Rebel1 - don't be so ungrateful - you are totally in the wrong...

Rebel1 - don't be so ungrateful - you are totally in the wrong and, indeed, it is the pure spin in your post that is in fact misleading.

The terms & conditions that you outlined are those of the company GE Money who are the facilitators of the 'No Deposit, No Repayments Interest Free' offers.

Firstly, Harvey Norman is merely the company supplying the product (the vacuum cleaner in your example). However, if the customer doesn't have the cash to fund their purchase like normal, then they have the second option to utilise a finance package offered by GE Money in order to take possession of said product - in essence, the customer is borrowing the money instead.

Secondly, yes - there are certain conditions applicable to borrowing that money which are fully disclosed to the customer PRIOR to them entering into the transaction. It is then the customer's choice on whether or not to proceed - no one is holding a gun to their head. If you don't want to pay the fees, then simply BUY the product like everyone else with cash.

Thirdly, the example you constructed used perfectly cherry-picked numbers in order to exaggerate the point you were trying to make. A far more realistic sell price of, say, $1500 would in fact yield an interest rate of 5.6% pa - about the same as keeping your money in the bank over that 12 months - a very generous offer indeed for the cash-strapped customer.

In my opinion, these finance companies are saints for making such altruistic offers available to the underprivileged public.

You should be grateful these deals are even available.