Liverpool shoppers warned about unclear 'buy now pay later' schemes
One in ten buy now pay later shoppers have been chased by debt collectors according to Citizens Advice
One in 10 (10%) shoppers who use buy now pay later have been chased by debt collectors, according to Citizens Advice.
Around one in eight (12% ) 18 to 34-year-old customers using the service had received contact from or been referred to debt collectors, the charity's research also found.
These options often appear at checkouts on retailers' websites. They can help spread the cost of purchases, interest-free, potentially avoiding expensive credit.
However, there have been concerns that some people end up spending more than intended and slide into debt that they cannot comfortably pay back.
The Government announced in February that interest-free buy now pay later credit agreements will be regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
Citizens Advice estimates from its latest research that shoppers using these agreements across the UK were collectively charged #39 million in late fees in the past year. I
t commissioned a survey of more than 2,000 adults across the UK in July, who had used the service in the previous 12 months.
Of those who were referred to a debt collector for missed payments, 96% said they had experienced a negative consequence.
Negative experiences included sleepless nights, ignoring texts, emails and letters in case they were about debts, avoiding answering the door, borrowing money to repay the debt, or deteriorating mental health.
The charity raised concerns about shoppers being ill-informed'', with customers being left to dig around in thesmall print'' or terms and conditions to find out credit agreement information. Citizens Advice asked BNPL firms if they ever referred customers to debt collectors.
Klarna, Clearpay, Laybuy and Openpay confirmed they do this as a last resort, the charity said. It emphasised that debt collectors do not have the same powers as bailiffs.
The charity said debt collectors do not typically visit someone's home, although this occasionally does happen, and they do not have rights to take belongings.
A buy now pay later debt cannot be passed to bailiffs unless there is an unpaid court judgment, it added. Citizens Advice said that a woman aged in her 60s was trying to buy plants online, but struggled to find the postage cost at the checkout and decided to abandon her purchase.
The keen gardener was surprised to receive an email saying she had signed up to a buy now pay later agreement, and tried to cancel her order.
She told Citizens Advice: "I really don't understand how I ended up paying for my plants through buy now, pay later. I didn't understand what it was. Then I get these threatening emails saying they're going to contact debt collectors, and then I got a letter from a debt collector.
"I couldn't sleep, I lay awake worrying that someone was going to turn up to my house and start taking things. I have a number of health issues and I was worried this was going to make me ill again. It was eventually resolved, but at great stress to me."
Mick Blakely from citizens advice Liverpool said:
"A lot of us do more of our shopping online and it's a lot easier to offer buy now pay later products online than it is in a physical store
"This still seems to be more prevalent with younger people, on in ten buy now pay later shoppers have been chased by debt collectors, that raises to one in eight for young people.
"It doesn't matter if it's £30 or £3000, it's the same kind of debt collection processes that come into play. Plus the stress of interest being added to that can cause real detriment to people's mental health.
"The main thing is that people are often surprised that they have gotten into debts.
"It's not clear when someone takes out buy now pay later products that they are actually entering into a credit agreement and if they miss payments that can then escalate to debt collectors."
If you are worried about buy now pay later products or any other issues you can ring the money advice helpline on 0300 330 1196.