ARGOS CARD CONFUSION

xlnc99

I cant seem to find the answer - Is this a store card or a credit card?
From what i understand its a store card that can only be used at Argos but can act as a credit card to use at sainsbury's? Is this correct?

If so it doesnt make sense, how can it be used as a credit card. What is the interest rate? How do they calculate this?

It has appeared on my credit report as a Credit Card for a new account. I have made several buy now pay later purchases, so does this mean i am going to be near my credit limit for the next 6 months until i pay this off? This will wreck my credit utilisation. Seems unfair and its not really the point of buy now pay later is it

MattMattMattUK

What you and many others call a "store card" is technically a retail credit card, a credit facility which is only usable in the stores of the retailer that issued it. The reason you can use it in Sainsbury's is because Argos are owned by Sainsbury's, they are part of the same group, the card however is not part of the Visa/Mastercard/Amex/etc. networks and so can only operate on their internal systems. 

xlnc99 said:

It has appeared on my credit report as a Credit Card for a new account.

That would be correct.

xlnc99 said:

I have made several buy now pay later purchases, so does this mean i am going to be near my credit limit for the next 6 months until i pay this off?

That would depend, have you spent enough that it puts you near your credit limit?

xlnc99 said:

This will wreck my credit utilisation.

It will not "wreck" anything, it will accurately reflect your credit utilisation.

xlnc99 said:

Seems unfair and its not really the point of buy now pay later is it

What seems unfair, that you have borrowed money and that is reflected on your credit record? That is true of pretty much all borrowing, unless you borrow from a loan shark and that has far worse consequences. 

xlnc99

My gripe is the buy now pay later. 
With Currys - they dont report anything on your credit report until the first payment if you take out their BNPL interest free. Which is how it should be.

However, Argos report from day 1 i have used all my credit (most of it) where infact i dont have to pay until 6 months just like Currys.

Do you not agree? Curries are reporting it correctly and Argos are not. 

Also this is clearly not a credit card so why has it appeared as a credit card? I cant use it anywhere bar Argos!

[Deleted User]

It's clearly a credit card, as it's a card that provides credit.

Argos are reporting it correctly, so nothing to worry about.

xlnc99

How so? I cant use the credit card anywhere but Argos. Its a Store Card. 

[Deleted User]

Because it provides credit. It's a credit card.

Even if you could only use it in the Burnley branch of Greggs on a Thursday it would be a credit card.

xlnc99

I think you are confused, Argos have a Credit Card and a Store Card. There are two seperate things. You can apply for both, i applied for the Store Card not the Credit Card.

Its like saying JD Williams and Very have given me a credit card because they have given me credit.

MattMattMattUK

xlnc99 said:

My gripe is the buy now pay later. 
With Currys - they dont report anything on your credit report until the first payment if you take out their BNPL interest free. Which is how it should be.

That is not "how it should be", a credit report is there to reflect the monies owed, you owe the money, regardless of if you have borrowed it on 0% interest or 50% interest. 

xlnc99 said:

However, Argos report from day 1 i have used all my credit (most of it) where infact i dont have to pay until 6 months just like Currys.

Argos reporting the borrowing is a true and accurate reflection of your borrowing. It will also be accurate if it reports that you have used most of your available credit, if you have used most of your available credit. The detail is how much you have borrowed and how much more you can borrow, not when you have to make a repayment.

xlnc99 said:

Do you not agree? Curries are reporting it correctly and Argos are not. 

No, I do not agree, Curry's can report, or not, that is their choice, Argos can report, or not, that is their choice. If they report, they must report accurately, but they are not under an obligation to report anything, or are they under an obligation to omit amounts owed. 

xlnc99 said:

Also this is clearly not a credit card so why has it appeared as a credit card? I cant use it anywhere bar Argos!

You are misunderstanding the meaning of the term credit card. It is a card that offers credit, it is legally a retail credit card. What it is not is a card belonging to a card network such as Visa, Mastercard or Amex, that does not stop it legally being a credit card.

[Deleted User]

No, I'm not confused. There would be no point in confusion.  It's simply terminology.

It's only a matter of range. A store card is simply a credit card with a limited acceptance.

xlnc99

So basically my credit utilisation will be off the roof for the next 6-12 months due to these silly credit cards???
No lender will know i am doing a buy now pay later, they will just assume and i am killing my credit every month!

MattMattMattUK

xlnc99 said:

I think you are confused, Argos have a Credit Card and a Store Card. There are two seperate things. You can apply for both, i applied for the Store Card not the Credit Card.

It is you who are confused. However they pitch it at you for marketing purposes, they are both the same under the legal framework, one just belongs to a credit card network, the other belongs to a company's internal network. You applied for what is legally a credit card which is only usable in Argos and Sainsbury's, you also had an option to apply for a credit card which is part of the Mastercard network, you chose the former.

xlnc99 said:

Its like saying JD Williams and Very have given me a credit card because they have given me credit.

No it is not. Different companies structure their lending differently, some will use loans, some will use credit cards, they are different legal structures and it is up to them how they operate them, as well is if they report them to credit reference agencies.