Hire purchase robbery

THE EDITOR: As the cost of living continues to rise and good paying jobs are extremely difficult to get and hold on to, I want to take the opportunity to discourage people from purchasing goods on hire purchase. From my experience it is better to do without certain material things than getting involved with companies that don't care about your well-being or your future.

We live in a society where companies have meetings every Monday morning to discuss plans on how to get you to spend most of your hard earned money. The hire purchase plan is designed to take the money you have, in addition to the money you have not yet earned. In some cases you end up paying more than double the value of the product at the end of the agreement.

A hire purchase is an agreement drawn up and tragically signed by the hirer and the company doing the lending. It is an agreement whereby a buyer hires property for a period by paying regular monthly installments and can take claim or own the property after the payment of all the installments.

As soon as the contract is signed, the hirer acquires possession of the property and the right to use the property over an agreed period although it is not yet owned. The ownership of the property remains with the lending institution until the hirer pays all of his/her installments.

Each installment paid by the hirer is treated as hire charges for using the property or assets. In case he fails to pay any of the installments, even the last one, the vendor or finance company takes back the hired property without any compensation whatsoever for the hirer. If you are unable to afford a product with one purchase than my advice would be to wait and save until you can.

Many people are complaining about the increase in super gas, but I am not seeing people cut back on spending money on unnecessary material products which some purchase just to keep up with or compete with their neighbours. We are living in a day and time of great deception.

Simon Wright, Chaguanas

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