I am having Financial Difficulties

We understand that people can have problems from time to time and we can help you come up with a plan to manage your account.

Whatever your circumstances, it’s important that you contact us as soon as you become aware that you are likely to have difficulty making payments. That way we can work with you to agree the most appropriate solution for you and try to help you get things under control as soon as possible. To call us, please click here for details (lines are open Monday to Friday 8am – 8pm and Saturday 8am – 6pm).

Some of the ways we may be able to help include:

Take 30 days to get some help and advice

We'll give you the time and space to get some independent help and advice, and make sure your priority payments are up to date.

StepChange Debt Charity offers free, impartial and confidential advice; you can go online at www.stepchange.org or call them on 0800 138 1111 . You can also find helpful, impartial financial advice at MoneyHelper.

During the time you are getting independent help or advice, we will stop contacting you about your missed payments. We won’t charge you any late or missed payment fees or interest during this time but you won’t be able to place any more orders on your account until we are confident that your finances are back on track.

It's important to remember that this isn’t a payment freeze and we may tell credit reference agencies about any missed payments which could affect your ability to borrow money in the future.

Payment arrangements

Where you can afford to, we may be able to set up a payment arrangement. Depending on your circumstances this might be a short or long term plan, but will always be aimed at helping you get back on track as soon as possible.

This can involve temporary agreements to make lower or no payments for a limited period while you get back on your feet, plans to help you repay missed payments in an affordable way once your circumstances have improved or plans to pay down the balance of your account at a rate that is affordable.

Where we agree a repayment plan with you, to help you get back on track, we won’t charge you any late or missed payment fees or interest but you won’t be able to place any more orders on your account until your account is back up to date and we are confident that your finances are back on track.

We will tell credit reference agencies about any repayment plans we agree with you, which could impact your ability to borrow money in the future. However, if you keep to the arrangement, it may prevent a credit default being recorded which could potentially have a bigger impact.

Long term assistance

In some cases, if your financial circumstances are not expected to improve, the most appropriate solution for you might be to permanently close your account. We won’t charge you any late or missed payment fees and will stop charging interest to prevent the amount you owe from increasing. Your account may be transferred to one of our partners who will work with you to agree a long term solution to repay your balance at a rate that you can afford.

We will tell credit reference agencies about this and may register a default which will stay on your file for six years and could impact your ability to borrow money from other lenders during this time.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us if you would like to chat with our dedicated team to support you in the process of managing your payments.

You can call us, click here for details (lines are open Monday to Friday 8am – 8pm and Saturday 8am – 6pm).

Or complete the Income & Expenditure form and follow the steps below:

  1. Open the word document and update with the details requested
  2. Click the "File" tab and click ‘Save As’.
  3. Save the file to a name that you will recognise
  4. F From the drop down box select PDF next to the save as button as this will save the word document as PDF version.

Please then send the completed form to us via our Secure Webmail, in My Account and select the option "I am having financial difficulties," then select "I'm unable to pay"

Please bear with us, as we are currently experiencing extremely high contact volumes. If you have already contacted us via Secure Webmail, please be assured we are working as fast as we can to deal with your enquiry and will respond as soon as possible. We thank you for your patience and understanding.

Income and Expenditure

Back to FAQs

Delay Payments for 12 months with Buy Now Pay Later when you spend £50 or more

Interest is calculated and compounded daily at a typical rate of 44.9% per annum for the delayed payment period and repayment period and is charged to your account at date of order as a lump sum.

Remember, avoid paying all interest by paying the cash price before the end of the delayed payment period. This can be done in one full payment or multiple partial payments.

1

What is Buy Now Pay Later?
Buy Now Pay Later is an interest bearing option that allows you to delay payments on your purchases for up to 12 months. The delayed payment period starts from the date of order (including pre-ordered items and those not ready for immediate dispatch).

You can choose:
A delayed payment period of 12 months and then a repayment period of 104 weeks when you spend £50 or more.
A delayed payment period of 12 months and then a repayment period of 156 weeks when you spend £99 or more.

How interest is calculated?
Interest will be charged for the delayed payment period and the chosen repayment period.

Interest is calculated and compounded daily at a typical rate of 44.9% per annum for the delayed payment period and repayment period and is charged to your account at date of order as a lump sum. This calculation factors in the planned payments that are requested during the repayment period. Your interest rate is personal to you and will be detailed in checkout.

How to avoid paying interest?
You can avoid paying all interest for both periods by paying the cash price before the end of the delayed payment period. This can be done in one full payment or multiple partial payments.

Making partial payments may result in a portion of the lump sum of compound interest being refunded at the end of the delayed payment period.

Remember if you choose not to pay the full cash price before the end of the delayed payment period any outstanding balance plus the lump sum of compound interest applied at the date of order will become payable.

How do I make a Buy Now Pay Later payment?
To make a full or partial payment simply log into My Account, choose "Make a payment", select "Pay Buy Now Pay Later" and allocate your payment to the specific item(s) you wish to pay off. Alternatively, you can call us.

What happens after the delayed payment period?
If you have not made any payments towards your Buy Now Pay Later, the outstanding balance plus the lump sum of compound interest will be payable across your chosen repayment period. This will now be included in your account minimum payment request each month.

If you have made partial payments, but not cleared the full cash price before the end of the delayed payment period, the outstanding balance plus a reduced lump sum of compound interest will become payable. The repayment amount agreed for the repayment period will remain the same, meaning the repayment period may be shorter than originally agreed.
If you have paid the cash price in full before the end of the delayed payment period, you will not pay any interest.

What is excluded from Buy Now Pay Later?
The costs for delivery, installation services and any warranty and insurance products cannot be placed on Buy Now Pay Later. Buy Now Pay Later availability is subject to your credit and account status.

Do I still have to pay my minimum payment?
Yes, allocating payments to Buy Now Pay Later will not cover the minimum payment for your Littlewoods account. If you have a non-Buy Now Pay Later balance on your Littlewoods account, you will still need to make at least your minimum payment as shown on your statement.