1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the Consumer Credit Act, 1995.

(2) This Act shall come into operation on such day or days as the Minister may appoint by order or orders either generally or with reference to any particular purpose or provision and different days may be so appointed for different purposes and different provisions.

2.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires—

"the Act of 1980" means the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, 1980;

F1["Act of 1997" means the Central Bank Act 1997;]

F2["Act of 2022" means the Consumer Rights Act 2022;]

"advertisement" includes every form of advertising, whether in a publication, by television or radio, by display of notices, signs, labels, showcards or goods, by distribution of samples, circulars, catalogues, price lists or other material, by exhibition of pictures, models or films, or in any other way, and references to the publishing of advertisements shall be construed accordingly;

"agreement" means an agreement to which this Act applies;

F3["APR" means the annual percentage rate of charge (being, in the case of a credit agreement, the total cost of credit to the consumer, expressed as an annual percentage of the amount of credit granted), calculated in accordance with section 9;]

F4[…]

F4[…]

F5["Bank" means the Central Bank F6[…];]

"borrower" means a consumer acting as a borrower;

F7["business" includes trade and profession;]

"business name" means the name or style under which any business is carried on;

"buyer" means a consumer acting as a buyer;

"cash" includes money in any form;

"cash price" means the money consideration for a transaction for the purchase of goods or the supply of a service by a consumer which is not financed by credit;

F4[…]

"collecting repayments" means, in respect of a F8[high cost credit agreement], the collection of repayments in respect of the agreement at a place other than a business premises of the F8[high cost credit provider];

"company" means—

(a) a company within the meaning of the Companies Acts, 1963 to 1990, or

(b) a body established under the laws of a state other than the State and corresponding to a body referred to in paragraph (a);

F2["commercial guarantee", in relation to a hire-purchase agreement, means any undertaking by an owner or producer to a hirer (in addition to the owner’s legal obligation to supply goods in conformity with the agreement) to reimburse the price paid or to repair, replace or service goods in any way if they do not meet the specifications or any other requirements not related to conformity set out in the guarantee statement or in the relevant advertising available at the time of, or before, the conclusion of the hire-purchase agreement;

"compatibility" means the ability of goods to function with hardware or software with which goods of the same type are normally used without the need to convert the goods, hardware or software;]

F9["consumer" means—

(a) a natural person acting outside the person's business, or

(b) any person, or person of a class, declared to be a consumer in an order made under subsection (9);]

"consumer-hire agreement" means an agreement of more than three months duration for the bailment of goods to a hirer under which the property in the goods remains with the owner;

"contract of guarantee" means, in relation to any agreement, a contract, made at the request express or implied of the consumer, to guarantee the performance of the consumer's obligations under the agreement, and the expression "guarantor" shall be construed accordingly;

"cooling-off period" has the meaning assigned to it by section 50;

"the Council Directive" means Council Directive No. 87/102/EEC of 22 December 1986(1), for the approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States of the European Communities concerning consumer credit, F10[as amended by Council Directive No. 90/88/EEC of 22 February 1990⁽²⁾ and Directive 98/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 February 1998⁽³⁾, the texts of which are set out for convenience of reference F10[in Parts I, II and III, respectively, of the First Schedule;]

"credit" includes a deferred payment, cash loan F11[or other similar financial accommodation];

"credit agreement" means an agreement whereby a creditor grants or promises to grant to a consumer a credit in the form of a deferred payment, a cash loan or other similar financial accommodation;

"credit card" means a card issued by a credit institution or other person to an individual by means of which goods, services or cash may be obtained by the individual on credit and amounts in respect of the goods, services or cash may be charged to the credit card account of the individual maintained by the credit institution or other person;

"credit institution" means—

(a) the holder of a licence granted under section 9 of the Central Bank Act, 1971,

(b) a body licensed to carry on banking under regulations made under the European Communities Act, 1972,

(c) a building society incorporated or deemed to be incorporated under section 10 of the Building Societies Act, 1989,

(d) a society licensed to carry on the business of a trustee savings bank under section 10 of the Trustee Savings Banks Act, 1989,

F12[(e) a retail credit firm authorised under the Act of 1997;]

(f) F13[…]

(g) F4[…]

"credit intermediary" means a person, other than a credit institution or a mortgage lender, who in the course of his business arranges or offers to arrange for a consumer the provision of credit or the letting of goods in return for a commission, payment or consideration of any kind from the provider of the credit or the owner, as the case may be;

"credit intermediaries authorisation" means an authorisation granted under section 144;

"credit-sale agreement" means a credit agreement for the sale of goods under which the purchase price or part of it is payable in instalments and the property in the goods passes to the buyer immediately upon the making of the agreement;

"creditor" means a person who grants credit under a credit agreement in the course of his trade, business or profession, and includes a group of such persons;

F2["delivery" means voluntary transfer of possession from one person to another;

"digital content" has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2022;

"digital service" means—

(a) a service that allows a hirer to create, process, store or access data in digital form, or

(b) a service that allows the sharing of or any other interaction with data in digital form uploaded or created by a hirer or any other user of the service,

and includes in particular video and audio sharing and other file hosting, social media and word processing and games offered in the cloud computing environment;]

"the Director" means the Director of Consumer Affairs;

"financial accommodation" includes credit and the letting of goods;

"functions" includes powers and duties;

F2["functionality" means the ability of goods to perform their functions having regard to their purpose;

"goods" has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2022;

"goods with digital elements" has the meaning assigned to it by the Act of 2022;

"guarantor" means—

(a) an owner,

(b) a producer, or

(c) any other person who provides a commercial guarantee in relation to goods let under a hire-purchase agreement;]

F14["high cost credit" means credit supplied by a high cost credit provider to a consumer on foot of a high cost credit agreement;

"high cost credit agreement" means a credit agreement into which a high cost credit provider enters, or offers to enter, with a consumer in which one or more of the following apply:

(a) the agreement was concluded away from the business premises of the high cost credit provider or the business premises of the supplier of goods or services under the agreement;

(b) any negotiations for, or in relation to the credit were conducted at a place other than the business premises of the high cost credit provider or the business premises of the supplier of goods or services under the agreement;

(c) repayments under the agreement will, or may, be paid by the consumer to the high cost credit provider or the representative of the high cost credit provider at any place other than the business premises of the high cost credit provider or the business premises of the supplier of goods or services under the agreement;

(d) the total cost of credit to the consumer under the agreement is in excess of an APR of 23 per cent, or such other rate as may be prescribed;

"high cost credit provider" means a person who engages in the provision of high cost credit, or who advertises or announces themselves or holds themselves out in any way as engaging in the provision of high cost credit, but does not include—

(a) any pawnbroker in respect of business carried on by the pawnbroker in accordance with the provisions of the Pawnbrokers Act 1964 ,

(b) a society which is registered as a credit union under the Credit Union Act 1997,

(c) a registered society within the meaning of the Friendly Societies Acts 1896 to 2021,

(d) a credit institution,

(e) a person who supplies money for the purchase, sale or hire of goods at an APR which is less than or equal to 23 per cent (or such other rate as may be prescribed), or

(f) a mortgage lender;

"high cost credit provider’s licence" means a licence granted under section 93;]

"hirer" means a consumer who takes, intends to take or has taken goods from an owner under a hire-purchase agreement or a consumer-hire agreement in return for periodical payments;

"hire-purchase agreement" means an agreement for the bailment of goods under which the hirer may buy the goods or under which the property in the goods will, if the terms of the agreement are complied with, pass to the hirer in return for periodical payments; and where by virtue of two or more agreements, none of which by itself constitutes a hire-purchase agreement, there is a bailment of goods and either the hirer may buy the goods, or the property therein will, if the terms of the agreements are complied with, pass to the hirer, the agreements shall be treated for the purpose of this Act as a single agreement made at the time when the last agreement was made;

"house" includes any building or part of a building used or suitable for use as a dwelling and any outoffice, yard, garden or other land appurtenant thereto or usually enjoyed therewith;

F9["housing loan" means—

(a) an agreement for the provision of credit to a person on the security of a mortgage of a freehold or leasehold estate or interest in land—

(i) for the purpose of enabling the person to have a house constructed on the land as the principal residence of that person or that person's dependants, or

(ii) for the purpose of enabling the person to improve a house that is already used as the principal residence of that person or that person's dependants, or

(iii) for the purpose of enabling the person to buy a house that is already constructed on the land for use as the principal residence of that person or that person's dependants,

or

(b) an agreement for refinancing credit provided to a person for a purpose specified in paragraph (a)(i), (ii) or (iii), or

