What is Jacamo?

Jacamo is a mail order clothing company under the J D Williams & Company Limited umbrella. The company's operations commenced in 2007 at the Manchester headquarters, where they still trade from to this day.

Jacamo excelled in two somewhat niche areas and also became the first solely online mail-order company with store credit options. The second was providing men's clothes in sizes that other companies didn't.

The goal for Jacamo was to make fashion more accessible to men of different shapes and sizes without compromising on the cost of style.


Ultimately, this goal has been achieved, with Jacamo becoming a prevalent name in the men's fashion space, especially following the marketing campaigns that featured ex-England Cricketer Freddie Flintoff as the face of Jacamo.

The target audience and customer-base for Jacamo are males aged between 25-45, and they target this demographic by finetuning the brands that are available through its diverse product range.

Popular brands like Nike and Adidas are the main attractions, although more brands like Vans and Jack Wolfskin benefit from a more cult following.

Table of Contents

How Does Jacamo's Credit Account Work?

As we mentioned previously, Jacamo's credit services are a big selling point for its overall clothes shopping service. The application process is relatively simple, as Jacamo take some basic information from you about your identity, address history and employment, and conduct a credit check to see what your credit file looks like.

With this information, Jacamo decides how much store credit they can grant you to spend on the website. Jacamo often revisits this credit limit, and sometimes they notify you in writing to inform you they intend to increase your limit, which you can accept or decline.

Now, the money you spend/lend from Jacamo is subject to interest, which means that for the time you owe Jacamo money, that interest will be added to the amount outstanding.

However, if you pay back this money before the due date of your minimum payment in the first month, you won't pay any interest.

This brings us to the minimum payment that must be made on outstanding debt to Jacamo. The minimum payment is put in place to ensure that you make an effort to pay back the outstanding debt to Jacamo and prevent the interest from building to that past your credit limit.

The minimum payment is 4% of your outstanding debt of £5, depending on which is greater. This must be paid every 28 days, or else you'll incur a late payment fee of £12.

If you continually miss payments, you run the risk of Jacamo closing the account and referring it to a 3rd party debt collector to retrieve the money owed.

What Products Does Jacamo Offer in its Catalogue?

Jacamo offer quite an extensive catalogue of brands and products that have grown steadily over the years. In fact, your credit agreement with Jacamo extends to another two brands too. Let's explore them a little more:

Men's Clothing

Jacamo boasts a wide range of men's clothing on the website, with a particular focus on larger sizes in the most popular brands that you're unlikely to find elsewhere.

Items like coats and jumpers tend to be the best sellers for Jacamo, mainly due to the price as the credit options make higher cost items much more affordable.

Shoes

Jacamo offers shoe sizes ranging from size three all the way up to size 18. Typically, other stores only offer sizes up to around 12 or 13, so this sizing really opens up Jacamo a different market.

The range varies from trainers to formal shoes, covering you from casual day-to-day wear to event or work wear.

Accessories

The accessories range for Jacamo is pretty substantial, offering items from watches, jewellery, belts, hats, gloves, wallets, luggage, and many other items.

The luggage option is particularly useful when combined with the credit options as quality luggage comes at quite a high price, especially for quality brands like Eastpak, which Jacamo stock.

Grooming

The men's grooming market has soared in recent years, with facial hair making a fashionable comeback, making the grooming sets on offer from Jacamo one of its top sellers.

These sets range from electric groomers to beard care kits, so there is something for everyone. The grooming range also features skincare, fragrance, and gift sets to complete the range on offer.


Gaming & Tech

The gaming and technology range was a later addition to Jacamo's empire, but it's proved to be one of the most popular additions. The range offers everything from games consoles to laptops and everything in between.

They give customers access to the latest technology, and the iPhone 12 was available just a few days after its release. Again, the credit options with Jacamo help these high-value goods become more accessible and attainable for the customer base. It's also a range that speaks directly to its demographic.

What Jacamo Catalogue Deals Are Available?

Jacamo runs different deals at different times throughout the year, so it's hard to pre-empt when the next deal might turn up. Sometimes Jacamo will run interest-free deals for new customers that last a certain number of months before reverting to the standard plans.

Jacamo also runs discount codes advertised along the top of the website that gives you money off different things.

For example, the latest discount code was for free delivery on all orders, or on Black Friday last year, massive discounts on the entire store could be had. You have to check back frequently to spot when an offer is available, but there is usually at least one running at any time.

Benefits of Shopping at Jacamo

Jacamo not only provides a great range to its customers, but it also puts a keen focus on delivering a fantastic service to its customers. Here are some of the key benefits of shopping with Jacamo:

Variety of Payment Options

Jacamo's flexibility makes it a top choice amongst its customers, with the ability to pay in a variety of different methods available.

First, you can shop as you would anywhere by paying for your items in full.

Alternatively, you can apply for a credit account and pay with your credit balance.

However, you can also pay this off within the set term to pay no interest, and then it acts as a buy now, pay later service. You can also pay a certain amount in cash and the rest on your credit limit if you wish to do so.


Quick Delivery

Jacamo provides many delivery options that vary in price depending on how quickly you need your order. Standard UK delivery is just £2.95 regardless of your order's size and gets to you within 3-5 working days.

