Beware of Blue Hippo and others like it
Clark Howard, WSB-TV consumer adviser
Tonight you may spot an ad on TV offering an affordable computer you can buy regardless of your credit! But I say, "buyer beware," and it turns out so do hundreds of customers who feel they got burned by "Blue Hippo"!
More than a month ago, William Powers made a down payment on a computer from Blue Hippo. So where's the computer?
"I don't have it."
William says he was watching TV when the Blue Hippo ad caught his eye!
"I never thought I could get a computer with my bad credit."
Blue Hippo promises approval to anyone for low, weekly payments for one year. But you've got to make 13 payments up front before you get the merchandise!
William says he agreed to let Blue Hippo debit his checking account for all 13 payments at once to speed up the process.
"So they took the money out of my account and promised they would send the contract as soon as they received the money," he says.
That's right. Blue Hippo got paid before William agreed to the terms in writing. And it took the company a month to finally send him that contract!
I hate this on so many levels, Clark says. Number one I don't ever want you giving someone access to your bank account. Number two - you can look in the paper day after day and find incredible deals on computers that cost a fraction of this!
The moment someone says your credit doesn't matter and you're going to be instantly approved, you should know that you're going to be paying a higher cost for the good in general.
Channel 2's Internet expert looked over Williams' contract and then tried to order the same computer directly from Gateway. Even the company's most basic model has more power, more hard drive space and more memory than the Blue Hippo model. And look at the difference in price. Gateway's was just over 600 bucks. Blue Hippo's was more than $2,400!
William knew he'd pay more but thought the advertised rebate would offset the difference!
"I figured wow - $900.. that's a pretty good deal, I thought."
The Maryland Better Business Bureau says differently. They've got more than 800 complaints on file about Baltimore-based Blue Hippo.
Significantly, over 200 of those are related to delivery of the product and to people not receiving the goods after making full installment. Blue Hippo has a "no refunds" policy and the BBB says the company frequently ignores a customer's request to cancel the order.
William is keeping a close eye on his bank account and still wants his computer.
"I kept my end of the bargain," he says.
So, what do you do if your credit's not great and you don't have cash? Put a computer on layaway from an established retailer. You can buy at zero percent interest and when you finish you own a computer and still have a chunk of change in your pocket you wouldn't have otherwise.
And remember that when someone offers you extra low payments weekly, you're going to get burned!
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