What is meant by Hire purchase system and how does it differ from Installment?

Question

What is meant by Hire purchase system and how does it differ from Installment?

Answer 1

Hire purchase (frequently abbreviated to HP) is the legal term for a contract developed in the United Kingdom, and now found in India, Australia, New Zealand, and other states which have adopted the English law concept. (In North America, where the word hire most commonly refers to employment, the comparable system is called closed-end leasing.) In cases where a buyer cannot afford to pay the asked price for an item of property as a lump sum but can afford to pay a percentage as a deposit, a hire-purchase contract allows the buyer to hire the goods for a monthly rent. When a sum equal to the original full price plus interest has been paid in equal installments, the buyer may then exercise an option to buy the goods at a predetermined price (usually a nominal sum) or return the goods to the owner. In the United States, a hire purchase is termed an installment plan; other analogous practices are described as closed-end leasing or rent to own.

Hire purchase differs from a mortgage and similar forms of lien-secured credit in that the so-called buyer who has the use of the goods is not the legal owner during the term of the hire-purchase contract. If the buyer defaults in paying the installments, the owner may repossess the goods, a vendor protection not available with unsecured-consumer-credit systems. HP is frequently advantageous to consumers because it spreads the cost of expensive items over an extended time period. Business consumers may find the different balance sheet and taxation treatment of hire-purchased goods beneficial to their taxable income. The need for HP is reduced when consumers have collateral or other forms of credit readily available.

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