Buy now, pay later debt warning to Wiganers

Unify chief executive Angela Fishwick said: “People can get into a spiral of debt with buy now, pay later services which are currently not adequately regulated, meaning they don’t carry out affordability and credit checks.

“We are increasingly seeing residents struggling with their finances because of the number of BNPL payments they are paying out each month. A few pounds many not seem much but when someone chooses this option for a dozen or so purchases, it very soon mounts up to a large monthly commitment with people losing track of how many accounts they have opened.

“One resident who came to see us had three children and a total income of £816 from universal credit and child benefit, yet she had more than 60 payments coming out of her account to BNPL companies, totalling £963.58. People should think very carefully before using this method to pay for goods as otherwise they could potentially be left with a post-Christmas debt which is out of control.”

For details about applying for a loan with Unify visit www.unifycu.org

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