Which? is a United Kingdom brand name that promotes informed consumer choice in the purchase of goods and services by testing products, highlighting inferior products or services, raising awareness of consumer rights, and offering independent advice. The brand name is used by the Consumers' Association, a registered charity and company limited by guarantee that owns several businesses, including Which? Financial Services Limited, Which? Legal Limited and Which? Limited, which publishes the Which? Papers.
A payday loan is a short-term unsecured loan, often characterized by high interest rates.
Green brands are those brands that consumers associate with environmental conservation and sustainable business practices.
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) was a non-ministerial government department of the United Kingdom, established by the Fair Trading Act 1973, which enforced both consumer protection and competition law, acting as the United Kingdom's economic regulator. The intention was for the OFT to make markets work well for consumers, ensuring vigorous competition between fair-dealing businesses and prohibiting unfair practices such as rogue trading, scams, and cartels. Its role was modified and its powers changed by the Enterprise Act 2002.
An overdraft occurs when something is withdrawn in excess of what is in a current account. For financial systems, this can be funds in a bank account. In these situations the account is said to be "overdrawn". In the economic system, if there is a prior agreement with the account provider for an overdraft, and the amount overdrawn is within the authorized overdraft limit, then interest is normally charged at the agreed rate. If the negative balance exceeds the agreed terms, then additional fees may be charged and higher interest rates may apply.
Payment protection insurance (PPI), also known as credit insurance, credit protection insurance, or loan repayment insurance, is an insurance product that enables consumers to ensure repayment of credit if the borrower dies, becomes ill or disabled, loses a job, or faces other circumstances that may prevent them from earning income to service the debt. It is not to be confused with income protection insurance, which is not specific to a debt but covers any income. PPI was widely sold by banks and other credit providers as an add-on to the loan or overdraft product.
Foreign exchange fraud is any trading scheme used to defraud traders by convincing them that they can expect to gain a high profit by trading in the foreign exchange market. Currency trading became a common form of fraud in early 2008, according to Michael Dunn of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
A secured loan is a loan in which the borrower pledges some asset as collateral for the loan, which then becomes a secured debt owed to the creditor who gives the loan. The debt is thus secured against the collateral, and if the borrower defaults, the creditor takes possession of the asset used as collateral and may sell it to regain some or all of the amount originally loaned to the borrower. An example is the foreclosure of a home. From the creditor's perspective, that is a category of debt in which a lender has been granted a portion of the bundle of rights to specified property. If the sale of the collateral does not raise enough money to pay off the debt, the creditor can often obtain a deficiency judgment against the borrower for the remaining amount.
Safestyle UK plc, part of the Style Group UK, is a provider of PVCu double glazed windows, doors, French doors, patio sliding doors, bifolding doors and conservatories in the United Kingdom.
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) is the self-regulatory organisation of the advertising industry in the United Kingdom. The ASA is a non-statutory organisation and so cannot interpret or enforce legislation. However, its code of advertising practice broadly reflects legislation in many instances. The ASA is not funded by the British government, but by a levy on the advertising industry.
Caversham Finance Limited, trading as BrightHouse, was the largest rent-to-own company in the United Kingdom, with 240 stores. It was a national chain that provided home electronics, domestic appliances, household furniture and related products on a hire purchase arrangement. Cash loans were offered towards the end of the company's life cycle.
Cycle to Work scheme is a UK Government tax exemption initiative introduced in the Finance Act 1999 to promote healthier journeys to work and to reduce environmental pollution. It allows employers to loan cycles and cyclists' safety equipment to employees as a tax-free benefit. The exemption was one of a series of measures introduced under the Government's Green Transport Plan. A Cycle to Work scheme does not require the prior approval of HMRC.
GiffgaffLimited is an MVNO, marketed as a budget service provider and flanker brand of Telefónica UK. The brand was founded by Gav Thompson a former marketing executive for Telefónica UK and was launched on 25 November 2009.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is a financial regulatory body in the United Kingdom which operates independently of the UK Government and is financed by charging fees to members of the financial services industry. The FCA regulates financial firms providing services to consumers and maintains the integrity of the financial markets in the United Kingdom.
A Representative APR is a financial service concept in which credit or loan interest rates quoted through advertising media are required to take into account all charges associated with a product, in addition to the interest rate.
Payday loans in the United Kingdom are typically small value and for short periods. Payday loans are often used as a term by members of the public generically to refer to all forms of High-cost Short-term credit (HCSTC) including instalment loans, e.g. 3-9 month products, rather than just loans provided until the next pay day.
Wonga.com, also known as Wonga, was a British payday loan firm that was founded in 2006. The company focused on offering short-term, high-cost loans to customers via online applications, and began processing its first loans in 2007. The firm operated across several countries, including the United Kingdom, Spain, Poland and South Africa; it also operated in Canada until 2016, and in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the Netherlands through the German payments business, BillPay, between 2013 and 2017.
Fair for You is a British, not-for-profit online lending company. It is a Community Interest Company set up to provide finance to families who do not have access to mainstream credit, so that they can purchase goods for their home directly from the manufacturers.
Western Circle is a British payday loan company offering "short-term, high-cost credit". The interest charged by the lender is 277.40% pa. The interest is non-compound, as dictated by the FCA. The company declare an APR of 1116% but also claim that the APR measurement is irrelevant for non-compound loans. Currently, the firm operates in the UK market only. The company claims to be technology oriented, and develops its own decision making algorithms.
ClearScore is a British financial technology business that provides credit scores, reports and current account spending analysis for individuals at no cost to its subscribers, it earns commission from the financial companies to which it refers individual clients that have used its services.
