LEON's (Don't pay for a 100 weeks)

[gildo]

I have always been the type of person that likes to pay people upfront and not owe anyone or any company money. But we were at Leon's recently and they have this promo that you pay NO interest, montly or weekly payments for a 100 weeks. I know the Brick has these quite often are these safe to do? They don't put any hidden costs in there do they? How do these work?, i'm just a little worried to jump into one of these. Any advise would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.

[SportsJunky]

My only advice is pay in full before those 100 weeks are up. I think they charge interest back to day one if you don't.

[jtfrogger]

I think they also have a set up fee, which can be quite hefty. This is a scenario where I would absolutely read the fine print.

[getbak]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

My only advice is pay in full before those 100 weeks are up. I think they charge interest back to day one if you don't.

That's (usually) the big catch with these deals, they accumulate interest from day one, but you only have to pay the interest if you don't pay it in full the day it's due.

Also, they often require you to pay the taxes up front, and charge a processing fee to set up the payment plan.


If you go to their website, and look at their current flyer, on the last page, you can read the "fine print" on the deal: http://www.leons.ca/Shared/Flyer/Fly...9.105939375923

It's on a minimum purchase of $1000. You must pay all taxes and surcharges (such as the Alberta electronics recycling fee that you have to pay on all electronics) up front. There is a $79.95 processing fee that must also be paid up front.


If you're going to buying a lot of stuff and/or don't have the cash on hand to pay it all off immediately, it might be a good deal. If you have the means to pay and/or can find lower interest financing options elsewhere, the other options would be better.

[pylon]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

My only advice is pay in full before those 100 weeks are up. I think they charge interest back to day one if you don't.

You are 100% correct. In fact the lender is banking on the fact you forget. They won't send you a reminder that the 100 weeks is coming up, but on the other hand you will see an invoice for the back interest and balance within days of going over the expiration date.

[tete]

I know someone who is going through hell right now with the brick over these "don't pay for ...." deals. Apparently no paperwork was kept by the Brick to say that they were doing this deal and they got served with collection notices and a huge hit on their credit rating - even though they paid it all off in less time than what they thought they'd signed up for.

[JustAnotherGuy]

Sometimes we have to take these kinds of deals. It is good that you are educating yourself of all of the ins and outs of the 'deal'.

I believe if something like this works for you right now then go for it. Some poster have already posted some issues to be aware of.

Another is. You will pay a higher price for the furniture if you do the 'deal'. If you pay for the furniture out right then you can negotiate a lower price. So that is another way they get some extra money out of you.

[metallicat]

When I moved last year, I bought my furniture from Leon's, and signed up for the don't pay for a year or whatever it was. However, if I took the entire year before paying them, there was a fee attached. If I waited six months, there was a fee attached, and so on. I think that if I paid them in full within three months, there was no fee, so that's what I did.

I think the best solution is to just pay them in total, up front. If you can that is. Because who knows what is going to happen in 2 years. If you can't afford to pay them at that point, you are screwed, because as mentioned, the interest accrues from day one.

[ricoFlame]

I just prefer buying things like this when I have the money to buy them up front.

[gildo]

As always thanks so much for the great information!

[Swarly]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

My only advice is pay in full before those 100 weeks are up. I think they charge interest back to day one if you don't.

yes, and the interest you are charged wont be friendly. a buddy of mine bought a dinning room set at the brick one time, forgot about it during the 1 year no payments thing. they charged him around 30% or something up there with the worst credit card interest.