Catalogue Credit

With catalogue credit you can purchase goods and pay in weekly or monthly instalments over a set period of time that can be between 3 to 12 months. The goods are normally posted or couriered to your home address and you are able to return within a certain period of time to receive a full refund.

These catalogues are also known as shopping accounts or mail order accounts and you can have your own catalogue account or shop from a friend or relatives catalogue, who will then become your agent and they set up a sub account with their catalogue. The agent is able to earn a generous commission from their sub accounts against their own orders but are responsible for collecting and making payments. When purchasing goods this way you are not undergoing any form of credit check, it is based on the trust between you and your account holder. Although the risk is small, the account holder will be responsible to the catalogue to disclose non-payers and the catalogue will then personally collect outstanding payment.

If payments are made on time then there is usually no interest, but should you default on payments then the interest rates can really soar. You can pay your catalogue account off in full at any time without any added cost, which is a bonus as many personal loans will have an early payment penalty.

The benefits of having catalogue credit is that you are able to purchase goods and pay off without any interest within a certain time frame and you can budget your household accounts especially for necessary products such as washing machines or school uniforms. Most catalogues with credit will have insurance such as life event plans which will cover your repayments should there be a loss of job or long periods of sickness.