(c) an agreement for the provision of credit to a person on the security of a mortgage of a freehold or leasehold estate or interest in land on which a house is constructed where the house is to be used, or to continue to be used, as the principal residence of the person or the person's dependants, or

(d) an agreement for the provision of credit to a person on the security of a mortgage of a freehold or leasehold estate or interest in land on which a house is, or is to be, constructed where the person to whom the credit is provided is a consumer;]

"installation charge" means the charge for—

(a) the installing of any electric line or any gas or water pipe,

(b) the fixing of goods to which the agreement relates to the premises where they are to be used, and the alteration of premises to enable any such goods to be used thereon, and

(c) where it is reasonably necessary that any such goods should be constructed or erected on the premises where they are to be used, any work carried out for the purpose of such construction or erection;

F5["local authority" means a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act 2001;]

F4[…]

F15[…]

F15[…]

F15[…]

F15[…]

"mortgage" includes charge;

F9["mortgage lender" means a person who carries on a business that consists of or includes making housing loans;]

F16["mortgage intermediary" means a person (other than a mortgage lender or credit institution) who, in return for commission or some other form of consideration—

(a) arranges, or offers to arrange, for a mortgage lender to provide a consumer with a housing loan, or

(b) introduces a consumer to an intermediary who arranges, or offers to arrange, for a mortgage lender to provide the consumer with such a loan;]

"motor vehicle" means a vehicle intended or adapted for propulsion by mechanical means;

"owner" means the person who lets or has let goods to a hirer under a hire-purchase agreement or a consumer-hire agreement;

"partnership" has the meaning assigned to it by the Partnership Act, 1890;

F5["pawnbroker" means the holder of a licence granted under section 8 of the Pawnbrokers Act 1964;]

"premises" includes any building, dwelling, temporary construction, vehicle, ship or aircraft;

"prescribed" means prescribed by regulations F17[made under this Act] and "prescribe" shall be construed accordingly;

F2["producer" means—

(a) a manufacturer of goods,

(b) an importer of goods into the European Union, or

(c) any person purporting to be a producer by placing the person’s name, trade mark or other distinctive sign on the goods, and includes any person acting in the name, or on behalf, of the producer;]

"record" means any book, document or any other written or printed material in any form including any information stored, maintained or preserved by means of any mechanical or electronic device, whether or not stored, maintained or preserved in a legible form;

F6[…]

F1["relevant date" means the date on which section 14 of the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Retail Credit and Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2022 comes into operation;]

F1["retail credit firm" has the same meaning as it has in Part V of the Act of 1997;]

F4[…]

"running account" means a facility under a credit agreement whereby the consumer is enabled to receive, from time to time, from the creditor or a third party, cash, goods or services to an amount or value such that, taking into account payments made by or to the credit of the consumer, the credit limit (if any) is not at any time exceeded;

"total cost of credit" means the total cost of the credit to the consumer being all the costs, comprising interest, collection and all other charges, which the consumer has to pay for the credit exclusive of any sum payable as a penalty or as compensation or damages for breach of the agreement;

"undertaking" means a company, partnership or any other person.

(2) In this Act a reference to a borrower, buyer, consumer, creditor, hirer, owner or seller includes a person to whom the borrower's, buyer's, consumer's, creditor's, hirer's, owner's or seller's rights or liabilities, as the case may be, under an agreement have passed by assignment or operation of law.

(3) In this Act a reference to a section, Part or Schedule, is a reference to a section or Part of, or Schedule to this Act, unless there is an indication that a reference to any other enactment is intended or otherwise indicated.

(4) In this Act a reference to a subsection, paragraph or subparagraph is a reference to the subsection, paragraph or subparagraph of the provision in which the reference occurs, unless there is an indication that a reference to some other provision is intended.

(5) Any reference in this Act to a term of an agreement includes a reference to a term which although not contained in an agreement is incorporated in the agreement by another term of the agreement.

(6) A word or expression that is used in this Act and is also used in the Council Directive has, unless the contrary intention appears, the meaning in this Act that it has in the Council Directive.

(7) In construing a provision of this Act, a court shall give to it a construction that will give effect to the Council Directive, and for this purpose a court shall have regard to the provisions of the Council Directive, including the preambles.

(8) In this Act a reference to any enactment shall be construed as a reference to that enactment as amended or adapted by or under any subsequent enactment.

F7[(9) The Minister for Finance may, by order notified in Iris Oifigiúil, declare any specified person, or any person of a specified class of persons, to be a consumer for the purposes of the definition of "consumer" in subsection (1).]

F18[(10) In Part VI, a reference to a reasonable expectation shall be interpreted having regard objectively to the nature and purpose of the hire-purchase agreement, the circumstances of the case and the usages and practices of the parties to the agreement.]

3.—(1) F19[Subject to this Act,] this Act shall apply to all credit agreements, hire-purchase agreements and consumer-hire agreements to which a consumer is a party.

(2) This Act shall not apply to the following, that is to say—

(a) a credit agreement in relation to credit granted or intended to be granted by—

(i) a society which is registered as a credit union under the Industrial and Provident Societies Acts, 1893 to 1978, by virtue of the Credit Union Act, 1966,

(ii) any registered society within the meaning of the Friendly Societies Acts, 1896 to 1977,

F20[except where the interest of the credit union or registered society in all or any part of the credit concerned has been directly or indirectly assigned or otherwise disposed of to any person that is not a credit union or registered society,]

F21[(aa) any transaction or proposed transaction conducted in the course of relevant trading operations within the meaning of section 39A (inserted by section 17 of the Finance Act, 1981) of the Finance Act, 1980, or within the meaning of section 39B (inserted by section 30 of the Finance Act, 1987) of the Finance Act, 1980.]

(b) a credit agreement in the form of an authentic act signed before a notary public or a judge,

F22[(c) any transaction entered into by a pawnbroker in respect of a pledge on which a loan or advance is made or to be made, or anything done with a view to such a transaction being entered into,]

(d) an agreement for the provision on a continuing basis of a service or a utility where the consumer has the right to pay for it, by means of instalments or deferred payments,

F23[(e) credit granted or made available without payment of interest or any other charge, other than where such credit is granted or made available by a person who has invited, by way of advertisement, consumers to avail of such credit,]

F24[(ea) payments of ancillary State support advanced by the Health Service Executive under the Nursing Homes Support Scheme Act 2009,]

(f) a credit agreement other than a credit agreement operated by means of a credit card under which no interest is charged provided the consumer agrees to repay the credit in a single payment, or

(g) a credit agreement between an employer and an employee made on terms which are more favourable to the employee than terms offered generally to the public in the normal course of business.

(3) F22[(a) The provisions of this Act may be applied to housing loans advanced by a local authority only by regulations made by the Minister for Finance after consultation with the Minister for the Environment and Local Government. Different provisions may be applied at different times to different classes of loans, by reference to such matters as that Minister considers appropriate.]

(b) A loan, not secured by mortgage, made by a local authority for the purposes of carrying out improvement works (within the meaning of section 1 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1979) to a house shall be regarded as a housing loan (within the meaning of this Act) for the purposes of this Act.

4.—(1) In this Part—

"authorised officer" means an authorised officer appointed under section 8A;

"designated provisions" means the provisions of this Act referred to in subsection (2);

"Minister" means the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment;

"responsible authority" means the Minister or the Director, as appropriate.

(2) The provisions of this Act designated for the purposes of this Part are—

(a) this Part and Part XI, and

(b) Parts II, X and XIII in so far as they apply to credit intermediaries, and

(c) such other provisions of this Act as are ancillary to those Parts.]

5.—(1) The Director has the following functions for the purposes of this Act:

(a) to keep under general review practices or proposed practices in relation to any of the obligations imposed on persons by or under the designated provisions;

(b) to carry out investigations of any such practices or proposed practices whenever the Director considers it in the public interest to do so or the Minister so requests;

(c) to request persons engaging in or proposing to engage in such practices as are, or are likely to be, contrary to the obligations imposed on them by any designated provision to discontinue or not engage in those practices;

(d) whenever a person in relation to whom such a request has been made engages in or is proposing to engage in any such practice, to bring civil proceedings in the High Court for an order requiring the person to discontinue or not to engage in the practice;

(e) to investigate complaints concerning possible breaches of any of the designated provisions, but at the same time having regard to the availability of other procedures for resolving those complaints;

(f) to publish codes of practice setting out conduct regarding agreements to which the designated provisions apply, in order to secure transparency and fair- ness in relation to the terms of those agreements and the conduct of agents dealing with consumers under those contracts;

(g) to perform or exercise such other functions as are imposed or conferred on the Director by this or any other Act.

