Zilch Missed Payment – Should you Pay?

Have you missed a Zilch payment and are unsure of what to do? You’ve come to the right place for answers. Each month, over 170,000 people visit our website looking for guidance on debt matters. 

In this simple guide, we’ll explain:

•  What to do if you miss a Zilch payment
•  How the Buy Now Pay Later scheme with Zilch works
•  How to handle Zilch debt in a manageable way
•  What happens if you can’t make a Zilch payment on time
•  How to avoid late payments with Zilch in the future

In 2022, arrears on household bills increased by 68% from £1,739 to £2,920¹. So it’s quite common to miss payments.

I know this can cause worry, especially when you’re not sure how to handle it. Rest assured, we’re here to help. We aim to answer all your questions and ease your worries about missed Zilch payments.

Let’s get started.

How Does It Work?

Zilch differs from other buy now, pay later schemes, as there are several Zilch payment options.

You must download their app and search for the store you want to shop at. You can choose to pay in one go at checkout, or you can opt to pay in four instalments.

There are 0% fees on purchases made at eligible shops.

You can use Zilch Anywhere at any shop, but you’ll have to pay a fee of £2.50 for the pleasure of doing so. You also pay 25% upfront using your virtual Zilch Mastercard.

Then you get to pay the remaining amount over six weeks. You could opt to pay in one go, earning Zilch cashback.

Whenever you use the Zilch buy now pay later service, you must be able to meet your repayments. Failure to do so could mean your Zilch missed payment gets reported to a credit reference agency.

A Zilch late payment on your credit score can make it much harder to get credit in the future.

This can be big things like mortgages and car finance, to simple things like a mobile phone contract. The impact lasts for six years, so it really is something you want to avoid.

What Happens if I’m Unable to Pay on Time?

Your account is put on ‘hold’ when you can’t make a Zilch payment on time. Your account is reactivated without charging Zilch late fees when a payment is made.

But if you can’t make the payment, contact the Zilch support team asap. Communication is key to a Zilch late payment avoiding debt collection agency involvement.

According to info on the Zilch website, they’ll send you the following when a payment is overdue:

· An email reminding you of the overdue amount

· You then have 14 days to make the payment

· Zilch could close your account if you cannot pay within 14 days.

Late payments information Zilch provides is as follows:

· Their team tries to take the amount from your account again within 24 hours

· They attempt to contact you and discuss how you could make a payment

» TAKE ACTION NOW: Fill out the short debt form

Zilch tries to get your payment until you clear the amount owed. They can refer your missed payment to a debt collection agency if all attempts to clear the amount fail.

Some of the late payment consequences include sending your late payment or failing to pay details to a credit reference agency. This could impact your credit record, making it harder to get any sort of credit in the future.

They can even take you to court for a CCJ against your name.

You should communicate with Zilch debt management to avoid a difficult situation becoming a nightmare. You should also seek advice from an independent financial adviser like Payplan.

Failure to Pay due to Financial Difficulties

You should contact the support team at Zilch straight away.

Let them know you are experiencing financial difficulties. The sooner you do this, the better the outcome should be.

According to Zilch, their dedicated team is there to offer you support. They may be able to set up a new payment plan that makes it easier for you to cope with.

Other things the Zilch support team may be able to do includes:

• Change your Zilch payment options.

• Put your Zilch account on hold.

• Change your repayment dates.

If you don’t tell Zilch you have a problem and avoid dealing with Zilch missed payments, the issue could escalate out of control.

You may want to discuss things with an independent financial adviser, especially if anything the Zilch support team tells you is confusing.

They will provide free, impartial advice on handling an overdue Zilch payment.

