Remember the words of P.T. Barnum and W.C. Fields? [except that P.T. is credited with something he did not say] The quote was supposed to be “There’s a sucker born every minute, and two to take him!”

Most people could do much better in life if only a small amount of thought was put forth first.

I’m actually surprised that someone has not exposed the fact that BlueHippo is a form of loansharking. Viggerish the mafia could be proud of.

Hi Marc,
I think you were kind using the word “loansharking”. It is more like theft plain and simple!
Ron

Well, this is obviously aimed at people who have no or bad credit and can’t get a computer any other way. They think.

By the time they pay the initial fee and wait 6 weeks, they will have paid about 340.00 and will have received nothing.

I figure that by the time 6 weeks has gone by and they determine if they will finance you and order your computer and it gets shipped, you will have at least another week or two invested or another 40.00 to 80.00, so you will have at a minimum 380.00 you have spent.

I found a laptop at eCost with virtually the same specs except a Dual Layer DVD-RW drive and built in wireless for 450.00. So, if people just saved the money, they would end up being able to afford the laptop on their own in just a couple more weeks.

The fact that they don’t do the research and find this out for themselves is why they get suckered into deals with places like BlueHippo and probably why they have no or bad credit!!

PeoplePC used to be that kind of outfit. Now they’re an ISP.

These places are quite numerous, they crop up like weeds and disappear almost as quickly. I’d like to say that most people are too smart to fall for these scams, but the sad truth is most people are complete morons. If it weren’t true these places wouldn’t exist.

Well, certainly no bargain, but if you have lousy credit, this might be your only option.

Something else to consider. Were you aware people with lousy credit typically pay a higher percentage rate on car loans, etc.? Where’s the outrage there?

Hello TusconMatt,
I like the idea of saving to buy. Paying BH $40 a week or saving the $40 a week yourself than applying it towards the purchase makes more sense.

Hi anonymous,
Same with spam. If it weren’t for the dummies who buy the Viagra online, spam would die over night.

Greg,
Could point.

Thanks for the comments everyone,
Ron

I was, for several years, in the furniture & appliance ” Rent to Own” business. This is basically the same kind of thing. Yes, the prices charged are very high. The reasons for that are as follows.

One. No credit is required, which leaves the rental agent no way to recover a loss legally except to follow the delinqent around asking for the merchandise back.

Two. 90% of all returned or recovered merchandise is broken or completely trashed & now unusable.

Three. As much as 30% of customers will skip with the agents merchandise.

Therefore an agent must recover his cost of the merchandise in just 3 months to be able to keep buying more merchandise to rent.

All terms are laid out in advance & no one is ever forced to use this option to get things. The prices charged are governed by the above info so , Yes , the prices seem quite high. The agent is GAMBLING from the very start of this kind of operation and customers are paying for the actions of former customers.

That being said. It seems that this Blue Hippo requires his investment in merchandise paid before he ever gives out any merchandise. I think Blue Hippo is overpriced but in no way is it not doing business in an acceptable manner. Remember, he will give the machine to anyone, despite a previous record of non payment. All prudent businesspeople have insurance of some sort.

Hello Fred,
Thanks for sharing your experiences with us. Maybe Rent To Own businesses could do the same thing. Use a kind of layaway plan. Once the item is paid for, you get it.
Thanks for the comments,
Ron

This is worse than those rent to own stores. Your basically paying for the computer before they even order it after that all your payments are profit for them. You end up paying over 2 grand for a laptop that cost them maybe 500 at the most and people go for this unbelievable.

Rocker452,
Thanks for your comments. I agree, it is unbelievable.
Ron

“Also note that no brand names are mentioned.”
“AMD Mobile Sempron 3500+ 1.8 Ghz processor”

I believe AMD is brand name.

Hi Mike,
AMD is the processor brand.
Thanks for the comment.
Ron

I am trying to find out where do I make a complaint and suit against the Blue hippo Funding corporation for non payment on my refund? Can some please help. I am behind on all of my bills. It has been a real enormus burden on my pockets looking for my refund since December 2006. PLEASE HELP!