(2) The Director may provide in response to complaints or otherwise, information or advice to consumers concerning agreements to which the designated provisions apply, and, in particular, on the obligations imposed on creditors or other persons by those provisions.]

6.—(1) The Director shall, not more than 3 months after the end of each year, present a report to the Minister of the Director's activities in that year in relation to the performance of the Director's functions under this Act.

(2) The Minister shall arrange for a copy of the report to be laid before each House of the Oireachtas within 2 months after receiving it.

(3) The Director shall provide the Minister with such information regarding the performance or exercise of the Director's functions under this Act as the Minister may from time to time require.]

7.—(1) In conducting an investigation under the designated provisions, the Director may—

(a) require any person who, in the opinion of the Director is in possession of information, or has or has access to a record or thing, that is relevant to the investigation to provide the information, record or thing to the Director, and

(b) where appropriate, require the person to attend before the Director for that purpose.

(2) A person to whom a requirement is made under this section shall comply with the requirement, but in doing so is entitled to the same immunities and privileges as if the person were a witness before a court.

(3) A person shall not obstruct or impede the Director in the performance or exercise of the Director's functions under this Act.]

8.—(1) The Director may, in the interests of better informing consumers, give directions as to the location and size of any statement or notice required under the designated provisions. The directions may be given in such manner as the Director thinks fit.

(2) A person to whom such a direction is given shall comply with that direction.]

8A.—(1) A responsible authority may in writing appoint persons to be authorised officers for the purposes of all or any of the designated provisions.

(2) An appointment under this section may be for a specified or unspecified period.

(3) A responsible authority who appoints an authorised officer shall provide the officer with a certificate of authority.

(4) Whenever an authorised officer is requested to do so by a person in relation to whom the officer is exercising a power under the designated provisions, the officer shall produce the officer's certificate of authority together with some form of personal identification.

(5) The appointment of a person as an authorised officer ends—

(a) when the responsible authority concerned revokes the appointment or the person dies or resigns from the appointment, or

(b) if the appointment is for a fixed period, when the period ends, or

(c) if the person appointed is employed in the office of that responsible authority, when the person ceases to be so employed.]

8B.—(1) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of carrying out an investigation under this Part, do all or any of the following:

(a) at all reasonable times enter any premises, at which there are reasonable grounds to believe that—

(i) a trade or business, or any activity relating to a trade or business, is, or has been, carried on, or

(ii) records relating to a trade, business or activity are kept;

(b) search and inspect premises entered under paragraph (a) and any records on the premises;

(c) secure the premises or part of the premises for later inspection, or any part of the premises in which the officer reasonably believes records relating to a trade or business are kept;

(d) require any person who carries on a trade, business or related activity, or any person employed in or in connection with it—

(i) to produce to the officer records relating to the trade, business or activity, and

(ii) if the information is in a non-legible form, to reproduce it in a legible form or to give to the officer such information as the officer reasonably requires in relation to entries in the records;

(e) inspect and take copies of records inspected or produced under this section (including in the case of information in a non-legible form, a copy of all or part of the information in a permanent legible form);

(f) remove and retain the records inspected or produced under this section for such period as may be reasonable to facilitate further examination (subject to the issue of a warrant for that purpose by a judge of the District Court);

(g) require any such person to give to the officer information that the officer reasonably requires in relation to the trade, business or activity concerned, or in relation to the persons carrying on that trade, business or activity or employed in or in connection with it;

(h) require any such person to give to the officer any other information which the officer may reasonably require in regard to the trade, business or activity concerned;

(i) require any person by or on whose behalf data equipment is or has been used, or any person who has charge of, or is otherwise concerned with the operation of, the equipment or any associated apparatus or material, to give the officer all reasonable assistance in relation to the equipment, apparatus or material;

(j) require any other person employed in or in connection with the trade, business or activity concerned to give to the officer, at any reasonable time, information that the officer reasonably requires in relation to that trade, business or activity and to produce to the officer any records that the person has or has access to.

(2) An authorised officer shall not, except with the consent of the occupier, enter a private dwelling unless the officer has obtained a warrant from the District Court under section 8C authorising the entry.]

8C.—(1) If an authorised officer is prevented from entering premises under section 8B, the officer or another authorised officer may apply for the issue of a warrant under subsection (2).

(2) On considering an application under subsection (1), a judge of the District Court may issue a warrant authorising the applicant or another authorised officer to enter the premises, but only if the judge is satisfied on the sworn information of the applicant that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that information required by the applicant or another authorised officer under section 8B is held on any premises.

(3) A warrant issued under subsection (2) authorises the officer named in the warrant, at any time or times within 1 month after the date of issue of the warrant to exercise, by force if necessary, all or any of the powers conferred on authorised officers by section 8B. If, when attempting to enter the premises specified in the warrant, the officer is requested to produce the warrant for inspection, the officer may exercise those powers only after complying with the request.]

8D.—A person shall not—

(a) obstruct or interfere with an authorised officer when exercising the powers conferred by this Part, or

(b) without reasonable excuse, fail to comply with a requirement made by an authorised officer under this Part, or

(c) give to an authorised officer information that the person knows or ought to know is false or misleading.]

8E.—An authorised officer can, if the officer thinks it necessary, be accompanied by a member of the Garda Síochána or by another authorised officer when exercising a power conferred on authorised officers by this Part.]

8F.—A person shall not disclose confidential information obtained—

(a) as an authorised officer, or

(b) as a member of the staff of, or as adviser or consultant to, the Director,

unless duly authorised by the Director or by a member of staff authorised by the Director.]

8G.—(1) In this Part—

"authorised officer" means an authorised officer appointed under section F39[8M];

"designated provisions" means the provisions of this Act referred to in subsection (2);

"Minister" means the Minister for Finance;

F39[…]

(2) The provisions of this Act designated for the purposes of this Part are—

(a) this Part and Parts III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX and XII, and

(b) Parts II, X and XIII in so far as they apply to persons who enter into agreements with consumers otherwise than as credit intermediaries, and

(c) such other provisions of this Act as are ancillary to those Parts.]

8H.—(1) The Bank has the following functions for the purposes of this Act:

(a) to keep under general review practices or proposed practices in relation to any of the obligations imposed on persons by or under the designated provisions;

(b) to carry out investigations of any such practices or proposed practices whenever the Bank considers it in the public interest to do so or the Minister so requests;

(c) to request persons engaging in or proposing to engage in such practices as are, or are likely to be, contrary to the obligations imposed on them by a designated provision discontinue or not engage in those practices;

(d) whenever a person in relation to whom such a request has been made engages in or is proposing to engage in any such practice, to bring civil proceedings in the High Court for an order requiring the person to discontinue or not to engage in the practice;

(e) to investigate complaints concerning possible breaches of any of the designated provisions, but at the same time having regard to the availability of other procedures for resolving those complaints;

(f) to publish codes of practice setting out conduct relating to agreements to which the designated provisions apply, in order to secure transparency and fairness in relation to the terms of those agreements and the conduct of agents dealing with consumers under those contracts;

(g) to perform or exercise such other functions as are imposed or conferred on the Bank by this Act.

(2) The Bank may provide in response to complaints or otherwise, information or advice to consumers concerning agreements to which the designated provisions apply, and, in particular, on the obligations imposed on creditors or other persons by those provisions.]

8I.—The Bank shall provide the Minister with such information regarding the performance or exercise of the Bank's functions under this Act as the Minister may require from time to time.]

8J.—(1) The Bank shall, within 4 months after the end of each financial year, prepare a report setting out the Bank's activities in that year in relation to the performance or exercise of the Bank's functions under this Act.

(2) The Bank shall include the report in, or attach the report to, the report presented to the Minister under section 61 of the Central Bank Act 1942.]

8K.—(1) In conducting an investigation under the designated provisions, the Bank may—

(a) require any person who, in the opinion of the Bank is in possession of information, or has or has access to a record or thing, that is relevant to the investigation to provide the information, record or thing to the Bank, and

(b) where appropriate, require the person to attend before the Bank for that purpose.

(2) A person to whom a requirement is made under this section shall comply with the requirement, but in doing so is entitled to the same immunities and privileges as if the person were a witness before a court.

(3) A person shall not obstruct or interfere with the Bank in the performance or exercise of the Bank's functions under this Act.]

8L.—(1) The Bank may, in the interests of better informing consumers, give directions as to the location and size of any statement or notice required under the designated provisions. The directions may be given in such manner as the Bank thinks fit.

