Catalogue companies know that customers are human and from time to time things don't always go to plan and that occasionally a customer may not be able to make their repayment on time.
If you find yourself financially stretched and know you cannot make your monthly repayment the best option is to call your Catalogue company.
Even if you call them before the payment due date, informing them about your problem will ensure your Catalogue company can offer the best help.
If it's the first time you are going to be late, you can plead with your Catalogue not to report the late payment to the Credit Reference agency, you can even request them not to charge a £12 late charge.
If it's not the first time, they may not agree, however, if you are in financial difficulties you can plead that the £12 fee will put you into further difficulty.
Tacking your Catalogue debt early will be the best thing to do. Arrears can build up pretty quickly.
At these times, it’s very important that you and your Catalogue company try and come to a solution that doesn't put too much strain on you.
If you only need to miss one payment, the Catalogue company may just allow you to pay double next month. If you are in more serious debt, the Catalogue company may make an agreement with you.
It's important that you stick to any agreement that you and your catalogue company make.
Never agree to a monthly repayment you can't afford.
Most Catalogues will have a team who are trained to help customers who are in arrears.
They want to keep you as a customer and will try to find a solution that suits you both, but it’s important not to agree to a payment plan which you know you will not be able to afford.
The worst thing you can do is to ignore them, don't just hope the problems will go away, ignoring your Catalogue company will result in you being charged £12 and possibly damaging your credit rating as the Catalogue is likely to notify the Credit Reference agency that you have missed your repayment.
Catalogues may be able to offer help such as freezing interest, lowering monthly repayments, offering a set repayment each month etc. If you feel things are out of control, you can also try free Charities like Step Change, they can help with other debts not just Catalogue debts.
George Raymond
Catalogue companies know that customer may not be able to make their repayment on time. So they can call there catalogue company and talk to them they will help them out.
kes
I found my catalogue company was all help when I struggled, they didn’t send threatening letters, but asked me kindly to call in to offer me support, This was Very, so well done to Very.com for being supportive
KES