Laybuy collapsed into administration on 26 June. Its customers cannot make any new purchases using Laybuy, however, they must continue to make any repayments to Laybuy as normal. If you are looking for a buy now, pay later provider, you can compare alternatives to Laybuy here.
New Zealand-based Laybuy is a payment platform designed to make it easier for shoppers to manage online and in-store purchases. It also doesn’t charge any interest and allows you to pay for your purchases over 6 weekly instalments.
You have the option of signing up to Laybuy either from Laybuy’s website or when you shop at one of its retail partners and select Laybuy as the payment option.
Before your account is verified and approved, Laybuy will have to carry out a credit check.
Once your account has been created, you’ll be given a limit based on your credit score. Then you’ll be able to use Laybuy to make purchases through any of its approved retailers up to the limit.
Your first payment will be taken when you place your order and is 1/6 of the purchase price. You’ll be expected to pay the balance over 5 equal weekly payments.
Laybuy is currently partnered with just over 1,200 stores. You can see a full list of shops that accept Laybuy in our full Laybuy store guide.
Although BNPL services can be a useful way to spread the cost of your purchases, most BNPL agreements aren’t regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). This means that if something goes wrong, you won’t get comprehensive consumer protection.”
Laybuy has no annual fees for its platform. Also, as its payment plan is interest-free, you shouldn’t ever have to pay more than an item’s original price tag, as long as you pay on time.
If you’re late with a payment, you’ll be charged £6. You’ll then have 7 days to pay the missed instalment before another £6 late fee is charged. You could be charged, in aggregate, £12 for each instalment payment you miss, up to a maximum charge of £24 per purchase.
Yes. All Laybuy’s transactions are secure and encrypted, meaning that you’re safe to shop with any of its partner retailers. Laybuy also carries out credit checks and verifies your details before creating your account and providing you with a limit.
You need to be at least 18 and be a UK resident. You can register either via Laybuy’s website or direct from a retailers’ website checkout. You’ll need to provide Laybuy with your name, address and mobile number so that it can carry out a credit check and verification.
Laybuy only accepts payments on orders from a nominated debit or credit card that is loaded on your Laybuy account. It does not accept prepaid cards or bank transfers to settle any payments due on your account.
When payment for an instalment fails, Laybuy will send you an email to let you know straight away. The payment will then be attempted again 24 hours later and if this fails, a late fee of £6 is applied. If this instalment remains unpaid for a further 7 days, another £6 fee will be applied but capped at £24. It’s important to get in touch with Laybuy as soon as you can if you think you might miss a payment.
Laybuy will not allow you to make a new purchase until your declined payments (instalments and late fees) are all paid and up to date. Late payments will show up on your credit report, as Laybuy reports payment data to the credit reference agency (CRA) Experian. This could affect your chances of getting credit again in the future.
Laybuy doesn’t score well on review site Trustpilot. It scores 2.5 out of 5 stars with a rating of “Poor”, based on almost 10,000 reviews (updated May 2024).
The Laybuy app gets 4.7 stars out of 5 on the App Store based on over 6,000 reviews (updated May 2024).
Laybuy is a growing contender in the UK’s buy now, pay later market. Similar to its better known competitor, Clearpay, it lets you split the payment of your purchase over a number of weeks, which is super handy if you’re on a budget. The automatic payments also mean you don’t need to worry about scheduling the money to go out of your account, as the payments are automatically debited from your account each week. There’s no interest to pay when using Laybuy either.
The main drawback is that you’ll be charged late fees on missed payments, which could add up. Missed payments will be recorded on your credit file and could lower your credit score. You also can’t “try before you buy” as you have to pay your first instalment on your goods at the time of purchase.
Laybuy does not offer over-the-phone support, but they can be contacted through an online request form.
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