There is a nest day delivery option in which you pay £3.95, and you can receive your items the next day. You can also pay the same amount to nominate a delivery day, so if you're only at home on a particular day, you can specify for the order to be delivered on that day.

Best Sales and Discounts

Jacamo put a real emphasis on keeping almost constant discounts and deals running in a variety of ways across the website. Not only do they have regular discounts on specific items, but they will also usually have an additional discount code available that you can apply to your cart on check out.

Returns

Returns with Jacamo couldn't be much easier. If you want to return any of your items, there is a returns slip included with your order that you fill out and enclose with your items.

Then, you can either have it collected by a courier, drop it off at the post office or return it to an INPOST locker.

Jacamo Unlimited – Unlimited Delivery for 12 Months

Jacamo has a great membership service called 'Jacamo Unlimited'. If you purchase Jacamo Unlimited for £7.99, you receive free next day delivery for a year, which is incredible considering next day delivery is £3.95 on its own.

Disadvantages of shopping at Jacamo

While there are many benefits to be enjoyed as a Jacamo customer, there are also a few drawbacks that are worth noting.

Interest Rate

If you take out a credit account and purchase items on finance then you could incur interest charges.

Credit Checks

If you want to apply for a credit account with Jacamo, you will need to have a credit check conducted on you, which will leave a notice that a hard search was carried out. It can also mean that if your credit score is poor; you may not be able to gain credit from Jacamo.

Credit Impact

If you find that you're unable to keep up with the payments of your credit account you can incur late payment fee's, negative credit score implications which could lead to court proceedings if your account can't be brought up to date in good time.

What Payment Methods Do Jacamo Accept?

Jacamo continues its goal of making its brand the most accessible on the market with a plethora of payment options for its customers.

We've broken them down into more detail here:

  • Debit/Credit Card – The easiest way to pay for your items is with a credit or debit card at the checkout stage. This also provides you with a level of security with the bank in the unlikely event that something goes array concerning refunds or proof of purchase.
  • BACs Transfer – You can actually transfer the money into Jacamo's bank account to pay for your items if you can't use your card for any reason.
  • Direct Debit – If you opted for a credit option, you could pay your monthly amount each month via a Direct Debit that will ensure you never miss a payment.
  • Automated Payment Line – If you want to make a payment on your account, you can call the automated payment line and pay with your card. This is often used if you don't have access to a computer or the internet.
  • Payzone and Post Office – You can visit a Payzone or a post office location to pay off your account by taking a barcode you will have received with your items. It costs 45p to do so with the post office and 33p for Payzone.
  • Post – You can pay via post with either a cheque, postal order or by filling in your card details on a form received with your items and then sending it back to Jacamo's headquarters.

Can I Open a Jacamo Credit Account with Bad Credit?

Credit reports and scores are not black and white when it comes to gaining credit. There isn't a specific threshold that decides whether or not you can gain credit, and each company makes decisions differently.

Of course, the higher your score, the more likely you are to gain credit, but the likelihood is that if you have poor credit, Jacamo will give you a small amount of credit, which will allow you to demonstrate that you can handle more as time passes.

How Does Jacamo's Delivery and Return Policies Work?

Jacamo's delivery and return processes couldn't be more straightforward.

For delivery, there are four options available:


  • Standard Delivery – Takes 3-5 working days and costs £2.95
  • Next Day Delivery – Delivered the next day if the order is placed before 3 pm and costs £3.95
  • Nominated Day Delivery – Choose what day you want to have your items delivered and costs £3.95
  • Jacamo Unlimited – For a one-off cost of £7.99 you can have free next day delivery for an entire year

Now for returns, you have up to 60 days to return your items by either dropping them off at the post office, an INPOST locker or arranging them to be picked up for free by a Hermes courier.

You must enclose the returns form that you receive with your items.

Conclusion

Jacamo has made significant steps to cement itself as a leader in the alternative sizing market for both men and women whilst also branching out into various other product ranges to meet customer's needs.

They have also managed to provide this service with a solid store credit system that makes expensive clothing or products more attainable. What's most impressive, though, is that Jacamo has managed to maintain low costs throughout all operations from returns to discounts.

FAQs

Q: Can I get a Jacamo credit account with no credit?

A: Perfect credit isn't a pre-requisite of a credit account with Jacamo, even if it would make your life easier. Jacamo make credit decisions on a customer by customer basis, so you would need to fill out an application to see what the result would be.

Q: How do I cancel a credit account with Jacamo?

A: To cancel a credit account, you need to pay the outstanding balance on your account and then contact Jacamo to have your account closed down for good.

Q: Who are Jacamo regulated by?

A: Jacamo is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority who oversee credit lending to ensure its withing laws and regulations.

Q: Can I order anywhere else apart from online?

A: You can actually order products over the phone with a Jacamo advisor. They can suggest alternative clothing and other items for you, and then arrange payment and delivery once you've finished shopping.

Q: How can I increase my credit limit?

A: You can't ask Jacamo to increase your limit, but this is reviewed regularly, and you will be informed when you have the chance to increase your limit.

Sources

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N_Brown_Group