Crossword Genius

Payment plan author enters himself when in pieces (5-5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

never-never

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'payment' is the definition.
(I know that never-never is a type of installment buying)

'plan author enters himself when in pieces' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'author' could be 'verne' (I've seen this before) and 'verne' is located in the answer.
'when' could be 'e' (I've seen this in other clues) and 'e' is present in the answer.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for never-never that I've seen before include "Hire-purchase" , "credit facility" , "Easy terms" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
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