AN electronics store customer offered a loan computer while his own was being fixed was stunned to start it up and discover it was the very PC he had handed in for repair.

Instead of BrightHouse sending it for repair, the computer had been put on the shelf to be sold at the store.

Nick, from West Swindon, who does not want to be identified, said he took the desktop PC into the town centre store where he had bought it so it could be repaired in April last year.

Two days later he went back to the store to collect his temporary replacement.

Nick told the Adver: “The first thing I saw when I turned it on was a picture of my daughter and me.

“Anybody that would have gone onto the internet would have been able to access all my social media, all my work information and customers and clients, and my internet banking.

“There could have been some kind of identity fraud, money transferred out of my account. It could have really done some damage. If I did this I would have been out of a job and prosecuted. It’s a very serious offence, and nobody there seems to see that at all.”

After Nick took it back he said he made a series of complaints - 28 in total over the past 17 months. But he said it took a year for the store to admit it had made an error. He claims he only got a response from head office acknowledging his complaint once he called the Adver.

A BrightHouse spokesperson said: “We wish to apologise to the customer for the way we managed his complaint. We should have done better and, in recognition of this, we have compensated him with payments totalling £200.

“However, following a detailed investigation of this case, we can’t identify any evidence other than our paperwork that shows that the computer was wiped clean before going on the shelf.”

But the offer might not be the end of the saga, according to Nick, who owes the company £120 from weekly instalments after refusing to pay until he was offered compensation.

“It’s a protest, which maybe I shouldn’t have made, but I’m trying to get through to them,” added Nick.

BrightHouse sent bailiffs round to Nick’s house three days in a row one week, forcing him to agree to paying monthly instalments. He said: “I’m not paying £120 to the company that have done that and harassed me while I’m trying to get the complaint sorted out.”