Hitachi Capital

Paully232000

jonesMUFCforever wrote: »

I would do it by getting a purchase free credit card offer.

Look at the small print of this - I think they (or similar companies) charge a fee even for paying before the interest free time is up, and they will not advice you prior to the time elapsing, so if you are even 1 date late in paying BANG they apply all of the interest.

We had both a physical letter and at least two emails (that I can find) from hitatchi finance prior to the interest free period finishing spelling out what would happen if we didn't pay before the end of the 12 months. The fee for paying early worked out as about 2.5% of the balance.

nidO

Paully232000 wrote: »

The fee for paying early worked out as about 2.5% of the balance.

FWIW, that 2.5% fee wasn't for settling early, it was for doing so via credit card - They charge nothing for settling early by debit card, bank transfer, or cheque.

Paully232000

nidO wrote: »

FWIW, that 2.5% fee wasn't for settling early, it was for doing so via credit card - They charge nothing for settling early by debit card, bank transfer, or cheque.

No it wasn't, I paid with a debit card, there was an extra 2.5% for paying with a credit card, but this figure that I worked out to be about 2.5% (£29) was an admin charge.

"Please check your agreement details:

Your agreement number: XXXX

Account Name:XXXXX

Bank Account Number (last four digits): XXXX Bank Sort Code: XXX Monthly Payment Amount: £53.94 Number of Monthly Payments: 36
Start date for payments: 19/01/2015
You may change your payment date after your first payment has been made. The first change of date is on us - we'll do it for free. As any further changes to your collection date mean more work for us we will need to make a small charge of £10 for each change you ask for. Please note you must make at least one payment each calendar month. The details for your Direct Debit are: Service user Number: XXXX Reference Number: XXX

Your Deferral Period End Date: 19/01/2015

Please note that interest is charged on this agreement and accrues throughout the length of your agreement, including the deferral period. If you pay the full amount of credit before the Deferral Period End Date you will not have to pay any interest. However, there will be an administration charge of £29.00."

uncreative

paid off with no interest as was within the timeframe of the agreements

quinndelfre

I'm getting conflicting info on paying early. Is there or is there not an early settlement charge? It says no early settlement charge on Ernest and Jones website, and when I called Hitachi Capital they also said they don't charge anything.

This is also the first time I heard about the charge for changing the payment date. Do you mean I have to pay on an exact date each month, and can't pay before that date without a payment date change charge?

Paully232000

Hitachi capital are fine, but my agreement with them was a deferred payment agreement, slightly different to Ernest Jones deal.
I paid nothing for 12 months, no monthly payments.

So maybe not comparable in terms of fees to pay etc.

nidO

It looks like it depends on exactly what agreement you have, and possibly with which retailer.
I had assumed that Hitachi Personal Finance issued their 0% interest finance deals on the same terms, but I guess it's possible that they have different deals with different retailers over what terms to offer, presumably depending on what the retailer pays them for the finance agreement.

Paully232000's post above seems to make it quite clear that in an agreement he has with them an admin charge of £29 will apply for early settlement.
However, I currently also have an active agreement with them through DFS and have had another in the past for some carpets, and in both cases there is no admin charge or fee of any kind for paying off early.

Regarding changing payment date this could therefore possibly also vary depending on the retailer. In the case of both my current and past finance agreement with them, they permit you to make one payment date change free of charge, any further changes to payment date after that has an admin fee of £10.