Glossary > The Letter O

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The Letter O
Saber Finance know the finance world is full of terms, phrases, buzz words and jargon.

On this page we explain,
OFT > Ombudsman > Online > Over Draft > Overpayment

OFT
OFT stands for the Office of Fair Trading. The OFT is responsible for promoting and protecting consumer interests throughout the UK. The Office of Fair Trading does this by monitoring businesses to make sure they are competitive, fair and transparent.

Ombudsman
An ombudsman is a referee who decides on customer complaints when the parties involved have reached a deadlock.
If you're dissatisfied after buying an insurance product or taking out a loan or dealing with another financial company, you should talk to the company itself. Contact their complaints department or write to the chief executive stating why you are unhappy with their service and why you think you have been poorly treated. This gives them an opportunity to address your complaint and provide compensation for any losses.
If this fails to bring you a satisfactory response you can contact the relevant ombudsman and ask them to take up your case. If the ombudsman agrees to take on your case and finds in your favour, they can order a company to pay compensation and rebate you for any losses.

Online
Online means connected to the Internet. Online finance refers to doing business or arranging finance on the Internet. The act of doing business or arranging financial products online can also be called e-commerce.
Online is a term also used when a web site is in working order and can be used. Offline is the term used when a web site is undergoing maintenance or a problem is being fixed.
When surfing online for finance quotes, you are encouraged to compare the products available on a site to find one that suits both your requirements and budget. When a product has been selected off one provider, you should then proceed to check the competitors sites to compare alike products. It is alright to apply for quotes off multiple sites since you are under no obligation to accept.
Different finance providers place differing emphasis on particular criteria when compiling a finance quote, and for this reason alone you should obtain quotes from several companies and sites. The more quotes received will increase the customers chances of getting lower finance quotes.
If visitors are after quotes for finance they may be interested in our finance tools.

Over Draft
An overdraft is a banking facility to withdraw more money than has been deposited in a bank account. If agreed in advance with your bank the overdraft is essentially a form of short term loan facility. If the overdraft is not agreed in advance, charges are incurred as a result of going overdrawn. In addition to any penalty fees, the rate of interest that is charged is substantially higher than on an agreed overdraft.
Using an overdraft is not a cheap way of borrowing money. The interest rate you are charged is likely to be substantially higher than that available on a structured personal loan.
Considering the alternatives to an overdraft? Find a personal loan using the loan tools.

Overpayment
Overpayments are when you are able to pay more than the normal payment charge, as with a credit card and the minimum monthly charge, or more than the required monthly payment on a flexible mortgage. This means that you could pay off the mortgage earlier saving on interest charges, or pay the debt on your credit cards earlier reducing any interest.
In order to get the most out of overpayments on a mortgage you need one offering a daily interest calculation. This means every payment you make affects the amount of interest charged to your account.
Some if not most lenders will require that an overpayment is made before an underpayment or a "payment holiday" would be acceptable. How ever it is worth noting that some financial products have penalties for early repayment or settlement.
If you are looking for a credit card or mortgage, try our finance tools.

If you are in any doubt about any financial product or term we recommend that you seek advice from a financial advisor.

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