(2) A person to whom such a direction is given shall comply with the direction.]

8M.—(1) F39[The Minister] may in writing appoint persons to be authorised officers for the purposes of all or any of the designated provisions.

(2) An appointment under this section may be for a specified or unspecified period.

(3) F39[The Minister] who appoints an authorised officer shall provide the officer with a certificate of authority.

(4) Whenever an authorised officer is requested to do so by a person in relation to whom the officer is exercising a power under the designated provisions, the officer shall produce the officer's certificate of authority together with some form of personal identification.

(5) The appointment of a person as an authorised officer ends—

(a) when F39[the Minister] concerned revokes the appointment or the person dies or resigns from the appointment, or

(b) if the appointment is for a fixed period, when the period ends, or

(c) if the person appointed is an officer of F39[the Minister], when the person ceases to be such an officer.]

8N.—(1) An authorised officer may, for the purpose of carrying out an investigation under this Part, do all or any of the following:

(a) at all reasonable times enter any premises, at which there are reasonable grounds to believe that—

(i) a trade or business, or any activity relating to a trade or business, is, or has been, carried on, or

(ii) records relating to a trade, business or activity are kept;

(b) search and inspect premises entered under paragraph (a) and any records on the premises;

(c) secure the premises or part of the premises for later inspection, or any part of the premises in which the officer reasonably believes records relating to a trade or business are kept;

(d) require any person who carries on a trade, business or activity, or any person employed in or in connection with it—

(i) to produce to the officer records relating to the trade, business or activity, and

(ii) if the information is in a non-legible form, to reproduce it in a legible form or to give to the officer such information as the officer reasonably requires in relation to entries in the records;

(e) inspect and take copies of records inspected or produced under this section (including in the case of information in a non-legible form, a copy of all or part of the information in a permanent legible form);

(f) remove and retain the records inspected or produced under this section for such period as may be reasonable to facilitate further examination (subject to the issue of a warrant for that purpose by a judge of the District Court);

(g) require any such person to give to the officer information that the officer reasonably requires in relation to the trade, business or activity concerned, or in relation to the persons carrying on that trade, business or activity or employed in or in connection with it;

(h) require any such person to give to the officer any other information which the officer may reasonably require in regard to the trade, business or activity concerned;

(i) require any person by whom or on whose behalf data equipment is or has been used, or any person who has charge of, or is otherwise concerned with the operation of, the equipment or any associated apparatus or material, to give the officer all reasonable assistance in relation to the equipment, apparatus or material;

(j) require any other person employed in or in connection with the trade, business or activity concerned to give to the officer, at any reasonable time, information that the officer reasonably requires in relation to that trade, business or activity and to produce to the officer any records that the person has or has access to.

(2) An authorised officer shall not, except with the consent of the occupier, enter a private dwelling unless the officer has obtained a warrant from the District Court under section 8N authorising the entry.]

8O.—(1) If an authorised officer is prevented from entering premises under section 8N, the officer or another authorised officer may apply for the issue of a warrant under subsection (2).

(2) On considering an application under subsection (1), a judge of the District Court may issue a warrant authorising the applicant or another authorised officer to enter the premises, but only if the judge is satisfied on the sworn information of the applicant that there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that information required by the applicant or another authorised officer under section 8N is held on any premises.

(3) A warrant issued under subsection (2) authorises the officer named in the warrant, at any time or times within 1 month after the date of issue of the warrant to exercise, by force if necessary, all or any of the powers conferred on authorised officers by section 8N. If, when attempting to enter the premises specified in the warrant, the officer is requested to produce the warrant for inspection, the officer may exercise those powers only after complying with the request.]

8P.—A person shall not—

(a) obstruct or interfere with an authorised officer when exercising the powers conferred by this Part, or

(b) without reasonably excuse, fail to comply with a requirement made by an authorised officer under this Part, or

(c) give to an authorised officer information that the person knows or ought to know is false or misleading.]

8Q.—An authorised officer can, if the officer thinks it necessary, be accompanied by a member of the Garda Síochána or by another authorised officer when exercising a power conferred on authorised officers by this Part.]

9.—(1) In this Act the APR shall be the equivalent, on an annual basis, of the present value of all commitments (loans, repayments and charges), future or existing, F54[agreed, in the case of a credit agreement, by the creditor and the consumer and, in the case of a hire-purchase agreement, by the owner and the hirer], calculated to the nearest rounded decimal place in accordance with the method of calculation specified in the Fourth Schedule.

(2) The F55[Bank] may by regulations amend the method of calculation of the APR specified in the Fourth Schedule either generally F56[or in relation to any form of credit covered in this Act or in relation to hire-purchase agreements].

(3) The F55[Bank] shall, from time to time, publish guidelines to explain the method of calculation of the APR under this Act.

10.—(1) This section shall apply to credit agreements other than housing loans.

(2) For the purpose of calculating the APR the total cost of credit to the consumer shall be determined, with the exception of the following charges:

(a) charges payable by the consumer for non-compliance with any of his commitments laid down in the credit agreement,

(b) charges other than the purchase price which, in purchases of goods or services, the consumer is obliged to pay whether the transaction is paid in cash or by credit,

(c) charges for the transfer of funds and charges for keeping an account intended to receive payments towards the reimbursement of the credit, the payment of interest and other charges except where the consumer does not have reasonable freedom of choice in the matter and where such charges are abnormally high; this paragraph shall not, however, apply to charges for collection of such reimbursements or payments, whether made in cash or otherwise,

(d) membership subscriptions to associations or groups and arising from agreements separate from the credit agreement, even though such subscriptions have an effect on the credit terms,

(e) charges for insurance or guarantees other than those designed to ensure payment to the creditor, in the event of the death, invalidity, illness or unemployment of the consumer, of a sum equal to or less than the total amount of the credit together with relevant interest, and other charges imposed by the creditor as a condition for credit being granted.

(3) (a) The APR shall be calculated—

(i) in the case of a credit agreement, at the time the agreement is concluded, or

(ii) in the case of an advertisement which relates to the offering of credit and mentions the APR, at the time the advertisement is published, and

(b) the calculation shall be made on the assumption that the credit agreement is valid for the period agreed and that the creditor and the consumer fulfil their obligations under the terms and by the dates agreed.

(4) In the case of credit agreements containing terms allowing variations in the rate of interest and the amount or level of other charges contained in the APR but unquantifiable at the time when it is calculated, the APR shall be calculated on the assumption that interest and other charges remain fixed and will apply until the end of the credit agreement. The variability shall be indicated with equal prominence to and along with the APR.

(5) In the case of credit agreements containing terms allowing variations in the rate of interest and the amount or level of other charges contained in the APR but quantifiable at the time when it is calculated, the APR shall be calculated to take account of the rates applicable from the specific dates set out in the agreement.

(6) Where necessary, the following assumptions may be made in calculating the APR:

(a) if there is no fixed timetable for repayment, and one cannot be deduced from the terms of the credit agreement and the means for repaying the credit granted, the duration of the credit shall be deemed to be one year,

(b) unless otherwise specified, where the credit agreement provides for more than one repayment date, the credit will be made available and the repayments made at the earliest time provided for in the agreement,

(c) where the amount of credit to be provided is not specified—

(i) in the case of running account credit, where a credit limit is specified, it shall be assumed that the maximum amount of credit is provided for the duration of the agreement, and

(ii) in any other case, it shall be assumed that the amount provided shall be £1,000,

(d) where charges are payable at an unspecified date after the agreement is signed it shall be assumed that they are payable at the beginning of the agreement.

(7) A creditor shall comply with the requirements of this section in relation to the calculation of the APR in respect of a credit agreement.

11.—Every regulation made under this Act shall be laid before each House of the Oireachtas as soon as may be after it is made and, if a resolution annulling the regulation is passed by either such House within the next 21 days on which that House has sat after the regulation is laid before it, the regulation shall be annulled accordingly but without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done thereunder.

12.—F57[(1) A person commits a summary offence under this Act if the person—

(a) in Part IA, contravenes section 7(2) or (3), 8(2), 8D or 8F, or

(b) in Part IB, contravenes section 8K(2) or (3), 8L(2) or 8P, or

(c) in Part II, contravenes section 26 or 27, or regulations under section 28, or

F58[(ca) in Part IIA, contravenes section 28A(2) or 28B(2), or]

(d) in Part III, contravenes section 39, or

(e) in Part IV, contravenes section 43(2), or

(f) in Part VI, contravenes section 61, 64 (1) or 69, or

(g) in Part VII, contravenes section 87 or 91, or

(h) in Part VIII, contravenes section 93(6) or (9), 94, 95, 98(4) or (5), 99, 105(3) or (4), 106(2) or (3), or

(i) in Part IX, contravenes section 116(1) or (2), 117, 122(3), 123, 124, 128, 129(2), 130, 131(4) or (5), 132, 133(1) or (2), 134 or 135(3), or

(j) in Part X, contravenes section 138, 139, 142 or 143(2), or regulations made under section 137, or

(k) in Part XI, contravenes section 144(1) or (3), 145 or 148.

