During the festival season, many of us will feel under pressure to buy gifts for family and friends and there is often a temptation to overstretch our finances to meet this need. When shopping, whether in the high street or online, many of us experience the ease with which we can shop using various forms of credit.  This can be magnified during the festive period when businesses offer initiatives such as Black Friday, Cyber Monday and the January Sales which will be full of bargains and discounts that are said to be "too good to miss." 

In addition to conventional credit, shoppers should be wary of the flood of Buy Now Pay Later offers available when making purchases. Buy Now Pay Later - which is common at online checkouts and increasingly available in physical shops too - lets people spread payments for everything from clothes, shoes, jewellery and toys to event tickets and hotel bookings.  In most cases the cost is split into three or four monthly instalments, and if shoppers keep up with their repayments they will not usually pay interest or charges.

Even though individual amounts may be relatively small (the average being £90), juggling multiple Buy Now Pay Later payments alongside rent, bills and other debts can quickly become overwhelming and payments can be missed.

Problems start when payments are missed or are late, with the customer then incurring fees and or high levels of interest. This has the danger of debt spiralling quickly, particularly if multiple Buy Now Pay Later purchases have been made.

Although marketed as a way of "spreading payments over few months" Buy Now Pay Later is a form of unregulated credit and missing payments can damage credit scores and ongoing failure to pay can lead to someone being pursued by debt collectors.

The Financial Conduct Authority will begin regulation of Buy Now Pay Later in July 2026, which could require lenders to carry out affordability checks on even the smallest loans. Until then, shoppers remain unprotected by consumer legislation.

Do take care when shopping and always try to spend within your means.  If you do take out a Buy Now Pay Later loan, always clear the balance on time and don’t miss payments.  Otherwise it Could  Turn Out To Be Very Expensive.

Aspire's Money Matters Service supports those affected through spinal cord injury with everyday money issues from budgeting to debt problems.

The service operates on Monday & Tuesdays only with slots available from 9am to 3.30pm.

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