about Brighthouse. Used to be called Crazy George's many years ago. I would only use them as a last resort as they charge an exorbitant amount.

To the OP: contact your housing officer to see if they know of somewhere local that does cheap furniture for people on very low incomes. Where I live there is a shop that will provide very cheap furniture to people who are on benefit and can't get a budgeting loan. You have to show your letter from the social fund showing no budgeting loan was payable but in return they will provide the basics for a very small cost which is mainly to meet delivery costs.

I wouldn't wait around to move in to the property, legally you aren't supposed to be paid Housing Benefit until you are occupying your property which means you are supposed to be living there and not just renting it. There's always going to be some leeway within this but if you wait too long to move in properly you could find yourself being overpaid HB.

bestpud

I agree with katiesmummy - don't touch brighthouse with a bargepole!!

You pay many times over for the 'easy' credit!

It's just not worth it when you have other options available to you.

You could also start putting a little into a credit union savings account every week as they offer low cost loans.

Not all ask you to save first but it's worth doing so anyway as it goes in your favour when you apply for a loan.

We all want everything to look nice from the start but few of us can achieve it. You will feel much better in the long run for taking your time and managing without bad debt.

Write a plan starting with necessities and work your way through - I've done that for the best part of this year as I've been decorating every room in my house.

It's taken a good while but I've paid up front for everything by selling some stuff, taking my time, shopping around and using money given me for my birthday and Christmas.

If you have a list you can also plan ahead when things are on offer.

You'll get there - use this site as there is loads of info to draw on.

katiesmummy

bestpud wrote: »

I agree with katiesmummy - don't touch brighthouse with a bargepole!!

You pay many times over for the 'easy' credit!

It's just not worth it when you have other options available to you.

You could also start putting a little into a credit union savings account every week as they offer low cost loans.

Not all ask you to save first but it's worth doing so anyway as it goes in your favour when you apply for a loan.

We all want everything to look nice from the start but few of us can achieve it. You will feel much better in the long run for taking your time and managing without bad debt.

Write a plan starting with necessities and work your way through - I've done that for the best part of this year as I've been decorating every room in my house.

It's taken a good while but I've paid up front for everything by selling some stuff, taking my time, shopping around and using money given me for my birthday and Christmas.

If you have a list you can also plan ahead when things are on offer.

You'll get there - use this site as there is loads of info to draw on.

Bestpud can you use the credit union if you have an iffy credit rating? I want to start putting a bit of money away each month and would be nice to know I could get a loan on the strength of my savings if needed!

Sorry to hijack thread op.

amersall

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

You can do children a lot of damage if you put them in one of those!;)

:cool: Pmsl :rotfl::rotfl:

Minerva69

NeverInDebt wrote: »

In some areas they have charities that do up furniture and the like and sell cheap sometimes offering discounts for people on benefits

I would second this - definitely worth finding out about. We have one in our area, and where my Dad lives they have one. He has recently moved into a sheltered housing flat and got it all kitted out for about £300 (it already had carpets though), he didn't have anything at all when he moved in. It's basic stuff but in decent condition and he's happy with it.

Indie_Kid

OP - have you asked friends and family for any help with furniture?

katiesmummy

If you are insistent on carpets and that they have to be new the best thing I can suggest is offcuts or end of rolls and you lay it yourself- be careful with delivery charges though, IIRC Carpet Right charged me around £40 to deliver 2 offcuts 5 years ago!

thorsoak

Look in all the home decor magazines? What's on the floors of most of these rooms? Nothing! People spend fortunes on putting down floorboards - you'll already have them! Bang down the nails, hire a sanding machine, a couple of coats of varnish - and your floor will be wonderful! You can varnish or paint the stairs too and they will look fantastic.

Easier to clean - you can sweep them clean, then mop up any spills - you'll not get nasty bugs lurking in the floorboards as you can get with carpets, and in fact it is advised by quite a lot of clinics dealing with asthmatic children that you do away with carpets.

Use your ingenuity - you don't need to borrow money to make a good home - you'll find some fantastic bargains if you post on your local free cycle or freegle - good luck.

katiesmummy

thorsoak wrote: »

Look in all the home decor magazines? What's on the floors of most of these rooms? Nothing! People spend fortunes on putting down floorboards - you'll already have them! Bang down the nails, hire a sanding machine, a couple of coats of varnish - and your floor will be wonderful! You can varnish or paint the stairs too and they will look fantastic.

Easier to clean - you can sweep them clean, then mop up any spills - you'll not get nasty bugs lurking in the floorboards as you can get with carpets, and in fact it is advised by quite a lot of clinics dealing with asthmatic children that you do away with carpets.

Use your ingenuity - you don't need to borrow money to make a good home - you'll find some fantastic bargains if you post on your local free cycle or freegle - good luck.

I would love to have wood floors- unfortunately we have some weird looking green stuff instead!

OP your local hire place shouldn't charge too much for loan of a sander- the biggest outlay will probably be the deposit which you will get back.