(2) A person commits an offence under this Act (other than a summary offence) if the person—

(a) in Part IV, contravenes section 45, 46 or 49, or

(b) in Part V, contravenes section 54, or

F59[(c) in Part VIII, contravenes section 94A(1), 96, 97, 98(1) or (2), 98A(1), 100, 101, 102, 103(2), 107, 110 or 111, or]

(d) in Part IX, contravenes section 118 or 127, or

(e) in Part X, contravenes section 140, or

(f) in Part XI, contravenes section 146, or

(g) in Part XII, contravenes section 149(1), (12A) or (12C), section 149A(2), (14) or (16) or a direction given under section 149(5) or (6) or section 149A(6) or (7).]

(3) Where an offence under this Act is committed by a body corporate or by a person acting on behalf of a body corporate and is proved to have been so committed with the consent, connivance or approval of, or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of any director, manager, secretary or any other officer of such body or a person who was purporting to act in any such capacity, such person shall also be guilty of an offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished as if he were guilty of the first-mentioned offence.

(4) In this section, a reference to the contravention of a provision includes, where appropriate, a reference to a refusal, or a failure, to comply with that provision.

F60[13.—(1) A person who is guilty of an offence under this Act shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €3,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or both, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €100,000 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 5 years or both.

(2) Where a person is convicted of an offence under this Act and there is a continuation of the offence by the person after his or her conviction, the person shall be guilty of a further offence on every day on which the contravention continues and for each such offence shall be liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding €1,000, or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding €10,000.]

14.—F61[(1) An offence under this Act for contravening a provision designated for the purposes of Part IA may be prosecuted summarily only by the Director.

(1A) An offence under this Act for contravening a provision designated for the purposes of Part IB (other than a provision of Part VIII) may be prosecuted summarily only by the Bank.]

(2) An offence under this Act for contravening Part VIII may be prosecuted summarily by a member of the Garda Síochána.

(3) F62[…]

15.—(1) If a person is convicted of an offence for contravening a provision designated for the purposes of Part IA, the court shall, unless it is satisfied there are special and substantial reasons for not doing so, order the person to pay to the Director such amount of costs and expenses as the Director has, in the opinion of the court, incurred in investigating and prosecuting the offence.

(2) If a person is convicted of an offence for contravening a provision designated for the purposes of Part IB, the court shall unless it is satisfied there are special and substantial reasons for not doing so, order the person to pay to the Bank such amount of costs and expenses as the Bank has, in the opinion of the court, incurred in investigating and prosecuting the offence.]

16.—(1) Civil proceedings may not be brought against the Director for failure to perform or exercise an obligation imposed on the Director by this Act, unless the failure is wilful.

(2) Civil proceedings may not be brought against the Bank for failure to perform or exercise an obligation imposed on the Bank by this Act, unless the failure is wilful.]

17.—(1) (a) Part III shall not apply to any credit agreement,

(b) Part VI shall not apply to any hire-purchase agreement,

(c) sections 100, 101 and 103 shall not apply to a F65[high cost credit agreement], and

(d) Part IX, other than sections 121, 124, 130 (b), 133 (6), 134 and 136, shall not apply to a housing loan,

made before the commencement of this Act.

(2) The Hire-Purchase Acts, 1946 to 1980, shall continue to apply to any hire-purchase agreement or credit-sale agreement (within the meaning of the Hire-Purchase Act, 1946) made before the commencement of Part VII which is still in force after its commencement notwithstanding the repeal of those Acts by section 19.

18.—(1) The expenses incurred by the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and the Director in administering the provisions of this Act designated for the purposes of Part IA are, to the extent approved by the Minister for Finance, payable out of money provided by the Oireachtas.

(2) The expenses incurred by the Minister for Finance in administering the provisions of this Act designated for the purposes of Part IB are payable out of money provided by the Oireachtas.]

19.—The enactments specified in column (2) of the Second Schedule are hereby repealed to the extent specified in column (3) of that Schedule.

20.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), this Part applies to any advertisement, published or displayed for the purpose of a business carried on by the advertiser indicating willingness to—

(a) provide or to arrange the provision of credit,

(b) enter into a hire-purchase or consumer-hire agreement for the letting of goods by the advertiser, or

(c) arrange the letting of goods under a hire-purchase or consumer-hire agreement by another person,

to a consumer.

(2) This Part does not apply to any advertisement published or displayed by a society referred to in section 3 (2) (a).

21.—(1) An advertisement in which a person offers to provide or arrange the provision of credit shall, if mentioning a rate of interest F67[or making any claim in relation to the cost of credit], contain a clear and prominent statement of the APR, using a representative example if no other means is practicable, F67[provided it is indicated that this is only a representative example,] and no other rate of interest shall be included in the advertisement.

(2) The statement of the APR included in any advertisement to which subsection (1) applies shall be afforded in the advertisement no less prominence than a statement relating to—

(a) any period over which payment is to be made,

(b) the amount of any advance payment or the fact that no advance payment is required, and

(c) the amount, number or frequency of any other payments or charges (other than the cash price of the goods or services) or of any repayments.

(3) An advertisement (other than one relating to a housing loan) shall, where the credit offered is subject to conditions involving the payment of any charges other than the repayment of capital and interest on the sum borrowed, specify those conditions.

(4) An advertisement shall, if any security is required or is required in specific circumstances in relation to the credit offered, state that such security is required.

(5) Notwithstanding section 7 of the Consumer Information Act, 1978, it shall not be an offence for a person to provide credit at a lower rate than the rate advertised.

(6) Where an advertisement refers to the availability of credit and the credit is subject to any restrictions, those restrictions shall be clearly indicated.

22.—Where an advertisement refers to the availability of a financial accommodation in relation to the acquisition of goods or the provision of a service, it shall include F68[, where applicable,] a statement of—

(a) the nature of the financial accommodation,

(b) the cash price of the goods or service,

F69[(c) the APR and the total cost of credit or the hire-purchase price,]

(d) the number and amount of instalments,

(e) the duration of the intervals between instalment payments,

(f) the number of any instalments which have to be paid before delivery of the goods, and

(g) details of any deposit payable.

23.—(1) An advertisement in which a person offers to arrange the letting of goods under a consumer-hire agreement or indicates the availability of such a letting shall include a statement to the effect that the agreement is for letting, hiring or leasing only and the goods remain the property of the owner,

(i) which shall be afforded no less prominence than the sum of any amount payable by the hirer, and

(ii) in the case of a visual advertisement, shall be enclosed by a boxed boundary line.

(2) Where any figures relating to the amount payable by a hirer under a consumer-hire agreement are indicated in any advertisement to which subsection (1) applies, those figures shall be clearly displayed and shall be fully inclusive of all amounts payable, including taxes.

(3) Where any figures relating to the amount payable by a hirer under a consumer-hire agreement are indicated in any advertisement to which subsection (1) applies, and those figures indicate the amount payable for part of the agreement only, that fact shall also be clearly indicated in the advertisement.

24.—Where an advertisement purports to compare the level of repayments or cost under one or more forms of financial accommodation, the advertisement shall contain the relevant terms of each of the forms of financial accommodation referred to in the advertisement.

25.—An advertisement shall not describe credit as being without interest, or any other charge, if the availability of the credit is dependent on the consumer concluding with the creditor or any other person a maintenance contract (for any goods involved) or an insurance contract or on any other condition, compliance with which would, or would be likely in the future to, involve the consumer in any cost additional to that payable if the goods were bought for cash.

26.—(1) A person shall not display or publish or cause to be displayed or published an advertisement to which this Part applies which does not comply with this Part.

(2) In any proceedings for contravening subsection (1), it shall be a defence for the accused, being a person other than the provider of credit, to show that he is a person whose business it is to publish or arrange for the publication of advertisements and that he received the advertisement in question for publication in the ordinary course of business and did not know and had no reason to suspect that its publication would constitute a contravention of subsection (1).

(3) For the purposes of this section an advertisement published by displaying it shall be treated as published on every day on which it is displayed.

