If you cannot pay buy now pay later

If you cannot pay buy now pay later (BNPL), contact the provider before the payment is due if you can. Missed payments can lead to late fees, marks on your credit file and, in the end, debt collection or court action. Since 15 July 2026, many BNPL agreements are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), so the provider must offer support if you are struggling. Agreements taken out before that date are not covered.

Is your BNPL agreement regulated?

The FCA now regulates deferred payment credit (DPC), the most common type of BNPL. DPC is interest-free credit, repaid in 12 or fewer instalments over 12 months or less. Whether the new rules protect you depends on who lent you the money and when.

You can check a provider on the FCA’s Firm Checker. Search for its name, choose ‘Borrowing money, including credit card lending and credit information’, and check that it is ‘Authorised’ with permission to ‘Lend you money on an unsecured basis’. Some lenders are in the FCA’s temporary permissions regime instead. They are not yet authorised, but they must follow the FCA’s rules for agreements entered into from 15 July 2026.

What happens if you miss a payment?

Late fees

You can be charged a late fee, or interest, depending on your agreement. For a regulated agreement, the provider must tell you how much any late fee will be before you sign. The FCA has not set a cap on BNPL late fees, but its general rule is that charges for customers in arrears or default must be no higher than necessary to cover the lender’s reasonable costs.

A missed payment notice

For a regulated agreement, as soon as possible after you miss a payment the provider must tell you:

• that the payment has been missed, and which agreement it relates to
• what you now owe that is unpaid, including any late fees
• what the consequences are, and are likely to be, for you
• any steps you can take to limit those consequences

The FCA expects this to cover when the provider charges for missed payments and when it reports missed payments to credit reference agencies.

Your credit file

MoneyHelper says missing a BNPL payment will negatively affect your credit score and could make it harder to get credit in future.

Ending the agreement or demanding the full balance

For a regulated agreement, the provider must give you reasonable notice before it ends the agreement, demands earlier payment of what you owe, or restricts your rights under it. If you are in arrears, that notice must tell you that free, impartial debt advice is available. The Consumer Credit Act default notice rules that apply to credit cards and loans do not apply to these agreements; this FCA notice rule applies instead.

If you still do not pay, the debt may be passed or sold to a debt collector, and the provider or debt owner may go to court.

What must your provider do if you are struggling?

For regulated agreements, FCA rules say a lender must treat you with forbearance and due consideration if you are in, or approaching, arrears. You count as approaching arrears as soon as you tell the lender you are at risk of missing a payment. The FCA’s examples of forbearance include:

• suspending, reducing, waiving or cancelling further charges or interest
• giving you more time to pay off arrears
• accepting reduced or token payments for a reasonable period, if paying in full would leave you unable to meet priority debts or essential living costs
• agreeing a repayment plan that gives you a reasonable time to repay

The lender must not pressure you to pay within an unreasonably short time, or to borrow money to pay. If you tell it that you, or a debt adviser, are working on a repayment plan, it must pause active collection for a reasonable period, which FCA guidance says should generally be 30 days.

If your agreement started before 15 July 2026, these rules do not apply to it. It is still worth contacting the provider and asking what help it can offer.

Talking to your provider

1. List every BNPL agreement you have, with the amounts and due dates. Several small plans can add up quickly.
2. Put priority debts first. Rent, mortgage, council tax and energy come before BNPL. See priority debts.
3. Work out what you can afford, then contact the provider before the next payment date. Say what has changed and what you can pay.
4. Ask for late fees to be paused while you agree a plan.
5. Avoid taking out new BNPL plans until you are back on track, and avoid paying BNPL with a credit card: you would still owe the money, just to the card provider instead. Our guide if you cannot pay your credit card explains the rules there.

What if a debt collector contacts you?

A debt collector can ask you to pay, but it has no power to enter your home, take your belongings or take money from your wages or bank account. Only sheriff officers can do that, and only after a court decree. Collectors of regulated credit debts must follow FCA rules on fair treatment. See debt collectors in Scotland for your rights and how to complain.

How do you complain?

If you took out the agreement on or after 15 July 2026, complain to the provider first. If it does not send a final response within 8 weeks, or you are unhappy with it, you can complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service, which is free. The Ombudsman can look at unfair or unexpected charges, incorrect credit file information, being asked to pay what you have already paid, and agreements that were unsuitable or not properly explained.

If something you bought on a regulated agreement is faulty, the FCA says section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act may let you claim a refund from the lender, the same protection you would have paying by credit card.

Where can you get free help?

Free, impartial debt advice is available from services such as MoneyHelper, Citizens Advice Scotland, Advice Direct Scotland and StepChange. An adviser can look at all your debts, not just BNPL, help you contact creditors and explain the options, from an informal debt management plan to the formal Scottish solutions. See free debt advice in Scotland.

Official sources

• FCA: Buy Now Pay Later (what is regulated from 15 July 2026)
• FCA Handbook, CONC 7 (arrears, default and recovery, including CONC 7.20 for deferred payment credit)
• Financial Ombudsman Service: buy now, pay later complaints
• MoneyHelper: what is Buy Now Pay Later?
• Consumer Credit Act 1974, section 87 (default notices, not applying to regulated deferred payment credit)