More than a quarter of adults in the UK will use the controversial payment method in a bid to help with festive spending, research suggests, with the proportion rising to more than half of parents with young children. (Image: PA)

Warning to one in four UK households over controversial Christmas spending tactic

More than a quarter of adults in the UK will use the controversial payment method in a bid to help with festive spending, research suggests, with the proportion rising to more than half of parents with young children.

30 Nov 2023, 08:26 by James Rodger, https://www.facebook.com/jamesrodgerjournalist · Birmingham Live

As many as one in four UK households will be paying for Christmas using 'Buy Now Pay Later'. More than a quarter of adults in the UK will use the controversial payment method in a bid to help with festive spending, research suggests, with the proportion rising to more than half of parents with young children.

The survey for Citizens Advice also found 11 per cent of people used such credit schemes to pay for groceries, a proportion that rose to 35 per cent for regular BNPL users. The charity has reported a two-thirds increase in people seeking help because of struggling to pay back BNPL spending.

In a study of 2,000 adults, over a quarter said they were likely to use delayed repayment services to help with festive spending, which rose to 56 per cent of parents with primary school-age children. Dame Clare Moriarty, the chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: “With so many households already on the financial ropes, buy now, pay later borrowing for extra Christmas costs risks delivering the knockout blow.”

Moriarty said the findings should “set off alarm bells for the government, whose dithering on regulation of the sector has gone on for too long”. One in five said they had missed or made a late payment in the past 12 months, with 10 per cent visited by an enforcement agency or bailiff as a result.

Moriarty said: “Consumers are being failed and as a result could see 2024 plagued with unmanageable debt, poor credit, and bailiffs knocking at their door. The government must act on its almost three-year-old pledge and bring the BNPL market into line urgently.” A Treasury spokesperson said: “When used appropriately, buy now, pay later can be a useful, interest-free way for consumers to manage their finances.

“We must ensure that regulation of these products is proportionate to ensure borrowers are protected without unduly restricting access. We will publish a response to our recent consultation once it is finalised.”