Abacus Daily Debt News

Increased debt “risk” with buy now, pay later

There is a danger that debt management problems could increase due to buy now, pay later deals, Credit Action’s director has suggested.

Chris Tapp said that difficulties can obviously arise when people are paying for items in installments, particularly those on lower incomes.

"There could be some problems with people struggling to make these types of repayments, so there is always that risk," he explained.

Mr Tapp recommended that people getting into debt through deals such as this speak to the company with which the agreement was made.

He claimed it is important to explain exactly what the problem is so alternative arrangements can be looked at, but advised that in instances where people feel they have been treated unfairly, they can turn to the Financial Services Ombudsman or the Office of Fair Trading as well.

Earlier this month, his organisation revealed that 7,241 new debt problems are being dealt with by the Citizens Advice Bureau every day.

By Chris Trimble