A user’s clip on TikTok went viral and sparked debate after claiming they intentionally bought Skims using Afterpay without the intention to pay.
In a clip with over 1.4 million views as of Friday morning, TikTok user Maia (@maiachondrialmembrane) shows a screenshot of an email she received from Afterpay telling her that her Skims payment failed.
For context, Afterpay is a “buy now, pay later” service through which payments can be spread out interest-free across four equal payments every two weeks.
“You seemed a little freaked out that my payment was not able to be processed,” Maia says, addressing Afterpay. “And that’s just because I don’t plan on paying for it.”
@maiachondrialmembrane #greenscreen @afterpayusa @SKIMS ♬ original sound – maia
“The payment failed because it was supposed to,” she summarizes.
It’s unclear whether the video is a joke or is meant to be taken seriously, but in the comments section, users gave Maia genuine warnings about the danger she may be doing to her credit score and the potentially higher costs she may be incurring by not paying.
“Not going to Collections over Skims,” a user wrote.
“Ruining your credit for some skims is crazy,” another echoed.
“Don’t worry they gonna get it back in blood on your credit,” a third joked.
The relationship between Afterpay and credit reporting agencies is presently uncertain. While “AfterPay late payments are not reported to credit reporting bureaus” and the company “never does credit check or report late payments,” “it is not clear whether AfterPay reports such debtors who fail to pay their debts altogether,” writes ClearScore.
On TikTok, others simply reminded Maia that doing this will prevent one from being able to use the service again.
“Nooooo you’ve gotta keep the relationship with Affirm, Klarna, and Afterpay SOLID,” noted a commenter. “They’re our frens fr.”
“The amount of times I use afterpay I could NEVER jeopardize it,” added a second.
However, many said they simply did not care about the damage it could do to their credit score or their relationship with the company.
“Girl you are me,” a user stated. “I don’t give af!”
“Lmao ima just get a different account,” said an additional TikToker.
“It’s giving ‘you knew I didn’t have any money when u lent it to me,’” a further user joked.
We’ve reached out to Afterpay via email and Maia via Instagram direct message.