27.—(1) Where the provider of a financial accommodation, in respect of any financial accommodation provided by him through a credit intermediary, has devised any part of an advertisement or supplied, or has been requested to supply, information in relation to it, but is not the advertiser, the provider shall ensure the advertisement displayed or published complies with this Part.

(2) In any proceedings for contravening this section it shall be a defence for the accused being the provider of a financial accommodation in relation to an advertisement which does not comply with this Part to show that it was displayed or published without his consent or connivance or that he made reasonable efforts to ensure that it complied with this Part or to prevent its publication.

28.—(1) The Bank may make regulations amending section 21, 22, 23, 24 or 25 with respect to the form or content of advertisements relating to the availability or the cost or the provision of credit to consumers.

(2) The Bank may exercise the power conferred by subsection (1) only after consulting with, or at the request of, the Director and only after obtaining the consent of the Minister for Finance.

(3) The Bank shall consult the Minister for the Environment and Local Government before making regulations under this section relating to housing loans.]

28A. (1) The APR in respect of a credit agreement, other than a F71[high cost credit agreement], shall not be greater than 23 per cent.

(2) A credit institution that is a party to a credit agreement shall ensure that the agreement complies with subsection (1).

(3) A creditor shall not be entitled to enforce a credit agreement or any contract of guarantee relating thereto, and no security given by the consumer in respect of money payable under the credit agreement or given by a guarantor in respect of money payable under such contract of guarantee as aforesaid shall be enforceable against the consumer or guarantor by any holder thereof, unless the requirement specified in subsection (2) has been complied with in respect of the credit agreement:

Provided that if a court is satisfied in any action that a failure to comply with the aforesaid requirement was not deliberate and has not prejudiced the consumer, and that it would be just and equitable to dispense with the requirement, the court may, subject to any conditions that it sees fit to impose, decide that the agreement shall be enforceable.

(4) This section shall apply to a credit agreement entered into after the relevant date.]

28B. (1) The APR in respect of a hire-purchase agreement shall not be greater than 23 per cent.

(2) An owner who is a party to a hire-purchase agreement shall ensure that the agreement complies with subsection (1).

(3) An owner shall not be entitled to enforce a hire-purchase agreement or any contract of guarantee relating thereto or any right to recover the goods from the hirer, and no security given by the hirer in respect of money payable under the hire-purchase agreement or given by a guarantor in respect of money payable under such contract of guarantee as aforesaid shall be enforceable against the hirer or guarantor by any holder thereof, unless the requirement specified in subsection (2) has been complied with in respect of the hire-purchase agreement:

Provided that if a court is satisfied in any action that a failure to comply with the aforesaid requirement was not deliberate and has not prejudiced the hirer, and that it would be just and equitable to dispense with the requirement, the court may, subject to any conditions that it sees fit to impose, decide that the agreement shall be enforceable.

(4) This section shall apply to a hire-purchase agreement entered into after the relevant date.]

29.—This Part shall apply to all credit agreements other than housing loans.

30.—(1) A credit agreement and any contract of guarantee relating thereto shall be made in writing and signed by the consumer and by or on behalf of all other parties to the agreement, and—

F74[(a) a copy of the agreement shall be sent to the consumer by the creditor within 10 days of the making of the agreement, and

(b) in the case of any contract of guarantee relating to the agreement, a copy of the guarantee and the agreement shall be sent to the guarantor by the creditor within 10 days of the making of the contract.]

(2) A credit agreement shall contain a statement in respect of the cooling-off period that the consumer—

(a) has a right to withdraw from the agreement without penalty if the consumer gives written notice to this effect to the creditor within a period of 10 days of the date of receipt by the consumer of a copy of the agreement, or

(b) may indicate that he does not wish to exercise this right by signing a statement to this effect, this signature to be separate from, and additional to, the consumer's signature in relation to any of the terms of the agreement.

(3) A credit agreement shall contain a statement of—

(a) the names and addresses of all the parties to the agreement, and

(b) any costs or penalties to which the consumer may become liable for any failure by the consumer to comply with the terms of the agreement.

(4) This section does not apply to credit in the form of advances on a current account, or on credit card accounts.

31.—(1) A credit agreement for a cash loan, other than an advance on a current account, or a credit card account shall contain a statement of the following—

(a) the amount of the credit lent under the agreement,

(b) the date the credit is to be advanced, (if known),

(c) the amount of each repayment instalment,

(d) the rate of interest charged and the APR,

(e) the conditions under which the APR may be changed,

(f) any charges not included in the calculation of the APR but which have to be paid by the borrower in certain given circumstances,

(g) the number of repayment instalments,

(h) the date, or the method of determining the date, upon which each repayment instalment is payable,

(i) the total amount payable in respect of the loan,

(j) the date of expiry of the loan,

(k) the means and the cost of any termination by the borrower of the agreement before the final repayment instalment.

(2) A credit agreement operated by means of a credit card or a running account shall contain a statement of—

(a) the amount of the credit limit, if any, F75[at the commencement of the agreement and any conditions in relation to any variation of the limit,]

(b) the rate of interest charged and the APR,

(c) the terms of use and repayment, and

(d) the means and the cost of termination of the agreement.

32.—(1) Before any credit-sale agreement is entered into in respect of the sale of goods the seller shall state in writing the cash price to the prospective buyer, otherwise than in the agreement.

(2) Subsection (1) shall be deemed to have been complied with—

(a) if the buyer has inspected the goods or like goods and at the time of his inspection tickets or labels were attached to or displayed with the goods clearly stating the cash price, either of the goods as a whole or of all the different articles or sets of articles comprised therein, or

(b) if the buyer has selected the goods by reference to a catalogue, price list or advertisement, which clearly stated the cash price either of the goods as a whole or of all the different articles or sets of articles comprised therein.

(3) A credit-sale agreement shall contain a statement of—

(a) the total cost of credit,

(b) the cash price of the goods to which the agreement relates,

(c) the amount of each of the instalments by which the total cost of credit is to be paid,

(d) the date, or the method of determining the date, upon which each instalment is payable,

(e) the number of instalments,

(f) the cost of any termination of the agreement by the buyer before final payment, and

(g) where applicable—

(i) the rate of interest charged and the APR,

(ii) the conditions under which the APR may be changed.

(4) A credit-sale agreement shall contain a description of the goods to which the agreement relates sufficient to identify them.

(5) A credit-sale agreement shall contain in a prominent position the words “Credit-Sale Agreement”.

33.—Any provision in any credit-sale agreement whereby—

(a) any person acting on behalf of a seller in connection with the formation or conclusion of a credit-sale agreement is treated or is deemed to be the agent of the buyer, or

(b) a seller is relieved from liability for the acts or defaults of any person acting on the seller's behalf in connection with the formation or conclusion of a credit-sale agreement,

shall be void.

34.—A credit agreement which is a contract for the supply of services, other than financial services, shall contain—

(a) a statement of—

(i) the total cost of credit,

(ii) the cash price of the services to which the agreement relates,

(iii) the amount of each instalment by which the total cost of credit is to be paid,

(iv) the date, or the method of determining the date, upon which each instalment is payable,

(v) the means and the cost of any termination of the agreement by the consumer before final payment, and

(vi) where applicable—

(I) the rate of interest charged, and

(II) the conditions under which the APR may be changed, and

(b) a description of the services (including any goods) to be supplied to which the agreement relates.

35.—(1) A consumer shall be informed by the creditor at the time, or before, an agreement is made in respect of the granting of credit in the form of an advance on a current account F76[including an overdraft] granted by a credit institution, other than on credit card accounts, of—

(a) the credit limit, if any, F76[at the commencement of the agreement and any conditions in relation to any variation of the limit,]

(b) the annual rate of interest and the charges applicable from the time the agreement is concluded and the conditions under which these may be amended, and

(c) the procedure for determining the agreement.

(2) The information required under subsection (1) shall be confirmed by the creditor in writing to the consumer within 10 days of the making of the agreement, and during the period of the agreement, the consumer shall be informed by the creditor of any change in the annual rate of interest or in the relevant charges at or before the time such change occurs and such information may be given in a statement of account or in an advertisement published in a national newspaper published and circulating in the State.

(3) (a) Where any sum is advanced to a consumer by way of an overdraft tacitly accepted by both parties which extends beyond a period of three consecutive months, he shall be informed of the annual rate of interest and other charges applicable and of any subsequent amendment of those charges.

(b) The information required to be given in paragraph (a) may be given in a statement of account or in an advertisement published in a national newspaper published and circulating in the State.

