There are many financial terms which we may not have heard of before, so do not know what they mean. To help the people understand what they mean, below is a list of the most common terms and acronyms with a simple explanation of what they mean:
APR: Stands for Annual Percentage Rate – the amount of interest a company charges
Arrears: Amount relating to missed payments to your creditors
ASRI: Stands for Accident, Sickness, and Redundancy Insurance/cover – a type of PPI
ASU: Stands for Accident, Sickness, and Unemployment Insurance/cover – a type of PPI
Balance Transfer: Transferring the entire balance of one credit/store card to another in pursuit of 0% interest rate for a fixed period
Bankrupt: An insolvency procedure to cancel debt
BBA: Stands for the British Banker’s Association, and is the voice of British banking. Its role is to promote and defend the banking industry that includes foreign banks
Broker: A middleperson that arranges finance or insurance
CCJ: County Court Judgement
CCI: Stands for Credit Care Insurance – a type of PPI
Claim: An action to pursue money potentially owed to a person
Claim Pack: PPI Reclaim pack which requires completing before a claim can proceed
Credit: A sum of money offered to allow an individual to make a purchase
Credit Card Number: The 16-digit number in the centre of your credit card
CPI: Stands for Credit Protection Insurance, a type of PPI
Cut: The amount of money that a firm will take from your compensation award
Debt Management: A programme to help consumers control their credit
Default: An overdue payment – usually 30 days after the pay due date
Direct Debit: A monthly payment facility made with a bank, that allows the transfer of money to a third party on an agreed date.
Employment Status: Means if a person is self-employed or employed, retired, disabled, unemployed or a student, for example
FOS: Stands for Financial Ombudsman Service – an impartial service that can deal with complaints about most financial services products. They can rule in dispute situations, providing the bank / financial organisation has had an opportunity to resolve the dispute first.
FCA: Financial Conduct Authority, a government body which has the power to regulate the banks and other firms who sell financial products such as payment protection insurance.
FSCS: Stands for Financial Services Compensation Scheme, who protect consumers when authorised financial services firms fail
GISC: General Insurance Standards Council
IFA: Independent Financial Advisor
IVA: Individual Voluntary Arrangement
LASRI: Stands for Life, Accident, Sickness, and Redundancy Insurance – a type of PPI
LASU: Stands for Life, Accident, Sickness, and Unemployment Insurance – a type of PPI
Letter of Authority: Letter granting a named party right of access to personal information, such as bank account details
Letter of Engagement: Letter granting a named party the right to represent you in a legal capacity
Licensed: Companies working in the field of PPI recovery must be licensed. This should be checked out before starting proceedings
Loan Agreement Number: Unique reference number that identifies yourself with the financial institution/lender/issuer of the loan
LPI: Stands for Loan Protection Insurance – a type of PPI
Lump sum: a single payment of money
Mortgage Broker: A company acting on behalf of a mortgage lender
MPI: Stands for Mortgage Payment Insurance – a type of PPI
No-win-no-fee: Agencies helping people with PPI claims will only charge if they are able to recover money for the claimant
Percentage: The rate per hundred charged. Before committing to a company insist on knowing what percentage cut will be taken
Pre-existing medical condition: The person taking out the insurance already suffered from a medical condition, this group were never covered by PPI
Premiums: The amount you pay each month or year, to service a debt
PPI: Stands for Payment Protection Insurance, which is sold along with a loan, mortgage or credit card, so that if you cannot repay the original loan, for example if you lose your job, the repayments are covered
PPI Calculator: An online tool to calculate how much PPI compensation you may be owed
Reference Number: The number present on any finance agreement
Retired: No longer working, this group were never covered by PPI
SAR: Subject Access Request
Self-employed: A person who works for themselves, this group were never covered by PPI
Single Premium: A PPI policy that is charged upfront as a large payment
Store Card Finance Account Number: This is a retail operator credit facility which may be a loan or credit account card
The Lending Code: A voluntary code of practice requiring banks and financial companies not to mislead customers, to lend money in a responsible way and to act when things go wrong, among other things. Most UK banks have signed up to it
Unemployed: A person who is not in employment of any kind, this group were never covered by PPI
