High street hire to own chain Brighthouse has gone into administration.
Last month the chain announced plans to axe 30 stores in a bid to salvage the company.
Then all stores had to close because of the coronavirus lockdown. It now appears all 240 stores will remain closed and 2,400 employees will lose their jobs.
Its 200,000 customers will need to keep making payments,
It adds to a year of upheaval for BrightHouse, which announced in January that its chief executive Hamish Paton is to leave the company after two-and-a-half years at the helm.
Last year the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) watchdog proposed the introduction of a price cap on firms like BrightHouse, with the aim of protecting consumers from being charged excessive costs on essential household items.
The City watchdog said customers were often among the most financially vulnerable people in society, and in some cases they were paying up to four times the average retail price due to high interest payments on items.
In 2017, BrightHouse paid out £14.8 million in redress to 249,000 customers after the FCA found it did not act as a “responsible lender”.
