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- Firm uses a prepayment meter to cut customers TV line if they don't pay
- Around 59,000 customer will receive compensation from Buy as You View
- The regulator said it didn't set out fees fairly to customers
Thousands of households that have bought electronics and furniture through a weekly payment scheme could be in line for compensation after a regulator crackdown. Dunraven Finance Ltd, which trades under the name Buy as You View, rents out items on hire purchase. This includes televisions that use a prepayment meter, which switch off if the customer misses a payment. Around 59,000 customers are due compensation payouts totalling £939,000 after the firm was found guilty of unfair practices. The regulator said the company did not set out its fees clearly to customers, it didn't treat customers who were in arrears fairly and the firm's assessments of customer's credit worthiness were not robust enough. The firm, based in Bridgend in South Wales, has agreed to pay the compensation by the end of 2016. A full rebate for failed direct debit charges will be paid out to 58,232 customers totalling £706,000 through a cheque or balance adjustment.The fees charged when customers took out a refinancing agreement will also be returned and 1,610 customers will receive a split of £74,000......Read more here