Beware 222% APR Argos Card!
November 1st, 2008 3 Comments » | POSTED BY ROB
Just a quick warning for anyone who may be thinking of shopping for this year’s Christmas gifts at Argos – steer well clear of their “Easy Shop Card”, provided by Provident Financial.
The only thing easy about the card is the money that Argos will be making, as it charges an astonishing 222.7% APR. As an example, if you were to borrow £100 on the card, you’d pay a fee of £35, and you could repay it at £5 per week over 27 weeks, which gives you the 222% APR (the maths is a bit complicated, but trust us, it’s true).
You can borrow up to £300 on the card, which can only be spent at Argos – the money is collected on a weekly basis by door-to-door “agents”.
I’d warn anyone who’s considering using these cards to think seriously about whether it’s something you need to do – whilst Provident Financial argue that the short timeframe of repayment makes the APR look horrendous, it is still a very expensive way to borrow money.
3 Comments on “Beware 222% APR Argos Card!”
Cliff Walton, November 3rd, 2008
It may appaear expensive, but if you’ve been turned down for credit eleswhere it may be the only choice. The charges are upfront and clear, and it could be the difference between being able to get presents for loved ones, or not.
Rob, May 13th, 2009
Infact this article is false as i have an argos card and when you spend diffrent ammounts you get intrest free periods called BuyNowPayLater so if you pay it off in that time you pay no intrest i have brought many items on my card, when i brought my £800 tv i had 7 months intrest free you pay it at the bank noone comes to your door but if you dont pay up in time then you will be paying intrest. i think this is a great option for people who work part time or dont have the money to afford something they really want or like most of the time you can take the good away with you there and then or have them delivered! 10/10 in my opinion
Jim Land, November 22nd, 2009
Are there two types of card an Argos card which you get from Argos and a easy pay card which you get from Provident Finance ?
