What is Hire Purchase (HP)?
Debt TypesA finance agreement where you hire an item (often a car) and only own it once the final payment is made.
Related Debt Types terms
Arrears
Payments you have missed or paid late on an existing debt, which build up over time and can trigger extra charges.
Creditor
Any person or business you owe money to — for example a credit card company, your bank, the council or HMRC.
Joint Debt
A debt taken out in two or more names where each borrower is jointly and fully responsible for the whole balance.
Mortgage Shortfall
Money still owed to the lender after your property has been repossessed and sold, if the sale did not cover the outstanding mortgage.
Negative Equity
When you owe more on a secured loan than the asset is worth — most commonly applied to mortgages.