Catalogue Credit Refund Calculator
If your catalogue kept raising your credit limit while you only ever managed the minimum payment — Very, Littlewoods, JD Williams, Jacamo, Simply Be and the rest — the interest and charges you paid on that lending can be refunded. This page estimates what a refund could be worth and explains how the calculation actually works.
Estimate your catalogue refund
Catalogue credit refund calculator
A rough estimate of the interest and charges an upheld catalogue credit complaint could refund.
| Catalogue interest and charges refunded | £0 |
| Ombudsman interest (4.75% simple) | £0 |
| Less basic-rate tax on the interest (20%) | £0 |
| Applied against what you still owe | £0 |
| Estimated cash to you | £0 |
A rough estimate only. A real calculation uses the actual interest and charges on your statements on the portion of the balance above the last affordable limit, from the date of the increase the catalogue should not have granted. The Ombudsman’s default interest rate changed on 1 January 2026 and now tracks Bank of England base rate plus one percentage point — 4.75% at today’s base rate of 3.75%. A real award uses a weighted average of that rate across the whole period. The older 8% rate applies only to complaints referred before 2026.
You do not need a claims company. You can complain to the catalogue free of charge and, if you are not satisfied after eight weeks, escalate free to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
In this guide
- When a catalogue account becomes a claim
- What a successful catalogue refund includes
- A worked example
- Why the interest figure changed in 2026
- What the calculator cannot know
- Frequently asked questions
When a catalogue account becomes a claim
Catalogue credit is revolving credit, exactly like a credit card — a limit, a monthly minimum payment, and interest on whatever you carry over. The interest rates are often far higher than cards, commonly 35% to 70% APR, and limits were historically raised aggressively, sometimes without being asked for.
The rules are the same ones that govern credit cards. Under CONC 5.2A of the FCA Handbook, the lender behind the catalogue must carry out a reasonable and proportionate creditworthiness assessment before opening the account and before each credit limit increase. And since March 2018 the persistent debt rules (CONC 6.7.27R onwards) — which apply to retail revolving credit as well as credit cards — have required them to identify customers paying more in interest and charges than they repay, and to step in.
The signs that usually matter:
- Limit increases you didn't ask for, granted while you were only making minimum payments
- A balance close to the limit month after month, never really falling
- Ordering essentials — clothing, household goods — on credit because income didn't stretch
- Paying more in interest each month than you were clearing off the balance
- Buy-now-pay-later periods on the account that rolled into high-interest balances you couldn't clear
What a successful catalogue refund includes
The complaint normally succeeds from a specific point — the unaffordable limit increase, or the account opening if it should never have been granted. From that point:
- Interest and charges are refunded on the portion of your balance above the last affordable limit.
- Ombudsman interest is added — Bank of England base rate plus one percentage point for complaints referred from 1 January 2026, currently 4.75%. See how redress is calculated.
- Basic-rate tax (20%) is deducted from the Ombudsman interest element only — see tax on redress.
- Your credit file is corrected — defaults and late markers linked to the unaffordable portion are removed.
If you still owe on the account, the refund pays that balance down first, with anything left paid to you in cash.
A worked example
Suppose a catalogue account opened with a £500 limit was increased over the years to £1,500. The complaint succeeds in respect of the increases beyond £500. The customer carried a balance of around £1,200 at 39.9% APR for three years.
- Portion of the balance above the affordable limit: £1,200 − £500 = £700.
- Interest and charges on that portion: £700 × 39.9% × 3 years ≈ £837.90 refunded.
- Ombudsman interest at 4.75% simple, averaged over the period: ≈ £59.70.
- Less 20% basic-rate tax on the interest element: −£11.94.
- Estimated total: ≈ £885.66 — against any remaining balance first, the rest in cash.
The calculator above runs exactly this calculation with your own figures. High APRs mean even modest catalogue balances generate real refunds — £700 carried at catalogue rates costs more in interest than £2,000 on a mainstream credit card.
Why the interest figure changed in 2026
For nearly 25 years the Ombudsman added a flat 8% a year to redress awards. From 1 January 2026, complaints referred to the Ombudsman carry interest at the Bank of England base rate plus one percentage point instead — currently 4.75%, calculated as a weighted average over the period. The old 8% applies only to complaints referred before 2026, and as a late-payment penalty. Interest on your refund explained covers which rate applies to you.
What the calculator cannot know
The estimate assumes a steady balance and rate. A real calculation works from actual statements — the actual interest, the actual late and admin fees (which catalogues charged freely), and the actual dates. It also can't know where the Ombudsman would draw the affordability line, and it can't reflect buy-now-pay-later interest — where a BNPL window ended and backdated interest hit the account, that interest is often part of the refund too, which the estimate here won't capture.
One more thing it can't do: several famous catalogue names no longer trade. Where the brand's lender has gone, what's recoverable depends on who holds the book now and the time limits — check the individual catalogue guide for your brand, and see how far back can I claim.
Frequently asked questions
My catalogue kept raising my limit without me asking. Is that the claim?
Very often, yes. Each unsolicited increase needed its own affordability assessment, and increases granted to someone in minimum-payment territory are exactly what CONC 5.2A exists to prevent. Enter the last limit you could genuinely manage and the calculator estimates the refund on the lending above it.
I paid on time every month — just only ever the minimum. Can I claim?
Yes. Persistent minimum payments are the defining sign of the pattern the persistent debt rules target — see what is persistent debt. Paying on time doesn't mean the credit was affordable.
Does the buy-now-pay-later part of my account count?
It can. Where a BNPL window expired and backdated interest was added to a balance you couldn't clear, that interest forms part of what an upheld complaint refunds. The calculator can't model it, but the claim can include it.
Do I need my old statements?
No. The lender behind the catalogue holds the account history and must produce it when a complaint is made — see claiming without paperwork.
Related guides
- Catalogue credit claims hub
- What is persistent debt?
- Were your credit limit increases unaffordable?
- How redress is calculated
- Interest on your refund explained
More calculators
Free tools that estimate what a claim could be worth — a starting point, not a valuation.
