Like a guarantor. A guarantor is someone else, not necessarily a relative, who is willing to assume the responsibility for your debt if you fail to pay. The guarantor will have to be checked in the same way to assess their financial position before they are accepted. They will usually have to accompany you to the store or Finance House to complete the forms.
Alternatively the credit granter may demand a higher deposit so that the final amount of the debt is reduced. The maximum deposit is usually 50% of the total purchase price. This may be required if it is your first credit transaction or if you have an unstable working history.
In interviewing people in preparation for this section I was struck by the high degree of personal attention that each and every credit application receives from the management of the stores I spoke to. When an application is straightforward and the applicant fulfills all the criteria, authorisation is very quick. In situations where there is a query, the application is always referred to a more senior staff member who will look at all aspects of the deal before making a decision.
For instance, if a low income earner is applying for credit in order to buy a bed set or stove in the low to medium price range they will vigorously attempt to find ways for the applicant to fulfill their requirements. If, on the other hand, the item is clearly a luxury, then the application will be treated with rather more circumspection. This is not to say that the store places a limit on the standard of living that you are entitled to aspire to. They are simply realistic in assessing which items are likely to be cut from the budget in the event of a crisis. The CD player will probably be dropped before the stove!
The same degree of attention is given to people who experience difficulties in meeting their payments. The comment from every one of the people I spoke to was that they would treat the individual with sufficient courtesy to ensure that once s/he recovered from their situation, they would be happy to buy from the same company again.
