TV rental payments

Firey_Jack

This is my first post so apologies if this is in the wrong place. I've searched and haven't found any answers to my question, so hopefully someone here will be able to help.

My husband and I rent our TV/video from Box Clever (yes, owning would be cheaper but we can't afford to buy at the moment) and were paying £17 monthly for the package. We rang them this morning to see if we could either get an upgrade for our money, OR find out what the current price plan was for the TV and video package we have. We were told it was now £12 a month - great!:T We then enquired as to whether we could reclaim the extra £5 a month we'd been overcharged for the package and were told that the new price plan was only effective from today...

This basically means that they could have lots of customers paying more than they need to be for package rentals. If we hadn't called today we'd have probably continued paying £17 a month for however long...

Do we have any rights to claiming back any money, from the date that they changed the price of the package we rent?

Thanks,

Firey Jack

dmg24

No, you have no rights to claim back the extra money paid. As long as it is not for certain discriminatory reasons (e.g. based on colour, sex, disability etc), the company can charge different customers different amounts as they wish.

Firey_Jack

Thanks for that...what a swizz though. Oh well, at least we changed the payment today and saved ourselves some money.

bristol_pilot

If you have been renting the package from Box Clever for a while, they may agree to sell you whatever you are renting at a knock-down price. We were paying £27/month for a package from Box Clever but were able to buy the equipment from them for only £100.

Firey_Jack

bristol_pilot - Only just seen your reply. Thanks - what a good idea. I'll look into this.

DUKE

Yes, many years ago my Mom rented a TV and they'd put her payments up .... I went to see them about it as she'd rented for many years, and they let me buy the TV for £100.

barbarawright

I rented from them and when I cancelled, they offered me my (very old) tv and video package for a tenner. Seriously. Though actually I didn't take them on it (no room) which they were obviously a bit annoyed about since they took a couple of months to collect them.

geordie_joe

What is the spec & age of the TV you are renting?

More to the point, do you use all the features on it, and can you live without some?

djheath

As you said you know you are paying too much when renting a TV, but as said above, do you use all the features of the TV?

I just sold a 26inch widescreen tv that was a few years old for £30, and I really struggled to find a buyer. I was on the verge of giving it away which I know a lot of people on freecycle do. It was a good TV too and looked great but was too big fot my flat.

Personally I would join a local freecycle group and snap up a TV when one comes available. Then stop renting and save the £17/£12 a month.

lynnexxxo

Asda had portable tvs for £44 before christmas, and 28' CRT ones for £129. Videos can be picked up in Argos for £15.

annie2005

Can I ask what you said to Boxclever to get them to admit to the price change. My mother rents from them and when I suggested she checked her accout with them they only offered to rent her a more expensive set. Is there a way to haggle with them to get them to offer her a deal? Or is it a case of them thinking that as a pensioner she's not worth the effort?

Any advice would be welcome.