Established in November 2005 as a result of the merger of the former Littlewoods and Shop Direct companies, the retailer was known as Littlewoods Shop Direct Group until a corporate rebranding to Shop Direct Group in May 2008. In 2013, the company rebranded to Shop Direct, dropping the ‘group’ from its name. Shop Direct rebranded themselves to The Very Group in 2020.
A business group trading via several digital department stores, Shop Direct traces its roots to a variety of mail-order companies in northern England, the football pools and mail-order business founded by John Moores, as well as the Manchester-based home shopping business of Great Universal Stores. These companies were purchased by Sir David and Frederick Barclay in 2003, and a major business restructuring took place leading to a merger of two companies that had “been arch-rivals for the best part of 100 years”.
Since the merger of what had been struggling businesses in 2005, ongoing restructuring and modernisation of the company has resulted in Shop Direct emerging as one of the largest online retailers in the UK. Its traditional paper-based and phone-in orders system has been superseded by electronic commerce(eCommerce) technology.
The group is now amongst the largest online retailers in the UK, with annual sales of £1.86bn in 2016 and 62% of online sales coming from mobile devices.
The group’s brands are Very.co.uk, Littlewoods.com, Very Exclusive and Littlewoods Ireland. The former Shop Direct brands are Additions Direct, Abound, Choice, Great Universal, Isme, K&Co, Kays, Marshall Ward and Woolworths.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
https://www.very.co.uk/help/en/online-help-system.page
How do I make a payment?
My Account
Making a payment to your Very Account is quick and easy, plus its available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Log into My Account and choose ‘Make a Payment’.
You can pay by both credit and debit cards and your payment will show on your Very Account after 1 day. Very will email you when it does.
Want to make a payment on the things you’ve bought with Buy Now Pay Later? To make a full or partial payment simply log in to “My Account”, choose “Make a Payment”, select “Pay Buy Now Pay Later” and allocate your payment to the specific Buy Now Pay Later you wish to pay off.
Making partial payments without clearing the cash price in full will reduce the lump sum of compound interest charged at the end of the delayed payment period.
Remember, if you choose not to pay the cash price before the end of the delayed payment period, any outstanding balance plus a lump sum of compound interest will be charged to your Very Account. Interest is charged at your account rate.
Direct Debit
Setting up a Direct Debit is really simple, too.
It’s a safe and speedy way to pay your Very Account with an automatic payment from your Bank Account – all you need is your bank sort code and account number.
Go to My Account and select Make a Payment.
Then select Set up a Direct Debit and choose a payment option that suits you best: Minimum Payment, Take 3 or Full Payment.
We’ll remind you of your Direct Debit on each statement. That way you’ll be aware of what we’re going to take and when your due date is each month.
Please note that any Buy Now Pay Later payments will not automatically be taken by Direct Debit, these payments will need to be made separately.
By the way, your Direct Debit will be set up to pay the following month’s payment, so make sure you pay by another means such as credit or debit card or even by cheque until we confirm on your statement that we’ve set up your Direct Debit.
To cancel your Direct Debit log into My Account.
How and where do I change my credit limit?
To change your credit limit or view your affordability details, log in to ‘My Account’ and go to My Credit Details.
Prior to requesting a credit limit change we need you to enter or update your affordability details, to request a credit limit change there are two options:
- Apply for a credit limit increase
- Request credit limit decrease