Don’t open accounts at shops if you have no job. It needs to be paid back, and can legally be claimed back from you.
Companies exist to make money. One of the easy ways they do this is to charge interest on what you have bought on their store card but not yet paid off. If you don’t pay off the account, you will start getting into debt which can legally be reclaimed through the courts. Additionally, it will negatively affect your credit score – information which is available to any other company you try to borrow from, meaning other shops and, more importantly, banks and mortgage lenders.
Read more
- Money, tax and benefits > Which debts to pay off first @ Direct.Gov
Excerpt: You may not lose your home or go to prison for not paying ‘non-priority’ or credit debts. However, you can still be taken to county court and ordered to pay what you owe – often with extra costs on top. If you still don’t pay after you’ve been ordered to do so, there are a range of county court enforcement options your creditors can try to take against you.
- Store cards @ Money Saving Expert
Excerpt: These are dangerously easy to obtain, hideously expensive, manipulative beasts. Around two thirds of the major store cards on the market charge over 25% interest, some are nearly 30%. This is a huge amount, massively more than a standard, never mind competitive, credit card. This is the first piece of credit many young people get. Store card providers must love debt illiterate youngsters: they’re an easy target and often spend on these cards without understanding how to manage them, racking up expensive, ill-afforded debts. The common sell on the card is a 10% introductory discount, which sells people into debt whilst never explaining the consequences.
Message supplied by: Paddy @ Eternity Norwich
image by Republica under CC0 license
