Credit checks: the key words
The words you meet when a bank, landlord or phone company checks your credit in Sweden.
In Sweden almost everything from a phone contract to a rental flat starts with a credit check. These are the words on the letters, forms and bank pages, from the bill you forgot to the agency that collects it.
- 1
en räkning
a bill
Tip: The everyday word for anything you have to pay.
- 2
en faktura
an invoice
Tip: The word printed on the paper; shops also let you pay later this way.
- 3
en påminnelse
a reminder (about an unpaid bill)
Tip: Comes when the due date has passed, often with a small fee.
- 4
en skuld
a debt
Tip: Plural adds -er; also means guilt or blame.
- 5
ett inkassobolag
a debt collection agency
Tip: Takes over unpaid bills for the company you owe.
- 6
ett inkassokrav
a debt collection demand
Tip: The letter from the agency; an ett-word because of its last part.
- 7
Kronofogden
the Swedish Enforcement Authority
Tip: lit. 'the crown bailiff'; used like a name, always in the definite form.
- 8
ett betalningsföreläggande
a payment order (from the Enforcement Authority)
Tip: You can accept it or dispute it within the time given in the letter.
- 9
en betalningsanmärkning
a payment default record
Tip: lit. 'a payment remark'; it shows up in every credit check.
- 10
en kreditupplysning
a credit check
Tip: lit. 'a credit information'; banks, landlords and phone companies do one before saying yes.
- 11
ett kreditupplysningsföretag
a credit reference agency
Tip: The companies that sell credit checks; the biggest one's name is used for the check itself.
- 12
en upplysningskopia
the copy of a credit check that is sent to you
Tip: By law you get a letter every time someone checks your credit.
- 13
kreditvärdighet
creditworthiness
Tip: En-word, usually used without an article: 'good ...'.
- 14
en inkomst
an income
Tip: A steady one is what lenders want to see.
- 15
en lön
a salary
Tip: Most Swedes are paid on the 25th of the month.
- 16
ett lönebesked
a payslip
Tip: Landlords often ask for your three most recent ones.
- 17
en fast anställning
a permanent job
Tip: lit. 'a fixed employment'; the opposite is a fixed-term one.
- 18
ett lån
a loan
Tip: Same form in the plural.
- 19
ett bolån
a mortgage
Tip: lit. 'a home loan'.
- 20
ett privatlån
an unsecured personal loan
Tip: Also called a 'blanco' loan: no house or car as security.
- 21
ett sms-lån
a payday loan (quick small loan)
Tip: Named after the text messages once used to apply; known for very high costs.
- 22
en ränta
interest (the rate)
Tip: Used for both the rate and the money you pay on a loan.
- 23
en låneansökan
a loan application
Tip: A compound: loan + application.
- 24
ett avslag
a rejection
Tip: What you get when the answer is no.
- 25
att bevilja
to grant (a loan)
Tip: Formal; you'll read it in the bank's letter when the answer is yes.
- 26
att betala av
to pay off
Tip: Particle verb, stress on the last word: pay off a debt bit by bit.
- 27
en borgensman
a guarantor
Tip: Someone who promises to pay if you can't, for a lease or a loan.
- 28
en hyresvärd
a landlord
Tip: lit. 'a rent host'; can be a company or a private person.
- 29
ett hyreskontrakt
a rental contract
Tip: Often shortened to just 'contract'.
- 30
en utmätning
seizure of money or property (for a debt)
Tip: When the Enforcement Authority takes part of your pay or property.
- 31
en skuldsanering
debt relief (a debt restructuring scheme)
Tip: You apply through the Enforcement Authority if you can never pay your debts.