Dixons attacked on credit deals

HIGH STREET stores group Dixons has been told to stop tricking customers or face court. Watchdogs ordered the electrical retailer to change the way it advertises interest-free deals or be shut down.

The Dixons stores, including Currys, Link, and PC World and furniture firms Harvey Furnishings and Magnum, have also been forced to stop using terms like zero% finance.

Customers believed they could buy an item and pay in instalments without interest. But if the final payment was missed, they were charged huge levels of interest for the entire period of the deal.

John Vickers, director-general of Fair Trading, said: 'When a consumer signs an interest-free deal then they should get that.'

A spokesman for Dixons said: 'These credit options are very popular and the vast majority pay within the designated periods.'