Hire purchase (HP) is an idiom and legal term for a form of purchase in which payment for goods is made in installments over a period of time and in which title to the goods supplied - in other words, ownership - does not pass to the purchaser until all such payments have been made. Retention of title to goods differentiates HP from other common consumer credit systems. The consumer hires the goods, pays regular periodic rent payments, and - depending upon the nature of the agreement - must or may purchase title to the goods with a final payment (or may elect at the end of the hire period to return the goods to the vendor without seeking a transfer of title).