36.—A credit agreement other than an overdraft facility, a credit-sale agreement or a F77[high cost credit agreement] shall contain, on the front page of the agreement, a notice in the form set out in Part I of the Third Schedule or such other form as may be prescribed.

37.—(1) The Bank may make regulations amending section 30, 31, 32(3) to 32(5), 34 or 35 with respect to the form or content of credit agreements.

(2) The Bank may exercise the power conferred by subsection (1) only after consulting with, or at the request of, the Director and only after obtaining the consent of the Minister for Finance.]

38.—A creditor shall not be entitled to enforce a credit agreement or any contract of guarantee relating thereto, and no security given by the consumer in respect of money payable under the credit agreement or given by a guarantor in respect of money payable under such contract of guarantee as aforesaid shall be enforceable against the consumer or guarantor by any holder thereof, unless the requirements specified in this Part have been complied with:

Provided that if a court is satisfied in any action that a failure to comply with any of the aforesaid requirements, other than section 30, was not deliberate and has not prejudiced the consumer, and that it would be just and equitable to dispense with the requirement, the court may, subject to any conditions that it sees fit to impose, decide that the agreement shall be enforceable.

39.—A creditor being a credit institution, a F79[high cost credit provider] or whose business or trade is or includes the sale of goods or supply of services who is a party to a credit agreement to which this Part applies shall ensure that the agreement complies with this Part and any regulations made under section 37.

40.—Where a creditor's or owner's rights under an agreement are assigned to a third person, the consumer shall be entitled to plead against that third person any defence which was available to him against the original creditor including set-off.

41.—(1) Where a bill of exchange or a promissory note is given to a creditor by a consumer as part of, or in connection with, a credit agreement, or is given as security for a credit agreement, the existence of the bill or note shall not affect the rights and protections available to the consumer by virtue of this Act.

(2) Where a bill of exchange or a promissory note is negotiated by the creditor to a third party, the consumer may, notwithstanding anything in the Bills of Exchange Act, 1882, in any proceedings for the enforcement of the bill or note, plead against that third party any defence available to him against the creditor.

42.—(1) The existence of a credit agreement shall not in any way affect the rights of the consumer under the Act of 1980 against the supplier of goods or services purchased by means of such an agreement in cases where the goods or services are not supplied or are otherwise not in conformity with the contract for their supply.

(2) Where—

(a) in order to buy goods or obtain services, a consumer enters into a credit agreement with a person other than the supplier of them,

(b) the creditor and the supplier of the goods or services have a pre-existing agreement whereunder credit is made available exclusively by that creditor to customers of that supplier for the acquisition of goods or services from the supplier,

(c) the consumer referred to in paragraph (a) obtains his credit pursuant to that pre-existing agreement,

(d) the goods or services covered by the credit agreement are not supplied, or are supplied only in part, or are not in conformity with the contract for the supply of them, and

(e) the consumer has pursued his remedies against the supplier but has failed to obtain the satisfaction to which he is entitled,

the consumer shall have the right to take proceedings against the creditor.

(3) This section does not apply to housing loans.

43.—(1) Subject to this section, a creditor or an owner shall during the currency of the agreement provide, within 10 days of receipt of a written request by a consumer who is party to the agreement or if that consumer so requires any person specified by him in the request, a copy of the written agreement or a statement of—

(a) the amount paid,

(b) the amount, if any, due but unpaid, and the date and amount of each instalment that remains unpaid, and

(c) the total amount outstanding and the date and amount of each outstanding instalment,

under the agreement.

(2) A creditor or an owner shall not, without reasonable cause, fail to comply within 10 days with a request under subsection (1).

(3) If the default described in subsection (2) continues for a further period of 14 days, then while the default so continues, the creditor or the owner, as the case may be, shall not be entitled to enforce the agreement, or any right to recover goods, and any person shall not be entitled to enforce a security given under the agreement.

(4) Subsection (1) does not apply to a request made less than 4 weeks after a previous request under that subsection relating to the same credit agreement which was complied with.

F80[(5) A request referred to in subsection (1) must be accompanied by a fee of €2.50 or, if some other amount is specified in a regulation made by the Bank for the purposes of this subsection, that other amount. The Bank may make such a regulation only after consulting the Director.]

(6) Subsection (5) shall not apply where the request is in relation to a F81[high cost credit agreement].

(7) This section does not apply to a housing loan.

44.—(1) Subject to subsection (3), where there are two or more agreements between a consumer and the same creditor or owner and where the consumer makes a payment which is not sufficient to discharge the amount then due under all the agreements, the consumer shall be entitled to appropriate the payment towards the agreements as he sees fit and, if he fails to do so, the payment shall, subject to subsection (2), be appropriated by the creditor or owner, as the case may be, towards the agreements in proportion to the amounts due under the agreements.

(2) Where all the agreements to which subsection (1) applies are hire-purchase agreements, and one-third of the hire-purchase price has been paid under each of the agreements, the owner may, if the hirer has failed to do so, appropriate the payment as he sees fit otherwise the payment shall, by virtue of subsection (1), be appropriated towards the agreements in proportion to the amounts due under the agreements.

(3) This section does not apply where any of the agreements is a housing loan.

45.—(1) A creditor, owner or a person acting on his behalf shall not send to a consumer any F82[communication on paper] relating to a credit agreement with that consumer unless the communication is sent in a sealed envelope having nothing written or printed thereon, other than—

(a) the name and address of the consumer, and

(b) at the discretion of the sender—

(i) the words “personal” or “private”, and

(ii) a P.O. Box number together with, if desired by the sender, the words “If undelivered please return to” or similar words.

(2) Subject to subsection (3), a creditor, owner or a person acting on his behalf shall not send any written communication in connection with an agreement with that consumer to the consumer's employer or to any member of the consumer's family unless that employer or family member is a party to the agreement.

(3) Where the agreement referred to in subsection (2) is a housing loan, the creditor or a person acting on his behalf may—

(a) for the purposes of the Family Home Protection Act, 1976, send any written communication connected with the agreement to the consumer's spouse, or

F83[(aa) for the purposes of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010, send any written communication connected with the agreement to the consumer’s civil partner, or]

(b) where the written consent of the consumer has been given, send any written communication connected with the agreement to any member of the consumer's family or to a person designated by the consumer.

46.—A creditor, owner or a person acting on his behalf shall not visit or telephone—

(a) a consumer without his consent—

(i) at his place of employment or business unless the consumer resides at that place and all reasonable efforts to make contact with him have failed,

(ii) at any place,

(I) between the hours of 9 o'clock in the evening on any week day and 9 o'clock in the morning on the following day, or

(II) at any time on a Sunday or a public holiday (within the meaning of the Holidays (Employees) Act, 1973),

(b) a consumer's employer or any member of the consumer's family unless that employer or family member is a party to the agreement, without the consent of the consumer, given in writing and separate from any other term of agreement,

for any purposes connected with an agreement other than the service of a document in connection with legal proceedings.

47.—(1) A consumer or a person acting on the consumer's behalf may apply to the Circuit Court in whose Circuit the consumer resides or in which the agreement was made, for a declaration that the total cost of credit provided for in any agreement is excessive.

(2) Subject to this section, the Circuit Court may decide in any particular case coming before it, by an application under subsection (1), that the total cost of credit provided for in any credit agreement is excessive.

(3) In making the decision referred to in subsection (2) the court shall have regard to all relevant factors including—

(a) interest rates prevailing at the time the agreement was made or, where applicable, interest rates prevailing at any time during the currency of the agreement,

(b) the age, business competence and level of literacy and numeracy of the consumer,

(c) the degree of risk involved for the creditor and the security provided,

(d) the creditor's costs including the cost of collecting repayments, and

(e) the extent of competition for the type of credit concerned.

(4) This section does not apply to any credit agreement relating to credit advanced by a credit institution or a mortgage lender.

F84[(5) If an application is made under subsection (1) in relation to a credit agreement, the Circuit Court may not make a declaration under this section unless it has given the Bank an opportunity to be heard at the hearing to determine the application.]

48.—(1) Where the Circuit Court has decided by virtue of section 47, that the total cost of credit is excessive, it may re-open the credit agreement so as to do justice between the parties and may decide to do any one or more of the following:

(a) relieve the consumer from payment of any sum in excess of the sum adjudged by the court to be fairly due in respect of such total cost of credit;

(b) set aside, either wholly or in part the agreement against the consumer;

(c) revise or alter the terms of the agreement; or

(d) order the repayment to the consumer of the whole or part of any sums paid.

