Does Trisha really think Brighthouse are a good deal?

A reader informs us that Brighthouse are to sponsor the Trisha Goddard show on Channel 5 and that Trisha herself is reported as saying: “I am delighted we have teamed up with BrightHouse to sponsor my show. I relish the challenges involved in helping real people solve their problems in order to live better, more fulfilling, lives and it's great that BrightHouse share those aspirations.”

This, of course, is about a company that charges people on low incomes over £700 for a washing machine worth more like £300, and which ex-customers have prevoiusly reported uses aggressive, bully boy tactics to collect money from people in real financial difficulties.

Guy Hands, the multi-millionaire behind private equity firm Terra Firma Capital Partners which owns Brighthouse has already been featured in Debt on our Doorstep's newsletters in our Who's Who in Predatory Lending section. This is what a Dood supporter wrote about Brighthouse then:

"Me and my partner missed a payment near Christmas and when we went to pay up to date they said they needed a week in advance as well and refused to accept the payment. Since then we have taken the goods back which they never gave us any paperwork for and they are now saying they haven’t received these.

We weren’t given the choice about the ‘Optional Service Cover’ they said it was compulsory. We have been trying to sort out reduced instalments to pay our remaining items off as we have paid over three quarters of the total amount to them.

Today we got a knock on the door from two men in a white van saying they where from BrightHouse. One of them tried to climb the back fence and was only scared off because we have a dog. One man asked to come in. My partner and I refused entry so he called the other man to come over. They told me they needed an immediate payment of £5263.51. I told them I did not have the money but would willingly pay in instalments. He told me he would need to take the stuff from the property. I advised him he would need to get a court order. He told us that “we don’t know who we are messing with”. Eventually they left after sitting outside in the van for another half an hour. He also knocked so hard on the door we are having problems closing it since.”

On her website, http://www.trishatv.com/ Trisha has a forum for viewers to post comments. Tell her how you feel today.