Additions direct interest charges

ANHANSMITH

Hi, I've been a customer to Additions Direct and others in the chain for many years and alway used Buy Now Pay Later which involved paying the month it expired and still having the option to pay interest free over 3 months but now they have just sprung on me new terms I wasn't warned about when I made my purchases. Now you have to have paid by the month of expiry or they charge you a huge 39% interest lump sum which has left me in a mess as I can't afford to pay the balances off in full. Now I find not only are they charging me a huge lump sum but still then go on to charge you again on your outstanding balance. I'm really worried as I have a large purchase to pay for and can see myself paying over 100% interest for it! Just wondered if anyone else has found the same and how they got round it. I am considering getting a credit card with lower APR but not sure which one to go for. Also you have to call them to let them kmow you are paying off your pay later purchases or they charge you the interest anyway and have found that ringing them doesn't seem to make any difference I rang to pay off an account with one of their sister companies and was still charged interest I called them and they still haven't refumded me and I now have to pay monthly or they start charging £12 non payment fees so any advice with that problem also would be much appreciated! Thanks!

Torby

think you may have a few misconceptions about "Buy now pay later" every scheme I have ever looked at has been, you purchase the goods on a credit agreement which you have to pay in full at the end of the term quoted to get the item at the cash price, once it runs over that date, the payments "kick in", it was not uncommon for people to take out agreements like these, make payments in the interim period leaving only a small balance at the end of the special offer term, then the payments "kick in" and they were horrified to discover that interest on the agreement was charged up front and now becomes part of the debt, not just the small balance they had left.

You will need to check your documentation, but BNPL usually involves deferring any payments plus interest until the due date, another variable was payments are to be made monthly as normal over the interest free period, then the amount is settled ( at the cash price) before the end of the special offer period.

deanos

No Additions changed it a few months ago maybe over a year ago now , say you owed £100 to be paid in 12 months time it would appear on the statement in 12 months as £100 with a further 3 months to pay interest free , they now add it as £100 + 39% interest backdated to the day you ordered + interest every month until its paid off.

fozmcfc

I've a Very account and used the BNPL, I must admit I was confused how it worked. I was surprised to see the interest was back dated, if you didn't pay it off by the due date.

I thought it would start to accure interest once the BNPL date was reached.

Luckily I had already loaded up my account with enough to pay it off and with some advice from members here https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2616511=
paid it off before the BNPL expired.

superdry

Got a statement through from Additions today charging interest on all the BNPL, due Oct 2010. When I called to state I thought the interest would not start until (obviously) Oct they stated because it was on the statement there was no way around paying. Got off the 'phone checked the terms and conditions and rang back to state I wanted to pay the balance before Oct and will expect to pay no interest. At first they tried to say that because it was on the statement I had to pay as Additions preferred to have the money 1 month before the due date. I repeated the T&C and the rep finally came down to agree i could pay off now and accrue no interest.

Please be aware of this in case they try and pull this nonsense on you.

I am extremely upset they tried to pull this, esp. with 40% interest on the balance.

I will be complaining in writing to their customer service, but thought it best to warn a many other before the other who have taken up the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) for Oct 2010.

Squeeam

I've just got my bill yesterday (which fortunately I looked at as I believed I had nothing outstanding) and have had a similar experience. I bought a bed and wardrobe for my son last September with the Buy Now Pay Later option for September 2010. I checked with one of their guys there who assured me that if the balance was paid off before the due date no interest would be payable. I made sure I paid a portion each month with the final payment made in July.
Then yesterday I received a bill saying I owed £92.00 (service charge?). I phoned and after being put through to the wrong person I spoke to a lady and explained what had happened. She said, almost immediately, we'll take that off your bill. She didn't seem to go through my account and see if what I was saying was correct, she just said straight off that it would be removed.
This makes me a bit suspicious as what if I was someone who wasn't as savvy and just accepted what they were saying and paid it. How many people have done that.
And after all that my son's furniture isn't that great and his bed creaks like you wouldn't believe. I would not recommend Additions to anyone.

Bev_B

I too phoned them when I received my statement this month as interest was added to be told if I paid pre interest amount before it was due they arrange for the interest to be removed. Stupidly I still had a direct debit set up which I decided to change from pay in full to pay min amount due (just incase) but they are still trying to take the full amount due tomorrow! phoned customer service to be told that I should have given 10 days notice to change a DD, explained I had paid in full so assumed a 0 balance would change the DD AND changed to min payment over 10 days ago to be told I should have phoned! Now have to go to bank tomorrow to see if I can cancel my DD as its taking me over my overdraft.
Updated to add: the bank were great they just recalled the direct debit even though it went out today!