Credit Building > Where to get furniture on finance with no credit checks?

Where to get furniture on finance with no credit checks?

Wollit Team2 minute read · Updated 3rd July 2024

To get furniture on finance in the UK and spread the cost of your purchase, you usually have three options:

Use a credit card.
Use a “furniture on finance” deal. Typically, each store offers its own deal.
Or use a “buy now pay later” option like Clearpay or Afterpay.

The first two options require a hard credit check and usually a good credit score as well. The third option does not. However, the terms are generally not as good, and you only get a few months to pay back your purchase.

How can I buy furniture on finance with no credit checks?

The only option that lets you purchase furniture in instalments without going through a hard credit check is a buy now, pay later (BNPL) tool like Clearpay or Afterpay. However, they do run a soft credit check. This credit check is not visible to other lenders and won’t hurt your credit score.

Klarna and Laybuy, the other major BNPL companies in the UK, run a hard credit check, which is more detailed and does affect your credit score.

To use Clearpay and spread the cost of your furniture, here is what you need to do:

Download the Clearpay app and sign up. Clearpay will then run a soft credit check to see if you’re eligible for its service.
If you’re eligible, you can shop and pay in 4 interest-free instalments over six weeks.
You can find the list of all the furniture stores that accept Clearpay here.
When checking out, select Clearpay as your payment method. Clearpay will lend you a small amount of credit so you can pay for your piece of furniture in four instalments, due every two weeks.
Make sure you can make repayments on time. Clearpay charges £6 for each late payment and another £6 if it’s still unpaid seven days later.
If you keep missing payments, you might not be able to use Clearpay in the future. Your details may also be passed on to a debt collection agency working on Clearpay’s behalf.

However, if you’re looking to spread the cost of your furniture over a more extended period, you’ll need to accept that you’ll need to go through a credit check.

What other options do I have to buy furniture on finance?

You could pay with a credit card. However, many of the large furniture stores in the UK offer their own finance plans for paying for your furniture in instalments:

DFS. DFS offers interest-free credit for sofas, beds, and furniture. They conduct an initial soft credit check that does not affect your credit score. You can start payments one month after delivery or choose to pay nothing for a year and then take up to 2 years of interest-free credit. DFS offers 0% APR interest-free credit for 12 months on orders over £300.
IKEA. IKEA provides up to £15,000 for 3 to 48 months through IKANO Bank, their partner.
Barker and Stonehouse. This store offers up to 15 months interest-free credit with a minimum 10% deposit for orders over £1,500. If you need more time, they also have a plan that lets you spread the cost over 48 months with a 9.9% APR and 10% deposit.
Raft Furniture. Raft Furniture also lets you spread the cost of their purchase over up to 48 months, with a representative APR of 29.8% and a 10% deposit.

All of these require a hard credit check, just like any other loan. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ll get rejected if you have a low credit score – use the soft check eligibility calculator first.

How can I become eligible for furniture on finance deals?

Since most furniture on finance deals are loans, you’ll need to pass a hard credit check when you apply for one. You’ll also need a good credit score – most of these are not “bad credit” loans and offer pretty generous APRs and interest-free periods.

To improve your credit score, consider downloading a specialised credit-building app like Wollit. Wollit reports your fixed-fee monthly subscription as a loan repayment to credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax, and TransUnion).

This helps you improve your credit history by showing that you can pay debt on time, one of the main factors that influences your credit score. Eventually, this will enhance your eligibility for the sofa of your dreams – and the house around it.