Currys Buy now pay later

Hi all
Not sure if I have posted on the right forum. Could someone give me some information on these pay plans e.g. what happens if you don't pay it by the due date. Thanks
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Comments

  • posted_2
    posted_2 Posts: 514 Forumite
    You get stung with a lot of interest from day one.
  • London50
    London50 Posts: 1,850
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    Hi nat87
    Most companies would then start charging intrest on the amount borrowed this could be anywhere from 26% upwards and you could end up paying up to 30 to 50% more for the item
  • We got this last year with a television.

    Firstly, you should know that the scheme is essentially putting another name to "loan some money". You're not owing Currys, you're taking out a loan with a bank that partners with Currys. Now I don't recall being told that, but was rather shocked when I rang up in behalf of my parents to pay it back, only to be told we've got the wrong company.
    I think it's called HTM, I can't quite remember. But we were told we'd taken out a loan to pay Currys and it was them we needed to pay back. Because we were within the time to pay back, it didn't have any extra interest. But because we were paying it all back at once and closing the account, we had to pay an extra 15 pounds.
    Undergrad law student. Take my advice with a pinch of salt! :rotfl:
  • Leopard
    Leopard Posts: 1,786 Forumite

    Make certain that you start the procedure for paying the full sum at least a month before the due date and ensure that everything is confirmed and receipted in writing before that date arrives.

    These schemes are a bit like the "free" mobile 'phone deals that used to proliferate until last year, when most of the companies went bust: they rely on you forgetting to honour the due date. (Or, in this case, finding yourself unable to pay the money when the due date arrives, as a result of a change in personal financial circumstances. :( )

    They absolutely HATE :mad: it when you remember the due date and pay them on time. And some of them try falsely to maintain that you haven't.

    I used one of these schemes several years ago with Northern Electric (as then was) to buy something costing several thousand pounds. It was 10% up front and nothing to pay, and no interest, for 18 months - provided I observed the due date for settlement of the balance.

    I put the remaining 90% into a high-rate savings account for the intervening period and earned a useful amount of interest on it. :D

    Sixteen and a half months later, I liberated the money and paid the 90% owing on the purchased item. I then sought confirmation in writing that the account had been settled in full and that nothing remained owing. They didn't like that at all: they tried to argue that a further £50 remained to be paid for some spurious charge (it didn't). They were seriously concerned at having given me an interest-free loan of so much money for 18 months: even more furious at the prospect of not being able to charge me 34% compound interest, back-dated to the day I bought the item, and tried every trick in the book to argue that I hadn't paid in full by the due date.

    But with six weeks in hand, I had time to dispose (in writing) of every aspect of their allegation that I had not paid fully and on time.

    So, yes: by all means go for these deals - but stash the rest of the money away safely and profitably, remain aware of the due date and settle the account at least a month before it expires - leaving you time to deal with any tricks they try.

    Unless you do, you'll wind up having to pay a fortune in back-dated interest. That's how they work and that's how they make their money. The art (as with those "free" mobile 'phone schemes) is to beat them at their own game! :money:


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  • Dave101t
    Dave101t Posts: 4,157 Forumite
    the only reason to do this is if you can pay it off in the payment plan agreed.
    I remember buyibg a 32 inch HDTV for 999, yes 999! about 3 years ago. 6 months interest free credit with no charges IF it is paid off in full by the 6 month deadline.
    terrible interest rates if you miss a payment. luckily i never did.
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  • M4RKM
    M4RKM Posts: 5,132
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    OK

    HFC Bank do the finance for Currys.

    When you get your Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) or Interest Free Agreement (IFO), you are taking out a 4 year personal loan at 29.5% APR.

    However, in the terms it will state, if it is paid off in full before the 1st (BNPL) or Xth (x denoting the length of the IFO) then you have nothing else to pay.

    However, if you take out a 12 month BNPL, and you pay it off 12 months after you've taken it out, you've already been clobbered for 4 years interest on the original loan amount, same applies to the IFO, so the best way to work out these, is to say a 12 month BNPL or IFO, is only 11 months long, and STICK to that rule!

    i've done it loads of times, and never been hit for interest yet. however, i used to sell the awful finance agreements, so i know the in's and out's of them.

    You must be 100% sure you can pay off everything in the loan agreement within the timescales, or it would be cheaper to go with their interest bearing option, which you can pay off earlier, and you only have a 1 month penalty of interest on the remaining balance, rather than, on the IFO or BNPL, where you pay 4 years interest, at any point after the initial 12 months or whatever.
  • aliEnRIK
    aliEnRIK Posts: 17,741
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    Save your money up THEN buy it..........
    :idea:
  • timbim_2
    timbim_2 Posts: 1,292
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    Not a bad call at all. Also, if you save up and buy it later, it'll be cheaper anyway, as prices for TV's etc always fall. I'm looking forward to the emergence of OLED as a TV screen technology. That'll make LCD's far more affordable! Shame my Sony trinitron and Panasonic CRT's won't pack in!
    Ubuntu is an ancient African word, meaning: 'I can't configure Debian'.
  • aliEnRIK
    aliEnRIK Posts: 17,741
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    timbim wrote: »
    Not a bad call at all. Also, if you save up and buy it later, it'll be cheaper anyway, as prices for TV's etc always fall. I'm looking forward to the emergence of OLED as a TV screen technology. That'll make LCD's far more affordable! Shame my Sony trinitron and Panasonic CRT's won't pack in!

    The only possible downside is LCDs could easily go UP in price due to the exchange rate
    :idea:
  • almillar
    almillar Posts: 8,621
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    I wish everyone would stop saying that prices are going to go up! Not you personally aliEnRIK, but the more people say it (anyone sick of hearing credit crunch yet?) the more acceptable it will be to us all, and then the more willing companies will be to shove up prices!
    The same is happening with cars. Someone (I reckon a used car dealer) has said that no-one is buying new cars (true enough) and that this is pushing up used car prices. That all sounds reasonable enough, but it's music to dealers' ears, as they can just bump the prices up knowing that they're fulfilling expectations.
    No news is good news...
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