What a catalogue account is
A catalogue account is a credit agreement with a shop attached. This site explains how the loan itself works.
See how it works →A catalogue account is a loan with a shop attached.
This site explains what spreading the cost actually costs, what your rights are on cancellation and faulty goods, and where to go if an account becomes a problem.
Read how home-shopping catalogues work nowUnderstand the cost, know your rights
Explanations of what spreading the cost actually means, your rights as a buyer, and where to go if a catalogue account becomes a problem.
Calculate the real cost
See the total you would pay, the interest charged, and how long it takes to clear, with every assumption visible.
Your rights when you buy
Cancellation, faulty goods, and what the law actually gives you as a catalogue customer.
Read your rights →When an account becomes a problem
What happens after a missed payment, and which free services can help you sort it out.
Find out what to do →Producing a catalogue
Guides on print production, mailing law and digital formats for trade, school and specialist catalogues.
Read the guides →One catalogue account, several separate questions
A catalogue account is a credit agreement with a shop attached, and the two parts work under different rules. What the goods cost is fixed at the point of purchase. What the credit costs depends on how long you take to pay, and that second figure is the one most people never see written down.
This site is organised around the separate questions a catalogue account actually raises:
- What spreading the cost adds to the price, worked through with the interest rate and repayment period shown.
- What happens if the goods are faulty or you change your mind, including the statutory cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and the right to a repair, replacement or refund under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
- What happens if payments are missed, including how a default is recorded with a credit reference agency and how long it stays on file, and which free service to contact if the account has become difficult to manage.
- How a catalogue is produced and mailed, for businesses printing and sending one, covering print formats, postal rules and digital alternatives.
Each of these is covered in its own guide, in more depth than a single page could hold. This section is general information, not financial advice, and it does not tell you what to do with your own account. For that, use the cost calculator with your own figures, read your rights when you buy from a catalogue, or see MoneyHelper (moneyhelper.org.uk) for guidance on your individual circumstances.
Catalogue credit, your rights, and your costs
Guides on how catalogue credit works, what it costs, your consumer rights, and where to go if an account becomes difficult to manage.
How catalogue credit works
A catalogue account is a credit agreement. The shop is the front end, the loan is the product.
Read how it works →The real cost of monthly payments
What spreading the cost actually adds to the price of what you buy, worked through in full.
See the real cost →Your rights when you buy
Cancellation, faulty goods and refunds: what the law gives you and how to use it with the retailer.
Know your rights →Work out your own costs
Enter your own figures to see the total cost, the interest, and how long repayment takes.
When an account becomes a problem
What happens after a missed payment, and the free services that can help if it gets difficult.
Find out what to do →Producing a catalogue
Guides on print production, mailing law and digital formats for trade, school and specialist catalogues.
Read the guides →See what spreading the cost would actually add up to
Enter your own purchase price, payment term and rate to see the total you would pay, the interest charged, and how long the account takes to clear. The calculator works from the figures you put in, so it can only be as right as they are.