Hello Phyllis,
You may wish to contact the BBB in your area for assistance.

The BBB will not “do” anything to help you. All they are is a clearinghouse for complaints. If you file a complaint with the BBB, it ends up on a list of complaints about that company. Other people can see how many open/resolved/etc. complaints there are against that company with the BBB. The BBB will contact the company to encourage them to resolve the complaint. That public list is supposed to encourage the company to resolve complaints. I’m not saying don’t contact the BBB, by all means do, but don’t expect them to do much. If a company intends to screw you, they aren’t going to care what their reputation with the BBB is.

Contact the Attorney General in your state. In general, they are required to at least take some action on your complaint. From what I’ve heard about this BlueHippo company, they probably have a bunch of complaints already, and your Attorney General will be glad to add another complaintant to the list. You’ll just be more evidence for their case.

If you have lousy credit like I did but need a computer to function in daily life, you do what you have to do. You can either save your pennies and pay cash for a pc or use a service like this. The advantage of using BH is that you build your credit. I was actually able to buy a car on my own b/c of my account with BH. No it wasn’t my first choice of pc buying options but it was about the same as going to a buy-here-pay-here place of which there are several. The other point I would like to make is that they don’t hide the APR or anything from you. Before they do anything, they send you a contract with all of the pertinent info in it and you have to sign and return it. If you are foolish enough to not read it, then that is your fault, not theirs. But as with any situation, if you don’t have good credit, then you are going to pay a higher price for things, if you can get them at all. If you have good credit, then you don’t need this service anyway.

Hi trfblueeyes,
Thank for your comments.

I’M GOING THROUGH TOUGH TIMES OF A BLUE HIPPO COMPUTER SCAM MYSELF. TO MAKE A FUSTRTATED STORY SHORT ,I WAS SOLD A PIPE-LINE DREAM OF RECIEVING MY LABTOP COMPUTER IN A MATTER OF 6 WEEKS;HOWEVER, I HAVE NOT RECIEVED IT YET. PLEASE ASSIST ME IN THIS MATTER. A.S.A.P! THANK YOU!

Why do u think it is a Scam? Coz i m trying to place an order to them and after reading the comments by u ppl i got confused i got into 2 minds. plz Help me out?

I am a consumer who has purchased a computer through a company like blue hippo ! I have been waitin for a long time .It seems to be so many scams that deal with computers these days you cant be sure who is the good guy and who is the theif ! Any way I paid a lot for a computer that never got sent to me .I am out of pocket ( 2,338.48$ You trust that what you see on tv is not a scam ,how could it be I would not do that to someone ,so how can somebody do that to me ! O right we are at WAR .! You trust someone and you get burned . Will i ever see my money ! maybe But i have baught another pc, A laptop that i am happy with so those who screwed me can suck a lemmon Thank you for your time Ken

Hello Ken,
I would recommend going to your local court and filing a small claims against BH to see if you can get reimbursed.

Best of luck, Ron

I used to work there, the post above about building credit is absolute sh*t. It is obvious that you work for Rensin if you are not actually him, trfblueeyes.

They do not report to the credit agencies except if someone defaults, they use lawyers to get judgements, now that looks great on your credit.

I listened to this poor woman’s call to “customer support” one time, she was complaining that she just went through a divorce and it ruined her credit, she bought a computer from BlueHippo and paid it off early, hoping it would help her with her credit. Not surprisingly, there was no reference on any of the three credit reports of her ontime payments. She even said she could have bought it for cash, the whole idea was to rebuild her credit.

After that I left the company. I sort of blamed the “victims” as Joe used to call them but after hearing countless complaints and verified lies like the “help rebuild your credit” bullsh*t I could not take it anymore.

Maybe they started reporting now but only because of the FTC if at all. As a former employee, all I can say is Joe Rensin is an absolute scumbag. Anyone, and I mean ANYONE looking at doing business with him, not just buying a computer but selling him one or even working on his home, think again, if you are smart, walk away.

