Martin Lewis lashes out at Deliveroo for Buy Now Pay Later offer

Martin Lewis has hit out at takeaway delivery app Deliveroo for including a 'buy now, pay later' option when it comes time to order food.

If you fire up Deliveroo, when it comes time to pay you might discover there's a new option available that means you can get your takeaway without having to pay anything, at least not straight away.

Deliveroo users have started to notice the option to 'buy now, pay later' with Klarna when they want to order through the app, and many are wondering why the option is even there.

Klarna is a 'buy now, pay later' service which will let people pay for their Deliveroo in 30 days time instead of when they order it, or slice it down into three instalments paid over time if the order costs more than £30.

There's no upfront interest or fees so in the end you pay no more than would you would have spent in the first place, but lots of people thought it was a bad idea to have the option on a takeaway app.

One of these people was the Money Saving Expert himself, Martin Lewis, who took to Twitter to ask Deliveroo why their customers had the option of getting into debt to order a takeaway.

He argued that even if people weren't paying more than they would have done in the long run it's still racking up debt for something as simple as ordering food.

Right now people are struggling through a cost-of-living crisis and if someone can't afford to pay for a takeaway when they order it then kicking that bill down the road for 30 days might not be the best option to offer.

The Money Saving Expert asked Deliveroo: "Do you really need pump debt as a way to pay for takeaways?"

Lewis also pointed out that the 'buy now, pay later' market is unregulated, so the current arrangements could change and leave people in a heap of trouble.

At time of writing Deliveroo have not responded to his questions.

People took to social media to voice their concern, with one person saying it was 'absolutely horrific' and another urging people 'please do not Klarna Deliveroo'.

Others called it a 'financial crisis waiting to happen' and said someone would have to be 'in the depths of financial hell' if they were having to go for delayed payments on their takeaways.

While Klarna doesn't currently charge late fees for UK users, they can sent debt collection agencies after you if you don't pay for a significant amount of time.

They said they would send reminders to people with outstanding payments and offer them the option to 'snooze' their debt, extending the deadline by 10 days.

Users with outstanding debts are also locked out of using Klarna's services until they've paid up, and the company said if the payment still hadn't gone through 'after several months' they would then bring in a debt collection agency.

Klarna insisted even if they took this step they would never have people turning up at someone's house or threaten a person with repossession or legal action, nor would the original debt increase.

When asked why it had included delayed payments through Klarna to the range of payment options, a Deliveroo spokesperson told LADbible: "Deliveroo offers choice to our customers, from neighbourhood eateries and your weekday lunch to a Saturday night celebration.

"Millions of people are already choosing Klarna and we’re giving customers more choice and more flexibility with a safe, secure way to pay online."

A Klarna spokesperson said 'people have been paying for food deliveries with credit cards and overdrafts for decades', with them offering a 'healthier alternative' without 'rip-off fees and extortionate interest'.

Still, it seems hard to argue with the idea that the best time to pay for a takeaway is when you order it, and if you can't pay the cost then maybe you shouldn't take it on as debt.