Glossary

A

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

The annual percentage rate, or APR, is the interest rate charged on the amount borrowed. It reflects the annual cost of borrowing money. APR makes it easier to compare different loans because you can easily see which is cheaper.

An example can be found on our home page.

Arrears

Failure to keep up with your agreed monthly repayments will result in your account falling into arrears. This has a negative impact on your credit profile and could make obtaining finance more difficult in the future. You have a legal obligation to repay any arrears in full to Bamboo.

B

Bankruptcy

This action can be taken if you cannot pay your debts and are served a Bankruptcy order by a court. The petition can be filed by yourself or your creditors.

Broker

Brokers facilitate transactions between borrowers and lenders. Brokers are responsible for streamlining the process of obtaining a loan.

C

Continuous Payment Authority

It is an authority given by an individual to collect money from the individual’s bank or building society account at any time and in any amounts. This authority is accepted by the bank or building society. When the authority is taken from a customer its proposed use must be fully explained and it may only be used as explained or otherwise specifically agreed by the customer and always in accordance with the rules and guidance issued by the Financial Conduct Authority from time to time. Bamboo uses CPAs to collect payments from its customers and information on how the CPA will be used is set out in the pre-contract information and contract.

County Court Judgement (CCJ)

CCJ stands for County Court Judgment. This is an order from a county court to repay a debt and is a serious event. Any such order against you affects your credit status, your ability to obtain credit and borrow, and remains on your credit file for up to 6 years. If the debt has been paid in full in 30 days of the judgment being released then it won’t show up on your credit file. Once it has been paid in full, it will appear as satisfied.

Credit Agreement

A credit agreement explains all the terms of the contract. For the most part, all types of loans (ranging from credit cards to mortgages) have some sort of credit agreement, which must be signed and agreed upon by both the bank or lender and the Customer – the contract does not come into effect until the document has been signed by both parties.

Credit File

The Credit File is a confidential report and contains your credit history. It relates to details of your credit and borrowing arrangements, payment history, address etc. This information is used when assessing your application.

Credit History

The Credit History is a record of your past and present borrowing. It provides an overall picture of your payment history and can impact on the decision to grant a loan.

Credit Reference Agency

These are the agencies that compile your credit files and provide this information to companies offering credit terms. You are legally entitled to a copy of your Statutory Credit Report.

Credit Scoring

A credit score is a numerical expression based on a statistical analysis of a person’s credit files, to represent the creditworthiness of that person. A credit score is primarily based on credit report information typically sourced from credit bureaus.

Lenders, such as banks and credit card companies, use credit scores to evaluate the potential risk posed by lending money to consumers and to mitigate losses due to bad debt. Lenders use credit scores to determine who qualifies for a loan, at what interest rate, and what credit limits.

Credit Search

During your application, your credit file will be reviewed to obtain details of your credit history and to confirm any existing credit agreements you may have.

D

Debit Card

A payment card, issued by a bank or other financial institution, which enables the holder to obtain goods and services without the requirement to pay cash.

Debt

Money owed by an individual or company to another individual or company.

Debt Consolidation

Debt consolidation loans combine all your outstanding debts into one loan in order to obtain more manageable monthly payments.

Debt Management

A debt management plan (DMP) is an informal agreement between a debtor and their creditors. First a budget showing income and expenditure is put together, and once all essential costs are covered the surplus income left over is offered to creditors on a pro-rata basis. Creditors can suspend interest and charges on the debt, although this is not guaranteed. Some debt management companies charge a fee to administer DMPs. If you would like more information, please view the Financial Conduct Authority Leaflet .

Debtor

A person or company owing money to another person or company.

Default

The term default is used when you fail to make required payments on a timely basis or to comply with other conditions of an obligation or agreement. Defaulting on a loan agreement will affect your credit score and can affect your ability to obtain a loan in the future.

Data Protection Act

The DPA is a law protecting the use of an individual’s personal information. Your personal details cannot be passed to a third party without your permission being obtained.

Disposable Income

The amount of money which an individual has available to spend on items after essential bills have been met.

F

FCA (Financial Conduct Authority)

British government organisation whose job is to make sure that the laws protecting people from being treated unfairly by financial services organisation are not broken.

Fixed Rate

A set rate of interest which will not change over the term of the loan.

Fixed Sum Loan Agreement

This is a written statement which provides you with the details of the loan and specifies the terms agreed to and signed by all parties. This includes the amount of the loan, how the money will be paid back, over what term, the interest rate and APR and the date the monthly payments are to be made.

Fraud

Intentional misrepresentation or concealment of information in order to deceive or mislead.

G

Guarantee

A legal obligation on one person (the Guarantor) to be responsible for the debts or liabilities of another.

Guarantor

A guarantor is a person who is willing to make the remaining payments on the loan if the borrower cannot. This could be a family member or a friend who is currently employed.

I

Individual Voluntary Arrangement

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a formal arrangement between you and your creditors – set up by a licensed insolvency practitioner – whereby you agree to make reduced payments towards the total amount of your debt, in order to pay off a percentage of what you owe.

L

Late Payment Charge

A charge imposed by a lender on a borrower when the borrower fails to make payment on the due date.

Lender

A person or company that offers to lend money to a borrower for a given period of time. The borrower is obliged to repay the loan either by instalments or single payment together with specified interest.

Loan

A loan is an amount of money given to you which is paid back with interest.

Loan Purpose

The reason for which the loan is required.

Loan Term

The length of time chosen to repay the loan.

M

Maturity Date

The date a loan term ends.

Monthly Repayments

The agreed monthly amount to be paid in order to repay the loan.

N

Net Pay

The pay you actually get after tax, national insurance and other deductions have been taken off. Also known as “take home pay”.

O

Ombudsman (Financial)

An independent official who investigates the complaints of individuals against companies or public authorities.

Q

Qualifying Criteria

This outlines the standard requirements in order to be eligible for a loan. Details include being over the age of 18, being a permanent resident of the UK, having a UK bank account with a valid debit card.

R

Right to Withdraw

This is a period of time during which you can cancel your loan and repay the full balance without a penalty charge.

You can cancel your agreement with Bamboo Ltd and return the full outstanding balance within 14 days, starting on the day after the loan was granted.

S

Settlement Figure

The settlement figure represents the sum of money required to repay the loan in full. Once your request has been received confirming the date on which you wish to settle the loan, a statement setting out the full amount that you owe and any rebate entitlement will be sent to you.

Statement of Account

A document issued to a Customer, listing transactions over a given period.

T

Third Party

Refers to someone, other than the parties directly involved in an agreement. For example, a Customer can give authority for another person to speak on their account e.g. a partner or parents.

Total Charge for Credit

This represents the full amount of money you have to pay back. This covers the loan amount, total interest payable, additional fees and administration fee.

U

Underwriting

This is the process by which a lender determines whether to make a loan to an individual. The lender will gather facts on the individual’s income and outgoings from the individual and public sources of information (such a credit reference agencies) and from these to assess and make a decision on the individual’s creditworthiness and the sustainable affordability of loan repayments throughout the period of the loan before deciding whether to offer a loan. In addition, identity checks are conducted to reduce the possibility of impersonation, identity fraud and for anti-money laundering and crime detection purposes.

Unsecured Loan

A loan with no guarantor where the lender has no entitlement to any of the borrower’s assets in the event of the borrower failing to make the loan repayments.

V

Variable rate

A rate of interest which can go up or down as the lender sees fit. Often the rate will be linked to a particular rate such as the Bank of England base rate. If this rises, the lender may well increase its variable rate of interest.