A-Z of loans
Administration fee
An admin fee is a charge for setting up a loan from a lender.
Adverse credit
If you fall behind with any loan or other credit payments, even utility bills and especially council tax (if you get a court judgment), you could find you attract adverse credit entries on your credit report. You can view your credit report online now using CreditExpert. It's a good idea to do this even if you are confident you're up to date with all your bills and payments, as you'll be able to see if there is any out of date information and even spot potential fraud if you've been the victim of identity fraud.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Introduced with the Consumer Credit Act of 1974, this enables a clear comparison of interest payments on borrowing to be made. It takes into account any compulsory charges that might be otherwise hidden and must be displayed very clearly so that comparisons are simpler.
Base rate
This is an interest rate set by the Bank of England.
Bridging loan
A loan designed to “tide you over” usually between the sale of one property and purchase of another. It can be a more expensive loan so is really only suitable for short term borrowing.
Credit history
Lenders usually check your credit history before making a decision about whether to take any application forward or not, and if so, at what interest rate. You can check what credit history Experian® holds about you by using the online service it provides: CreditExpert.
Credit score
Most lenders now use a system called credit scoring which gives a numerical value to a whole range of items of information. That information might come form your credit report or from information you provide as part of your application. Lenders use different scores depending on their policy and will usually use a combination of scores and policy rules to decide whether to offer you credit and, in many cases, what to charge for it. You can get an idea of how the information on your credit report might impact on your score by accessing your score through CreditExpert.
Non status
A non status mortgage is designed for applicants who either have trouble providing proof of three years of income (for example they might not have been working that long) or who are self employed or possibly who have had payment problems before.
Secured loan
A secured loan is supported by a legal charge over an asset, usually a property, so that if you do not pay the lender can seize that asset to pay off what you owe, plus any charges that have accrued.
Compare loans now with LowerMyBills!
Experian® - the company behind LowerMyBills - also provides CreditExpert, which gives you access to your credit report and score enabling you to see what lenders see about you when they make a decision about which financial products or services are available to you.
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