Coin meters? homebuygroup?

tbourner

We had a leaflet through the door from homebuygroup saying you can get TVs, washers and fridge freezers with coin meters to pay for them?

Their website is rubbish, just wants you to phone them all the time, doesn't actually answer anything. So how does it work?

In the FAQs it just mentions TVs, saying you get a coin meter on the TV to charge you, and you can get other appliances. We need a new washing machine but does that mean we'd have to get a new TV as well to pay for the washing machine?

All seems like a very odd concept, and I guess it's way overpriced compared to buying one on a credit card for example?

safesound

Yes they are overpriced but so are catalogues and enough people seem to buy from them.
How it works is they attach a coin machine to your tv that limits the time it comes on to say 4 hours for a pound. If you don't put money in the tv just wont switch on, however you put a pound in and it magically does . (I can explain how but its not really relevant)
I remember having one of these when I was a small child, it was darned infuriating but it allowed my single parent mother to buy necessities such as a cooker or a settee that she couldn't have bought otherwise.

tbourner

Does that mean you have to get a TV from them though? If I want a washing machine do they put a meter on the washing machine instead? All the wording on their website seems to point to having a TV like that's all you can have!

StumpyPumpy

tbourner wrote: »

Does that mean you have to get a TV from them though? If I want a washing machine do they put a meter on the washing machine instead? All the wording on their website seems to point to having a TV like that's all you can have!

No, you buy the products from them - see www.homebuygroup.com/DownloadCatalogue.aspx for more information.

If you are planning to go this route the typical APR is 39.9% and, of course you have to pay whatever they want to charge for the goods in the first place - in a random search for HOT-WDL540P (a Hotpoint Washer Drier) the first page on Google lists the price as £333.90: the "cash price" shown by Homebuygroup is £502.00 (with a final price of £1014 over 3 years with optional maintenance cover £798.72 without)

I appreciate that I have the luxury of not having to buy anything on the "never never" but I would recommend trying anywhere, and everywhere else first to get a more affordable deal before paying up to 3 times over the odds for it.

HTH

SP