Among the victims were a suburban couple. Complicating matters for them and many others were the use of"buy now, pay later" finance companies."We don't like surprises," said Apurva Bose.
But it might well have been about the missing furniture in their nursery, front room, and basement. That's because Chicago-based Interior Define took their money, but never brought any furniture.The Bose family paid with Affirm, a buy now, pay later company. That complicated their ability to dispute the $8,000 charge and get a refund.
The popularity of the business model has exploded. Consumers took out 180 million loans in 2021, totally more than $24 billion.:"Folks who don't want their credit or income to be considered, so folks with lower credit scores and still get interest free option."