Littlewoods Ireland Credit Limits Maximum?

TheDriver wrote: »

Same thoughts, its as bad as getting a payday loan etc. Borrowing on credit card probably works out cheaper....

What do you mean by a payday loan? And I don't have credit cards I think they are dreadful in the long run and can easily run them up into the 1000s if you are not careful to budget and keep an eye on your spending.

Brennan Rich Someway wrote: »

From the point of Interest charges.

Credit from Littlewoods is extremely expensive - as are payday loans. A credit card is expensive too but not as much so as Littlewoods. Extending credit with them is madness. Get a credit union loan and buy things with cash.

What is a payday loan I am not familiar with those? I don't know the APR on credit cards because I've never had one nor chose to ever get one. And with a credit union loan is there any interest on paying back money with them and what are some of the limits you can get with them?

sonny.knowles wrote: »

It's not the credit card that's the problem - it's the user.

That is a good point its the user responsibility to pay back loans on a credit card and the interest I agree. I think it can be easily abused by people and not everyone would intentionally want to go into debt but could easily happen if they don't have the control.

Menas wrote: »

OP, if you are considering getting a loan from any source, littlewoods or other, you really should look at all the options and figure out which is cheapest and suits you most. That should include bank, credit union, credit card etc. In store credit and payday loans are the most expensive out there in my opinion, but do a bit of checking yourself.

Thanks for the advice appreciate it and thats right what you said you have to do research you have to figure out the best one that suites you as the person. Littlewoods seems fine Ive used it a few times so far and have no problem or complaints with it.

brightspark wrote: »

I'm not surprised that you haven't had a problem, but it seems to be that you don't realise that effectively your account with Littlewoods is just like a credit card, albeit with a higher cost and limited to just shopping with them.

I've never seen a Littlewoods statement, but if it shows the interest you pay each month, just realise that the interest they charge is more than 3 times what you would have paid if you took out a small credit union loan.
They are also more expensive for many items that can be easily obtained elsewhere.

When it was suggested that you research, they meant for you to find the cheapest option available, not necessarily the most convenient.

Just remember every euro you pay in interest is a euro you can't spend on something else.

Yes I guess its like that but the thing is at least with this it has a certain limit. I mean I don't know what credit cards are but I suspect they can run into 1000s which can be easily taken advantage if you don't have a good head on your shoulders. Its limited to a degree in terms of there are other places where you can get more but the selection isn't too bad. And I'm not paying that much maybe €5-€20 ish range because the thing is when you keep going down paying them back the amount they add on is less. So I thought by paying it off quicker then there would be less money to add on every month.
I do not know what they would charge on a credit union loan because I have not had one, if you know would appreciate the info. You said its 3 times more then credit union but you can't tell unless you've seen a statement from Littlewoods. I agree that they are probably like 5-15% more expensive then other places and could even be in the 20% range more but its a decent option to have during the year if you want or need things pretty quick and don't have the available cash there.
Well obviously there are better options out there but from my own experiences with them I can't fault them. I think something like Providence are worse because you can only pay a fixed amount back so in the long run you pay more with interest at least with these if you have the money there you can pay it off more and there will be less charges which is decent I think. Thanks for the advice appreciate it

Brennan Rich Someway wrote: »

Sorry, but the rates from Littlewoods and Credit Unions have been referenced in earlier posts. Littlewoods are at least 8 times more interest than a Credit Union.
You can have the limit on a credit card set quite easily.
You really need to talk to somebody about how to finance your purchases. You seem to be confusing convenience with value.

Well by that APR you mentioned like 5% and 40% for Littlewoods yes it would be 8 times more. As I mentioned earlier as well though if you pay back more then the bare minimum on items purchased then it feels a lot less Interest to be paid back. And ah right I don't know too much about credit cards what kind of limits are we talking about that can be set and is it the same where you say can pay back x amount back every month? And I am fine I know what I am doing, I budget fairly well for things. I mean sometimes convenience can outweigh value.

ohnonotgmail wrote: »

when it is a difference between nearly 40% (sweet sufferin jesus how is that not usury?) and 5% there would have to be a massive difference in convenience.

As I said though when you pay back more then the minimum it defo is not 40% at all I know the difference in 8 times.

AKW wrote: »

OP you should be able to set your own limit. Banks used to be great :rolleyes: at extending limits when people were paying off accounts, increasing the depth of the trap they could fall into.

Other posters have alluded to it but some figures might help:

If you buy €500 of goods on credit this month and pay a minimum of €40 per month (no idea what Littlewoods level of minimum is) it will take you 17 months to pay off that one month of buying, paying €157.68 in interest or a total to pay back €657.68 (for €500 of goods)

Spend the same on a 15% credit card any you 'only' pay €47.12 in interest for a total of €547.12 over 14 months.

A 5% loan will be paid back over 13 months costing you an extra €14.57 in interest.

That's one month. If you spend that again next month you are compounding more and more interest. Worth checking out an online calculator to figure out which offers you the best value and convenience. I know I'd value the convenience of an extra €157 in my own pocket much more than 17 months of debt.

Best of luck.

I can imagine back before the recession hit banks were very good to lending money. I am not sure what they are like these days after the way things turned out. Littlewoods bare minimum each month is usually about 10% of what the total balance is. So for your example it would be €50 but then the following month would be something like €46 with interest perhaps. I will give an example. I bought items from them last August and had it paid by May this year. The items total was €350. I went over all the payments made in that period and worked out I paid them back €420 in total for all items, it could have been slightly less it could have been slightly more which works out around 20% extra I had to pay back.
I don't know how likely places like a bank are giving out credit cards it would be something I could look into perhaps. I appreciate your advice and the calculations you used to show there are other options which are out there and available and that I could be saving more money by looking into them. I am not sure with the way things have gone those options are as easy to obtain compared to this method maybe they are and I could be wrong. Its always important to look around and try save as much as possible.