Bad debt : A bad debt is any form of credit where the money lent has not been reimbursed according to the terms and conditions of the loan contract. A debt tends to become bad where it is not probable that the credit provider will be able to recoup the money. A bad debt on your credit report will make it less easy for you to take on a loan at a future point.
Unsecured lender : An unsecured lender is a loan provider that extends a loan without requiring some sort of assurance (like your home or automobile). Unsecured loans should mean less time to set up but it will mean more cost in interest fees than with a loan that is secured. The reason for this is that the unsecured loan provider is taking a larger amount of risk since in the event you fail to pay loan payments, the loan provider cannot confiscate your property so as to get their money back.
Credit record : A credit record is basically an account of whatever credit you have been given for the past six years. It reveals the amounts of money you have borrowed and whether you have neglected any payments etc. A credit record allows potential loan providers to examine your financial past to help them choose whether to let you borrow from them. The statistics on your file is assembled by credit reference agencies for instance, Experian and Equifax. They take data from public records (e.g. electoral roll data, county court judgments etc) and from lenders as well as financial institutions: e.g. credit applications, credit accounts.
Tie in period : A tie in period on a mortgage loan is when you are linked to the mortgage company for a specified term. The way it works is that the mortgage provider will offer you a great deal, for instance, a fixed rate mortgage for two years. Nonetheless, you might be tied to the mortgage company for a set period after that, for example a year, in which you will need to cover their SVR (standard variable rate). This is a way for mortgage companies to regain the amount of money they surrendered in granting you a good deal for the first two years. When you want to swap mortgage providers during the 'tie in' time period, they will charge you a financial penalty which might amount to thousands of pounds.
Debt management company : A debt management company will advise you if you wish to re-arrange your financial situation to free you from your debts. However, they generally charge you something for this service and some even advise arranging more credit!
Secured loan : A secured loan is where you are lent money and the loan is legally secured against some sort of asset such as your house or your car. This means that should you fail to meet the regular instalments, the loan provider may seize the asset to get back their money. Secured loans tend to be more agreeable when you intend to take out a loan for greater amounts of money. Rates tend to be more favourable than had you taken the money as an unsecured loan. This is since the loan company has a guarantee that he will see his money returned through your secured asset.
Sub prime lender : When referring to a 'sub prime' lender, this is a loan company who offers loans to borrowers with impaired or weak / bad credit ratings. The usual client of a sub prime lender would be someone who finds it difficult to obtain funds from the usual lenders. This would be due to them running into financial turmoil previously producing a poor credit score. Sub prime mortgages are sometimes referred to as Non conforming mortgages.