What Happens if I Don’t Pay My Klarna Back on Time?

Do you have Klarna debt and worry about not being able to pay it on time? You’ve come to the right place. Every month, over 12,000 people visit this website for advice on debt topics, including issues with Klarna. 

In this article, we’ll explain:

•  Who Klarna is and what types of finance they offer
•  What happens if you don’t pay your Klarna debt
•  How you can lower your repayments
•  Whether Klarna will be understanding and help you meet your debt
•  What happens if Klarna takes you to court and a County Court Judgement (CCJ) is issued against you

We understand the stress of being in debt; some of our team members have faced similar problems. With our experience, we’ll help you find out what you can do if you’re unable to pay your debt on time.

Who Is Klarna?

Klarna is one of the new styles of buy now pay later credit providers, which bases their service around a mobile app. Unlike traditional lenders, Klarna doesn’t use a credit score to decide whether to forward you BNPL credit or not. But the downside of this is that Klarna tends to lend only a small amount, to cover at-the-counter purchases.

Do you have to pay Klarna debt?

There are ways to have Klarna debt written off in the UK.

If you genuinely can’t afford your debt repayments then looking into whether you could have your payments lowered or written off might be just what you need. 

If you want to find out whether you qualify for having debt written off or payments lowered then fill out the short form below.

What Kinds of Finance Does Klarna Offer?

The main lending product that Klarna offers is what it calls its Pay in 4 services. This is buy now pay later credit, and as the name suggests, you pay back the cost of the purchase over four instalments, one every 30 days. It is this product is not based on your credit score, and it is this product that is potentially the most dangerous for people who find it hard to manage debt.

Klarna also offers a more traditional lending product for larger purchases. The way this works is that when you want to make a purchase at checkout time, you can fill in a simple application, and receive an instant decision on whether to be granted credit or not. This does involve a credit check, and is a hard search on your credit file.

How Did You Get Into Debt With Klarna?

Putting the traditional credit product aside for a moment, I want to talk about how easy it is to get into debt with Klarna if you use their Pay in 4 services. First of all, you download and install the app on your phone. You then register an account. Once you have done this, Klarna will tell you how much you can spend using their buy now pay later credit scheme.

Note here, that at this stage you are already being offered money by Klarna, even though you haven’t asked for it. The danger here, is that some people will instantly think to themselves, wow, where can I spend this? Effectively borrowing money that they didn’t even need.

Can you lower your repayments?

If you’re struggling to pay back your debt, then you might qualify for a debt solution.

Some solutions lower your monthly payments while others write off a portion of your debt. 

To find out whether they could work in your situation, hit the button below.

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Will Klarna Be Understanding, and Help You To Meet Your Debt?

I have to be careful what I say here, let’s just say that if you do a little Googling, you will likely realise that this is a company that has a less than stellar reputation for dealing efficiently and effectively with their customers. I’m not saying that Klarna is unethical. But there does seem to be a general opinion, that this is a company that operates a call centre that is a) extremely busy, and b) staffed by people that do the bare minimum to solve problems.

Therefore, don’t go expecting Klarna to listen to your problems, understand your financial situation, and bend over backwards to help you meet your debts. Instead, you will likely go through a scripted call centre process, with very little flexibility.

What Happens if You Don’t Pay Klarna?

This is an interesting question because what happens if you don’t pay, will depend on which of the lending products you have taken out with Klarna. For the buy now pay later credit, it is unlikely that Klarna will follow the full legal process for the enforcement of repayment of debt. After all, you were given this buy now pay later credit without a credit check, and it is for a very small amount.

However, if you took on traditional credit with Klarna, and let’s be clear here, the simple buy now pay later credit product is intended to be something of a gateway drug to you borrowing more money from Klarna under a traditional credit agreement, you can expect to face the full legal process of debt recovery. However, you need to understand that there are many myths about this process. For example, unless you give Klarna your address, they have no way to find it if you move house.

Will Klarna Take You to Court?

Now, let’s put the buy now pay later credit aside here. We are going to talk about what will happen if you don’t pay back the money you borrow from Klarna under a traditional credit agreement. First of all, the company is going to ask you to pay the debt or set up some form of repayment schedule. If you don’t do this, then your debt could be turned over to a collection agency such as PRA Group, Global Debt, or Lowell Portfolio.

Once this happens, you can expect to be hounded by the collection agency, until such time as you agree that you owe the debt, and set up some schedule for repaying it. You face actions such as the ones listed below.

• Constant phone calls, often at the weekend or in the evening.
• Potential visits to your home, again, can happen at the weekend or in the evening.
• Letter after letter was sent to your home, to try and contact you.

Eventually, if you don’t reply to any of these letters or phone calls, acknowledge the debt, or work out a payment plan, the collection agency will take matters further. And this means potential legal proceedings.

What Happens if I Don’t Pay Klarna After a CCJ Has Been Issued?

I have already explained what you can expect from a debt collection agency, if they had been passed your debt by Klarna. But what happens once matters have become more serious, will you be taken to court?

Your creditor has the option of approaching the County Court to issue a judgement against the debt. This is known as a County Court Judgement (CCJ). if the judgement is granted, you are then deemed legally liable for the debt. If you still don’t pay the debt once this happens, it is within the power of the County Court to sanction bailiffs to enforce the collection of the debt. Ultimately, this means you could have bailiffs knocking on your door, demanding you pay the debt, or wanting to take goods away from your home to be paid to settle the debt.

Can Bailiffs Really Take Goods From My Home To Sell To Pay the Debt?

If a bailiff can get into your home, then yes, they are well within their rights to take goods from your home to be auctioned off, and the proceeds paid towards your debt. However, they cannot force their way into your home. They can only come inside if you invite them in.

Additionally, certain items are protected, and exempt from confiscation. For example, your cook or fridge, which are seen as basic needs. Additionally, a bailiff cannot take anything that you need to do your work. Your phone, laptop, or similar.

“It will only get worse” 😩

It’s cliché to say, but with debt it’s true; the longer you leave it, the worse the problem gets. 

There are straightforward and effective ways to deal with debt, but you have to know your options. 

Fill out the short form to find out about the debt solutions that could reduce your monthly payments or even write off some of your debt.

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Where Can I Find More Help and Advice About Getting Out of Debt?

If you need some help and advice to get out of debt, and to find a way to pay Klarna, then all you need to do is pop along to your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB). The staff at the CAB have a lot of experience helping people with debt and money problems. If they can’t help you, they will refer you to somebody who can.