Hire Purchase Agreements

Hire purchase is an arrangement for buying expensive consumer goods, where the buyer makes an initial down payment and pays the balance plus interest in installments. The term hire purchase is commonly used in the United Kingdom and it’s more commonly known as an installment plan in the United States. However, there can be a difference between the two: With some installment plans, the buyer gets the ownership rights as soon as the contract is signed with the seller. With hire purchase agreements, the ownership of the merchandise is not officially transferred to the buyer until all the payments have been made.