C-E
C
Car Loan – Car loans are personal loans that are used to fund the purchase of a new or second hand car. They are paid directly to the customer, and are unsecured, unlike car finance schemes which are paid to the vendor, and are secured against the car.
Consumer Credit Act – This is the law that governs most personal loans and other credit products such as credit cards.
County Court Judgments (CCJs) - If someone can’t pay their debts they might face a County Court Judgment (CCJ). They will then normally have to pay the full amount owed within a month – and if this doesn’t happen, they'll be registered with the Register of County Court Judgments and the CCJ will be recorded by Credit Reference Agencies on their credit file.’
Credit - The term used to describe the lending of money from a financial institution to a individual or company.
Credit File - This file consists of details of your current and past financial activities and is held on a database by three Credit Reference Agencies: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. Credit files are used by lenders in the assessment of applications and ongoing management for credit products.
Credit History – This is a record of a person’s credit – such as loans and credit cards – and a history of how they were repaid.
Credit Reference Agency – This agency collects and maintains details of peoples' credit records and activities such as loan and credit card applications, late payments, defaults and County Court Judgements as well as good payment records. These details are then provided to financial companies, who use them as part of their credit scoring process to decide whether or not to lend money to people. There are three main UK Credit Reference Agencies: Experian, Equifax and TransUnion.
Credit Search – A check that a lender makes with Credit Reference Agencies to find out about a person’s borrowing and payment habits. This search will appear as part of a person’s credit history.
Credit Scoring - Credit scoring is the assessment of a loan application by a lender and is used to make a decision whether to lend or not. Lenders use information from a variety of sources in the credit scoring process, including the details on the application, data from a Credit Reference Agency or from information already held by the lender for other products held with them.
D
Data Protection Act - The Data Protection Act means that all companies that handle personal information have to comply with a number of important principles surrounding privacy and disclosure of information. The Act also allows customers to find out what personal information is held about them and sets out rules to make sure that this information is handled properly.
Debt Consolidation Loan – Debt consolidation loans can be used to bring together a range of existing borrowings – such as, store cards, overdrafts and credit cards – into a single loan. This can be suitable for you to manage your lending with one monthly repayment.
Defaults – This is when a person fails to make their loan repayments and is issued with a default notice. Defaults will be recorded on their credit file and may affect their credit score in the future.
Dependent – A person who depends on another for financial support for the basic necessities of life. A dependent is usually a child or a spouse.
Direct Debit - Direct Debit is a safe and quick way to make your loan repayments. The repayment amount goes out of your bank account automatically on the same date every month until the loan is repaid.
E
Early Settlement - This is when you repay your loan early before the end of the loan term.
If you want to settle early, we will give you a quote which will include the outstanding balance on the loan and any interest that is applicable but has not yet been added. Depending on your loan type, we may also apply an early settlement adjustment to your loan. This means that we will charge up to 58 days’ interest on the loan.
Early settlement adjustment - If you make an early settlement we will charge up to 58 days' interest. The early settlement adjustment does not apply to the Clarity Loan but may apply to other loans.