Home Shopping (Catalogues) allow you to spread the cost of goods on a weekly or monthly basis. Each month you will receive a statement from your Catalogue company, if you maintain these monthly repayments your Credit Limit could be increased allowing you to spend further.
Our Exclusive Catalogue Directory allows you to cmopare the choices available and to make your decision based on Style, such as Clothing Catalogues, Electrical items etc.
Catalogue Directory
Gray & Osbourne
Gray & Osborne Spring Catalogue
Home Shopping Group – Very popular Catalogues, Credit limits vary from £150-£500 if approved. An instant decision is usually available through the Home Shopping Group.
Additions
Choice
Empire
Great Universal
Kays
Very
Marshall Ward
Jd Williams (home shopping group) – Popular with Customers with a Low Credit Score. Credit Limits often start at £125. To see if you are approved or not, log out of your account, wait around 15 minutes then log back in, if your Credit Limit has vanished, it’s most likely been declined. Keep checking your email or contact them by telephone to see.
JD Williams
Next (Some people find Next Easy, Some find them hard for approvals). Credit limits vary month by month. Credit limits vary from £100 – £1000 and higher after several months.
Next Directory
Otto Group (Sensible credit limits, but they can take quiet a while to make a decision on a Credit Application). Sometimes they do offer an instant decision. This group likes smaller Credit Limits at first and increase limits by small amounts.
Freemans
Kaleidoscope
Oli
Redcats Brand (Low Credit limits to begin with) usually £100+ and Credit Limit increases are around every 6 months).
Daxons
Laredoute
If you are accepted
When you place your first order, you are usually given a Credit Limit.
To make sure your application for a Catalogue has the best possible chance of success, please ensure you check all of the details on your application are correct. Keep your first order to around £150 at the most. Catalogue companies don’t usually dish out £1000 credit on your first order!
If you are declined.
Usually, if one group Declines your application (for example, JD Williams decline your application) then others in the group are likely too. Make sure that you spread applications out, do not apply for a lot of new accounts in one go, after all, at least it looks desperate and at worse it could indicate Fraud.
Don’t panic, Especially at the present time, with the tough financial climate, companies are looked upon only lending people who can afford repayments. Check your credit report and see if there is a reason why companies cannot approve your application, such as CCJ’s, Defaults or late payments. You can always appeal a decision, usually in writing or by calling the company and seeing what the reason for the decline is. If you are rebuilding your Credit, be patient, it can take months to rebuild your credit, yet just a couple of missed payments to lose your ratings.
Wait Six months and try again
Some companies will consider a new application from you within 6 months, if you can demostrate that you are making payments on time every month and that you are registered to vote (Electrol register) then your application has a higher chance of being accepted. Disclose all details of previous addresses.
Why Home Shopping Catalogues?
Using Catalogues (home shopping) to improve your credit rating. A Catalogue can help repair your credit if used over time. Usually each month you will receive a monthly statement from your Catalogue company, they will request a monthly repayment. Always pay more than the minimum (to avoid excess) interest. Showing you can maintain payments every month will help towards a more healthier credit file. JDWiliams and Littlewoods are 2 of the catalogues which have been known to help people with lower than average credit.
This isn’t a guarantee, start with something small (an order of around £50) and if your account is approved, be sure to make the repayments on time without fail. Within a few months your Credit Limit will increase and your Credit Report will reflect this. Don’t order things you don’t need. Keep your Spending within an affordable limit. A lot of the Catalogues will request 5% of your balance to be repaid each month, others may have aleternative payment requests, be sure to read through the terms and conditions and the APR to get a better understanding of the amount you will be paying. Stay within your limit. When making your application, be sure to provide all honest information, if you don’t make your credit application using genuine details you will most probably be declined and in the worst case you could be reported to fraud companies, like CIFAS.
Top Tips -
Keep your first order low, orders shouldn’t exceed £100 (JD Williams for example) offer £125 as a starting limit, Next may offer around £150, there are not many companies willing to open a new account with £1,000 (so that Widescreen TV) for example should wait until your limit has increased. Remember, spending £1,000 on a catalogue will require a monthly repayment ranging from around £50 – £100 per month, so budget and make sure you stay within your means.
I have been approved, can I apply for more catalogues?
Yes, unless there are specific terms and conditions, such as only one account per group, you should be able to apply for more than one Catalogue. For example, you can have a Littlewoods and Kays account. Make sure you keep up all repayments to further help you achieve your improved credit.
Home Shopping catalogues – Missing payments
Like all Credit based products, Catalogues will report your payment behaviour back to the Credit Reference agencies, this is seen by your current lenders and any future lenders (who you apply to) so make sure you keep all repayments up and make sure payments are received on time. If you are having trouble making payments, make sure you contact the lender as soon as you can, most are really helpful, if it’s a genuine case, they will want to help you and will appreciate your honesty. They prefer to make contact with you before passing unpaid debts on to external collectors (debt collectors).
Who’s the easiest Catalogue to open an account with?
This is one question we get asked time and time again. There is no golden rule. Based on some forums, JD Williams are good for opening accounts for people who are rebuilding their credit. We need to explain, no company will open a Credit based account if your credit file shows unpaid accounts, CCJ’s, Defaults etc. There is a difference in a customer who has had previous credit and is now doing everything they can to make payments on time and clearing arrears than a customer who cannot afford his or her current repayments who applies for more credit. The same goes for people with a Good or Excellent credit rating, if you already have a lot of outstanding debts then your chances of being sucessful may not be so high. Remember, Catalogues offer a great service to those looking to spread the cost of the payments over a set time, they can be expensive (if you make the minimum repayments). Used in the right way, a Catalogue (Home Shopping) can help you in more ways than one.
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