No Free Lunch
Almost every shop with electronic goods or household appliances lures its customers with so-called “zero” interest loans. At first glance, this is an excellent opportunity to buy a computer or TV even if we have no money. However, the reality is not so rosy because in many cases we pay extra money for such purchases. The “zero” interest loan offered by many stores with electronic goods seems to be a tempting alternative for those who do not wish to get a loan from a bank in order to acquire a computer or TV. The “zero” interest loan is also used by hypermarkets as well as car dealers.
Nevertheless, according to a recent report prepared by Open Finance, this form of payment is not always the best way to pay for goods. Mateusz Ostrowski from Open Finance emphasises that in reality in many cases there may well be a loan without any interest behind the “zero” interest slogan with the price of a given product divided into 10, 20 or 30 equal parts but sometimes there are additional costs in the “zero” interest loan. For instance, in order to receive a credit card that will enable us to pay for goods included in the “zero” interest promotion, we have to pay for the issuing of the card. With regard to car loans, in many cases there is a so-called “arrangement” fee. We should not forget about insurance costs added to the loan which may amount to 0.7% of the loan value, so when we buy a TV for PLN 5,000, we have to pay an additional PLN 35. Even though the aforementioned additional expenses are less than the costs of getting a loan from a bank, the “zero” interest loan also includes costs which should officially be covered by sellers, but in reality they transfer these costs to the customer by including them in the price of the product. Therefore, it may turn out that taking out a normal loan from a bank will be cheaper than “zero” interest loans.
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