Glossary

Here are some definitions of some of the terms used on this website.

Advocate A lawyer responsible for arguing a case in court either on behalf of a debtor, or a creditor.

Agent A person who acts on behalf of an individual or company, without usually being employed by them.

Arrears Overdue payments on a credit agreement.

Bad Credit Describes someone who is regarded by credit issuing companies as being high risk to lend to, due to current or prior problems in paying bills.

Bad Debts Debts which are regarded by companies as being unpaid, and will unlikely to be paid.

Barrister A lawyer who is entitled to act in one of the higher courts.

Blacklisted A term for someone who is denied credit. In reality, there is no such thing as a "black list". Credit decisions are made on a varying "credit score" basis. If you are denied credit from one lender, you may be accepted by another, although the interest rates might be higher.

CCJ County Court Judgement

Creditor A company or other body who provides credit services, or who is owed money through other means.

Debt Consolidation Bringing a number of debts together into a single loan, in order to lower interest rates. Consolidation loans are also usually repaid over a longer period of time, which makes monthly payments much lower and affordable.

Debt Management The process of taking disciplined and controlled steps in to reduce the amount of debt owed to lenders and creditors.

Debt Management Program In most cases, debt management involves joining a program which is administered by a debt management company. This involves the company contacting your creditors to arrange lower payment levels, and you making a monthly payment to the said company.

Debtor A person who owes a debt, due to non payment of bills.

Late Payment Fees A fee charged by a credit card company, or other creditors when a payment is late or in arrears.

Party In legal terms, each side (person or company) involved in a court case. One party might be the lender or creditor, and the party would be the one owing the money or the the debtor.

Secured Any borrowing which is made against an item of value. This is usually usually a home or property. If you fail to make the payments, the creditor has the right to claim the property for which the loan was secured against.

Unsecured Any borrowing which is not made against any valuable items. Creditors have less ability to retrieve their unpaid debts, and are therefore not likely to loan as much as they would on a secured basis. These loans usually have higher interest rates.