In reply to dread-i:
Your devil’s advocate is a good jumping off point for my perspective...
> A family on a low wage or benefits may need a washing machine because theirs has broken. Ten pounds per week, or similar, is probably not far off what they would pay at the launderette.
I once got a used, 8 year old washing machine delivered and installed for £40. It didn’t take me long to find or arrange.
> A more interesting question may be, who else could fill this need for credit?
If people are prepared to manage their expectations, a credit union perhaps. £40 for a used washer isn’t much to borrow, and saves a minimum of £250 over brighthouse. Or forget the loan; 7 weeks of hand washing and not paying shitehouse would save the money to buy it, vs 1-4 more years of repayments.
Then, that £250 saved is enough to get a used dryer, some used furniture, and a throw to go over it, saving another £1200 over brighthouse. Keep this up for a decade on a minimum wage job up north and you can own your own house and everything in it.
Credit addiction serves one purpose, which is to bleed off every single spare penny from someone without the skill or interest to plan more than a day ahead. It bleeds off all their spare productive capacity right in to the hands of scum in cheap suits. It forms a trap that is very hard to get out of, and that will inflict years of pain after the benefits stop. Unlike class A drugs I’m not sure people get much of an upside from it that they couldn’t get a lot more cheaply.
> It keeps them away from payday lenders and their extortionate interest rates.
Shut them down and go after the criminal alternatives.
Post edited at 22:03