Difficulty repaying Buy Now Pay Later debts

This is a guide about what you can do if you are struggling to meet your repayments on your Buy Now Pay Later debt.

Download PDF

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) makes it easy to spend more money than you can really afford. The purchase cost can seem cheaper when you split it up into smaller repayments, but many people lose track of how much is due and when (particularly if you’ve made multiple purchases on different days and are using more than one BNPL lender). You could quickly get caught spending far more than you intended or having more debt than you can afford to repay.

If you pay late or miss your BNPL repayments, you will usually incur late payment fees from your BNPL lender.  Your late, missed, or overdue payment may also be listed on your credit report.  So, it is important to take steps to get your BNPL debt under control.

This page explains the steps you can take if you are struggling to meet the repayments on your BNPL debt because you are experiencing financial hardship.

If you complete the steps below and your problem still hasn’t been solved or you are feeling overwhelmed, call us on 1800 007 007 to speak with one of our financial counsellors. See Step 05 below.

Steps to take if you are struggling with BNPL debt

01

Work out what you can afford to pay

If you’re struggling to pay off existing Buy Now Pay Later purchases, work out what you can afford to pay by doing a simple budget. See more information about How to work out what you can afford to pay.

If you can afford to pay something

  • Start paying the amount you can afford and get in touch with the Buy Now Pay Later lender(s) straight away to put a repayment arrangement in place.


If you can’t afford to pay anything

  • You can stop the direct debit payments to ensure you can afford a high priority payment like rent.  See How to cancel a direct debit.
  • Call us on 1800 007 007 for advice from a free and confidential financial counsellor.

02

Contact your BNPL lender

Get in touch with your BNPL lender.  Tell them you are in financial hardship and why you are struggling to meet your repayments.

Some BNPL lenders have a dedicated team that you can contact for assistance if you are experiencing hardship and having difficulty repaying your debts. These contact details are usually found at the very bottom of their website home page under ‘Contact us’, ‘Hardship’ or ‘Financial Hardship’.

Try to negotiate the following as part of any agreed repayment arrangement:

  • Affordable repayments (Do not agree to make repayments you cannot afford).
  • Late fees or ongoing fees not to be charged.
  • Agree the timing of the repayments, for example, if you are paid fortnightly then you could schedule your repayments to be fortnightly as well.
  • That your credit report is not affected while you keep to any agreed repayment arrangement.
  • Confirmation of any agreement to be provided in writing.

Also, consider changing your repayment schedule(s) with all your BNPL lender(s) so that it’s easier to track how much is due and can time the repayments for when you have the funds available.

  KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

If your BNPL lender is a member of the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), which is a free and independent dispute resolution body, they are required to:

  • Offer you financial hardship assistance.
  • Respond to your request for financial hardship assistance within 21 days.
  • Stop any collection activity while they are considering your request for financial hardship assistance.
  • If they reject your hardship request, they must give reasons. You then have the right to dispute this decision in AFCA (see Step 04 for more information).

If your BNPL lender is not a member of AFCA, they may still negotiate repayment arrangements but there are no legal obligations for them to do so.

Check if your Buy Now Pay Later lender is a member of AFCA here.

03

Deactivate access, reduce credit limits and close accounts

If you want to continue using BNPL, make sure that you only have one account at a time. Using multiple accounts can make things very confusing as payments can easily be forgotten.

You can de-activate extra BNPL accounts or reduce your account limits, as you work to pay off the balance(s) you owe. You can also contact the BNPL lender and ask for a block to be placed on your account, to prevent you from making further purchases.

Remember to close your account once you have repaid the debt.

04

If the BNPL lender will not agree to an affordable repayment arrangement


If your BNPL lender is a member of AFCA:

If you can’t agree to a payment arrangement that you think is fair and affordable, you can have that decision reviewed by the Australian Financial Complaints Authority (AFCA), if your BNPL lender is a member.


If your BNPL lender is not a member of AFCA:

If you can’t agree to a payment arrangement that you think is fair and affordable and your BNPL lender is not a member of AFCA then progress to Step 05 (next) to speak to a financial counsellor.

05

Speak to one of our financial counsellors

If your problem still hasn’t been solved or you are feeling overwhelmed and need some help, you can speak with one of our financial counsellors.

Financial counsellors aren’t judgmental about your circumstances – they’re here to offer you free, confidential and independent advice and assistance.

To speak to a financial counsellor you can:

  • Call the National Debt Helpline on 1800 007 007 – open Weekdays from 9:30 am to 4:30 pm.
  • Use our live chat service by clicking the chat icon in the bottom right corner of your screen. Live chat is available 9:00 am to 8.00 pm weekdays. If you send a message outside these hours a financial counsellor will get back to you.
  • Make an appointment to see a financial counsellor in your local area – Find a local Financial Counsellor.
ndh_ico

You might feel overwhelmed, but you have options and there are steps you can take yourself. But if you feel you need a bit more guidance or need help quickly, simply call us.

CALL 1800 007 007