Oral Contract: You've agreed to pay money back via a verbal agreement. This can include your word, his word and a witness. These are harder to prove but are recognized as "oral contract".
Written Contract: You have signed a contract or document promising to repay a loan or debt. Example is medical bills, cell phone bill, closed end signature loan or some secured loans like auto.
Promissory Note: It is like a contract loan except it contains more information about payback. Such information can be interest, principal, late fees etc. A home loan or HELOC can be a promissory note.
Open Ended Accounts: Just what it says, "open end" ie: a credit card debt or revolving line of credit- can be paid down and reused repeatedly.
It is interesting how alot of attorneys and of course some CAs state credit cards are not open accounts and yet the wording is quite clear in federal law.
http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/15/1602.html(f)(2) is the person to whom the debt arising from the consumer credit transaction is initially payable on the face of the evidence of indebtedness or, if there is no such evidence of indebtedness, by agreement. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, in the case of an open-end credit plan involving a credit card.
(i) The term "open end credit plan" means a plan under which the creditor reasonably contemplates repeated transactions, which prescribes the terms of such transactions, and which provides for a finance charge which may be computed from time to time on the outstanding unpaid balance. A credit plan which is an open end credit plan within the meaning of the preceding sentence is an open end credit plan even if credit information is verified from time to time.
http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/credit/fcb.htmThe law applies to "open end" credit accounts, such as credit cards, and revolving charge accounts - such as department store accounts. It does not cover installment contracts - loans or extensions of credit you repay on a fixed schedule. Consumers often buy cars, furniture and major appliances on an installment basis, and repay personal loans in installments as well.