I definitely agree with everything I’ve read so far. I hit my 13 weeks back in January (2008) and have still yet to see my computer. I’ve called them numerous times and have gotten nowhere. I’ve heard the following:
-”It’ll ship in 2 weeks” (That was 2 months ago)
-”There isn’t a shipping date available” (whatever that means?)
_”There isn’t a manager available to speak with” (…ever)
-”It should definitely ship within a couple days” (That was 2 weeks ago)
-”We’ll be sure to call you when it ships out” (Sure… you… will…!)
So far I’m out $1200 and plan to stop the bleeding immediately after reading everyones stories. As of what to do next I’m not real sure. Any advise would be greatly appreciated. For Example; If I go to my local court and file a small claims against them am I gonna have to take days off work, pay a lawyer, etc.?

I’m going to be researching my options and asking lots of questions so if anyone else who’s also getting screwed over by them wants to they can email me and we can try to help each other out on what we need to do (or if you just want to vent, I know I sure am p*ssed off right now).

Casey
kcs_3301@yahoo.com

Hello anonymous,
Thanks for the info.

Hi Casey,
I sincerely hope that you are able to work ou tthis problem with BlueHippo.

Don’t wait months to get an obselete PC! I heard so many complaints about Blue Hippo that I started my own web-site to provided late model PC’s to consumers. And my name and phone number is on the web-site! Check it out, www.bowspritcomputerleasing.com.

Tom Digan

I knew it, I don’t need a computer, but the tacky commercial just eats me alive every time I see it! There is another pushy tacky commercial on now with a black curly headed gal that is pushing you call a number if you want to earn LOTS AND LOTS of money. Commercials like these should not be allowed on the television and my mute button on the remote is used A LOT lately. Thanks for this site.

Hi Chris j.
I hear you.

I am currently writing an article about the Blue Hippo scam and will state the facts that I have gathered about this company and why they are ascam. After 5 yrs in business they still have an unsatisfactory BBB rating and how they are still in business is beyond me. In my article I will be referencing to other companies that will provide you with a product and keep to their word. We work to hard for our money and credit rating to have inconsiderate self-serving companies take our money and run or charge us three times the value of a product.

P.S. Ron, please get back to me about writing about computers. My partner may be interested.

Thanks

I too am a “casualty” of the BlueHippo regime. I must agree with the earlier statement that witha “little thought” you would think an individual would “think twice.” I responded to the television add also. And “Dave” really put on the show while giving me his rendition of the “this is a great deal pitch.”
I just received and returned my financing agreement from BH…”Bad Habit”…and today received an email telling me something entirely contrary to a previous email from last month stated. It was from “Dave.” As follows…”Hi Patrick….,
this is David and I just wanted to congratulate you for making your payments on time and to tell you that your Dell Laptop 2007 will be ordered, built and shipped soon as you have made the required number of payments for us to finance your balance.” Shortly after that I received the 2nd set of papers I mentioned earlier. Recently I searched the model I’m paying for right now through BH and found it at $399.00 from the manufacturer. Now…if you call BH customer service line, and wait long enough, you will hear this hilarious lie about your computer being ordered and built to your specifications. They just keep on lyin’ and because my motto is..”you make the deal…you stand by it.” I’ll finish this obligation because it’s the right thing for me to do. I will be keeping a close eye out for a class action suit in the future. I should have remembered the best truth I’ve ever heard when purchasing ANYTHING…”Buyer Beware. God Bless you all.

Anyone else notice that Ron’s site/page…yup, this one that you’re on right now has an ad By & FOR BlueHippo. What gives?

Hello Patrick,
I just checked this site and didn’t see a Blue Hippo a, which does not mean it wasn’t present when you viewed the site.

The way the ads works is that they are rotated through all of the sites at random intervals.The ads are controlled by the advertising company, i.e., Google and so forth.

If a Blue Hippo ad was present, I apologize.

Thanks for pointing this out. Regards, Ron