Independent tv rental/sales/ repair shops. Who remembers them

[Dave7]

Back in the early 70s we rented our b&w tv from a shop called Littlers. Great service and we stayed with them many years.
They were established 1957.
Our auntie is still with them. Mr Littler (not the original ) goes every month to collect the rent and always spends time with her.
They still do home visits and repairs.
They don't make them like that any more.

 

[MichaelW2]

We, like most of the country, used Radio Rentals.
I can't remember if we had the Windsor or the Kensington model but it lots of fine wood veneer.

 

[Milkfloat]

My Grandmother was on one of those schemes, I only found out that she had the same TV for 20 years and had being paying rent on it all the time when I offered to give her a cast off of mine. I dread to think how much she paid in rental but it would have been many thousands of pounds. I am glad that the Mr Littler's of the world don't exist anymore

 

[Archie_tect]

"Great service you get, renting your TV set, from Granada!" ... we did!

From the small TV repair shop in the village where I grew up!

 

[DCLane]

Remember them?

There's one about 30 feet from where I am currently sat in Heckmondwike. Been going 30 years and doesn't appear to have changed in the 22 years I've been going past it.

 

[Drago]

Rediffusion! I used to buy my sets second hand from them back in the day.

 

[raleighnut]

I used to rent a telly from the Co-op in Enderby, it made sense when TV sets had valves in them.

 

[mistyoptic]

I remember Rediffusion!

Mrs Optic still tells the tale of how she embarrassed her parents as a schoolchild. They only rented a TV in the Winter. In the Summer, the children were expected to play out-of-doors instead (remember those days?)

In her school journal one day, apparently she wrote "Yesterday a man came and took away the television"

 

[oldworld]

In the early days of colour TV it made perfect sense to rent a set. Unlike today where TV's are super reliable the old one were anything but.
I some areas radio reception was poor but you could get a wired connection from Radio Relay, at least you could in London.

 

[ianrauk]

We hired from Rumbelows. Tv and then also a VHS player

 

[palinurus]

It wasn't all that long ago- maybe 2000 or just afterwards- when we were still renting a TV from Granada. We had it a few years then they gave it to us. It broke almost immediately and I had to take it to the dump on my bike.

 

[Drago]

Now the TV's are reliable and very cheap people tend to rent the Sky, BTTV or cable box instead.

 

[welsh dragon]

I remember them. You could buy a t.v. as well by having a box on the back that you had to put money in. Pay as you go sort of thing.

 

[Beebo]

As students we would rent a TV from Radio Rentals. We had the first wide screen TV, in 1994. In those days every program was broadcast in standard format so everyone looked fat.

 

[Dave7]

My Grandmother was on one of those schemes, I only found out that she had the same TV for 20 years and had being paying rent on it all the time when I offered to give her a cast off of mine. I dread to think how much she paid in rental but it would have been many thousands of pounds. I am glad that the Mr Littler's of the world don't exist anymore

Ahhh but Mr Littler was a gentleman and to my knowledge did not fleece people. I am talking independents....not multies.