BlueHippo Funding

The BlueHippo logo, a cartoon hippopotamus
BlueHippo Funding, LLC
Industryfinancial services
FounderJoseph Rensin
Products
  • personal computers
  • flat-screen televisions
  • high-tech items
Servicesinstallment credit

BlueHippo Funding, LLC was an installment credit company operating in the USA founded by Joseph Rensin that claimed to offer personal computers, flat-screen televisions and other high-tech items for sale to customers with poor credit. In an article published November 25, 2009 titled BlueHippo files for bankruptcy: Company blames its bank; was accused of violating settlement with FTC, Eileen Ambrose reported that the company "was forced to file for protection under Chapter 11." [1] On Wednesday December 9, 2009, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy after having its funds frozen by their payment processor. A petition to a Delaware bankruptcy judge to release the funds was denied.[2] The company's advertised toll-free phone number and website are no longer functioning.

The company encountered several complaints with the Better Business Bureau; the Greater Maryland Better Business Bureau issued a consumer alert against the company within eight months of its founding.[3] BlueHippo's main product was a personal computer system. Its radio commercials stated that a customer must build a "short credit history" to qualify. The payment was made through an installment plan.

The company had been investigated several times for consumer fraud. In April 2008, BlueHippo settled with the Federal Trade Commission to reimburse defrauded customers up to $5 million.[4] However, on November 12, 2009, the FTC filed a memorandum in federal court reporting that despite collecting more than $15 million from customers since the April 2008 settlement, BlueHippo shipped "at most a single computer" before the FTC resumed legal action in April 2009.[5] Blue Hippo was repeatedly fined by the court for failure to file the FTC reports it had agreed to file as part of the agency's oversight. On November 13, 2009, Ars Technica reported, "The FTC has had it, and today went back to court asking a federal judge for a contempt order against BlueHippo."[4]

  1. ^ "Blue Hippo Bankruptcy | BlueHippo files for bankruptcy - Baltimore Sun". www.baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on January 17, 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  2. ^ "Blue Hippo | BlueHippo files Chapter 7 bankruptcy - Baltimore Sun". www.baltimoresun.com. Archived from the original on July 29, 2012. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "Blue Hippo's BBB listing". Retrieved January 24, 2007.
  4. ^ a b "FTC: BlueHippo pocketed $15 million, only shipped one PC, Ars Technica". November 13, 2009. Retrieved November 13, 2009.
  5. ^ "Memorandum filed in United States District Court for the Southern District of New York" (PDF). February 25, 2008. Retrieved November 13, 2009.