Debt Solutions Comparison

There are different debt solutions available that can help you deal with Zilch payments. These are:

Debt Solution	Description	Formality	Debt Type	Debt Range	Legally Binding	Impact on Credit Score	Asset Risk	Monthly Payment	Duration	Creditor Agreement Required
Debt Management Plan (DMP)	Agreement to pay back non-priority debts in one monthly payment.	Informal	Non-priority debts	Any amount	No	Yes	No	Varies	Varies (until debt is paid)	No (but creditors must be informed)
Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)	Agreement to pay back all or part of your debts over a set period.	Formal	All or part of debts	Usually over £10,000	Yes	Yes	Possible	Fixed	Fixed period, usually 5-6 years	Yes (75% by debt value must agree)
Debt Relief Order (DRO)	Freezes debt for a year and be potentially written off.	Formal	Non-priority debts	<£20,000 debt	Yes	Yes	No	None during freeze	12 months	No (court approval needed)
Bankruptcy	Legal status for those who cannot repay debts, potentially writes off debts.	Formal	Unmanageable debts	Any amount, typically high debt	Yes	Yes	High	None during bankruptcy	Usually 12 months, then discharge	No (court process)
Consolidation Loan	Taking out a new loan to pay off all existing debts.	–	Multiple debts	Based on loan amount	Varies	Yes	Depends on loan type	Fixed	Depends on loan terms	No
Payment Holiday	Temporary relief or reduced payments offered by creditors.	–	short-term financial difficulties	Any	No	Yes	Low	Reduced or paused payments	Break of up to 6 or 12 months, depending on circumstances, payment history, and creditor’s policy.	No
Informal Negotiation	Direct negotiation with creditors for reduced payments or extended terms.	–	All debts	Any	No	Possible	No	Negotiable	Until agreement terms are met	No
Statutory Debt Repayment Plan (SDRP)	Plan to repay debts over a reasonable time, with protections from creditor action.	Formal	All debts	Varies	Yes	Yes	No	Fixed	Varies, based on ability to pay	Yes
Equity Release	Homeowners release equity from their home to pay off debts.	–	Debts of homeowners, typically older individuals aged 55+	Varies and depends on property value	Yes	Yes	Asset (home) is used as collateral	Varies	8-10 weeks timeframe from application to fund disbursement. Lifetime; repaid on house sale/death.	No

Can I Delay Paying?

Yes, you can delay a Zilch payment! You can snooze a payment for 4 to 7 days.

But you can only do this on your first two instalments without paying a fee. When you ‘snooze’ a payment on 3rd and 4th purchases, Zilch will charge you a small fee as explained below:

· 2nd instalment is free of charge

· 3rd instalment is free of charge

· 4th instalment incurs a fee of £1.50

· Snoozing any remaining instalment when more than one incurs a fee of £1.50

You should check whether you are eligible for delaying Zilch payments. You can do this by looking at the payment options on your purchases.

Make sure you do this well before the due payment date, though.

Snoozing Zilch instalments after the due date will prevent you from being able to delay an instalment. My advice? Contact the support team immediately if you know you can’t make a payment on your Zilch account.

Avoiding late payments

You can avoid missed payments and paying late penalties by writing down your payment dates.

Consider setting payment reminders with Zilch on your phone when payments are due.

You should also look at putting together a budget so you know how much money you have and setting aside an emergency fund for Zilch payments.

Will It be Reported to a Credit Agency?

Zilch missed payments would be reported to a credit agency.

This could impact your credit score and ability to get credit, borrow money or apply for a mortgage. When you can’t make a payment, tell Zilch about it as soon as possible.

Their support team is there to offer help when they can!

A lack of communication leads to all sorts of issues. It will only make matters worse for you. When you use a buy now pay later service like Zilch and don’t pay, it’s the same as any other debt.

You can’t get out of paying what’s owed to Zilch when you use their BNPL service.

If you are about to miss an instalment, tell Zilch support immediately. They may be able to help you avoid the credit score consequences of Zilch late payments.

Alternatively, you can look at other UK debt solutions.

There are many debt management options available, depending on your circumstances. Talk to one of the debt advice services in the UK, such as StepChange, for more information on dealing with unaffordable debt and assistance with Zilch missed payments.

Zilch Contact Details

Website:	https://www.zilch.com/uk/
Phone number:	020 3405 9775 (Monday to Sunday 9am-6pm)
	020 3405 9775 (Technical Support with Tap and Pay)
Email:	[email protected] (Payments team)

References

1. StepChange Personal Debt Statistics in Scotland 2022