(2) Where an agreement to which subsection (1) relates is a F85[high cost credit agreement] the court may also order the F86[Bank] to revoke, suspend or alter the F85[high cost credit provider’s licence] of the holder concerned either immediately or as from such date as the court may decide.

49.—(1) A person shall not make a demand for payment or assert a present or prospective right to payment in respect of an agreement which is unenforceable under this Act.

(2) A person shall not, with a view to obtaining payment in respect of an agreement which is unenforceable under this Act—

(a) threaten to bring any legal proceedings,

(b) place or cause to be placed the name of any person on a list of defaulters or debtors or threaten to do so, or

(c) invoke or cause to be invoked any other collection procedure or threaten to do so.

(3) In any proceedings for an offence under this section, it shall be a defence for the person to show that he had reasonable cause to believe that there was a right to payment.

50.—(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (4), a consumer may withdraw from an agreement within 10 days of receiving it or a copy thereof (“the cooling-off period”) by giving written notice to this effect to the creditor or the owner, as the case may be.

(2) A consumer may forego his right to a cooling-off period in any credit agreement by signing a statement to this effect separately from any other term of the agreement.

(3) A statement by which a consumer forgoes the right to a cooling-off period shall carry in a prominent position:

(4) This section does not apply to a housing loan or credit availed of by means of a credit card or an overdraft facility offered by a credit institution.

51.—This Part shall apply to any agreement other than a housing loan.

52.—(1) A consumer is entitled to discharge the consumer’s obligations under an agreement at any time before the time fixed by the agreement for its termination.

(2) The consumer shall exercise the entitlement by giving notice of termination in writing to the creditor or the owner (as the case requires) of the consumer's intention to determine the agreement.

(3) Where the consumer exercises the entitlement, the creditor or owner shall allow a reduction in the total cost of credit under the agreement.

(4) Except where subsection (6) applies, the reduction is to be calculated in accordance with a method or formula approved for that purpose by the Bank.

(5) The Bank may approve different methods or formulas for the purpose of subsection (4).

(6) The Minister for Finance may, after consulting the Bank, make a regulation prescribing a method or formula for calculating the reduction in the total cost of credit under agreements generally or any class of agreement.

(7) A method or formula prescribed by a regulation made under subsection (6) replaces a method or formula approved under subsection (4) to the extent that the regulation purports to supersede the method or formula so approved.]

53.—(1) A consumer is entitled to a reduction in the total cost of credit under an agreement if for any reason—

(a) the amount owed by the consumer becomes payable before the time fixed by the agreement, or

(b) any money becomes payable by the consumer before the time so fixed.

(2) Except where subsection (3) applies, the reduction is to be calculated in accordance with a method or formula approved for that purpose by the Bank.

(3) The Minister for Finance may, after consultation with the Bank, make a regulation prescribing a method or formula for calculating the reduction in the total cost of credit under agreements generally or any class of agreement.

(4) A method or formula prescribed by a regulation made under subsection (3) replaces a method or formula approved under subsection (2) to the extent that the regulation purports to supersede the method or formula so approved.]

54.—(1) A creditor or an owner shall not enforce a provision of an agreement by—

(a) demanding early payment of any sum,

(b) recovering possession of any goods (save where the goods are in imminent danger of being damaged or stolen), or

(c) treating any right conferred on the consumer by the agreement as determined, restricted or deferred,

unless he has served on the consumer, at least 10 days before he proposes to take any action, a notice which shall specify the following:

(i) details of the agreement sufficient to identify it;

(ii) the name and address of the creditor or owner, as the case may be;

(iii) the name and address of the consumer;

(iv) the term of the agreement to be enforced; and

(v) a statement of the action he intends to take to enforce the term of the agreement, the manner and circumstances in which he intends to take such action and the date on or after which he intends to take such action.

(2) A creditor or an owner shall not, by reason of any breach by a consumer of an agreement—

(a) determine the agreement,

(b) demand early payment of any sum,

(c) recover possession of the goods,

(d) treat any right conferred on the consumer by the agreement as determined, restricted or deferred, or

(e) enforce any security,

unless he has served on the consumer, not less than 10 days before he proposes to take any action, a notice which shall specify the following:

(i) details of the agreement sufficient to identify it;

(ii) the name and address of the creditor or owner, as the case may be;

(iii) the name and address of the consumer;

(iv) the nature of the alleged breach;

(v) either—

(I) if the breach is capable of remedy, what action is required to remedy it and the date before which that action is to be taken, which date shall be not less than 21 days after the date of service of the notice, or

(II) if the breach is not capable of remedy, the sum, if any, required to be paid as compensation for the breach and the date before which it is to be paid, which date shall be not less than 21 days after the date of service of the notice; and

(vi) information about the consequences of failure to comply with the notice.

(3) If the consumer takes the action specified under subparagraphs (v) (I) or (v) (II) of subsection (2), before the date specified for that purpose in the notice, the breach shall be treated as not having occurred, in any records maintained for information on the consumer's credit record.

(4) Notwithstanding this section, a creditor or an owner may apply to a court of competent jurisdiction in any particular case to have the provisions of this section dispensed with where the court is satisfied that it would be just and equitable to do so.

55.—Where a creditor or an owner is compensated or recovers possession of goods in any action by virtue of this Act the court shall ensure that the compensation or repossession does not entail any unjustified enrichment of the creditor or the owner, as the case may be.

56.—This Part shall apply to hire-purchase agreements.

56A. A reference in sections 73A to 73X to goods being in conformity with a hire-purchase agreement shall be construed in accordance with section 73A(2).]

57.—(1) Before any hire-purchase agreement is entered into in respect of any goods, the owner shall state in writing the cash price to the prospective hirer, other than in the agreement.

(2) Subsection (1) shall be deemed to have been complied with—

(a) if the hirer has inspected the goods or like goods and at the time of his inspection tickets or labels were attached to or displayed with the goods clearly stating the cash price, either of the goods as a whole or of all the different articles or sets of articles comprised therein, or

(b) if the hirer has selected the goods by reference to a catalogue, price list or advertisement which clearly stated the cash price of the goods as a whole or of all the different articles or sets of articles comprised therein.

58.—(1) A hire-purchase agreement and any contract of guarantee relating thereto shall be made in writing and signed by the hirer and by or on behalf of all other parties to the agreement, and—

(a) a copy of the agreement shall be—

(i) handed personally to the hirer upon the making of the agreement, or

(ii) delivered or sent to the hirer by the owner within 10 days of the making of the agreement, and

(b) in the case of any contract of guarantee relating to the agreement, a copy of the guarantee and the agreement shall be—

(i) handed personally to the guarantor upon the making of the contract, or

(ii) sent within 10 days of the making of any contract by the F90[owner] to the guarantor.

(2) A hire-purchase agreement shall contain a statement of—

(a) the hire-purchase price,

(b) the cash price of the goods to which the agreement relates,

(c) the amount of each of the instalments by which the hire-purchase price is to be paid,

F91[(ca) where the agreement is made after the date on which section 15 of the Consumer Protection (Regulation of Retail Credit and Credit Servicing Firms) Act 2022 comes into operation, the APR in respect of the agreement,]

(d) the date, or the method of determining the date, upon which each instalment is payable,

(e) the number of instalments,

(f) the names and addresses of all parties to the agreement at the time of its making, and

(g) any costs or penalties to which the hirer will become liable for any failure by the hirer to comply with the terms of the agreement.

(3) A hire-purchase agreement shall contain a list of the goods to which the agreement relates sufficient to identify them.

(4) A hire-purchase agreement shall contain a notice which is at least as prominent as the rest of the contents of the agreement, in the terms specified in the Fifth Schedule.

(5) A hire-purchase agreement shall contain in respect of the cooling-off period a statement that the hirer—

(a) has a right to withdraw from the agreement without penalty if the hirer gives written notice to this effect to the F90[owner] within a period of 10 days of the date of receipt by the hirer of a copy of the agreement, or

(b) may indicate that he does not wish to exercise this right by signing a statement to this effect, this signature to be separate from, and additional to, the hirer's signature in relation to any of the terms of the agreement.

(6) A hire-purchase agreement shall contain a statement to the effect that a hirer is obliged to give the owner information under section 69 as to the whereabouts of the goods to which the agreement relates.

(7) A hire-purchase agreement shall contain in a prominent position the words “Hire-purchase agreement”.

59.—An owner shall not be entitled to enforce a hire-purchase agreement or any contract of guarantee relating thereto or any right to recover the goods from the hirer, and no security given by the hirer in respect of money payable under the hire-purchase agreement or given by a guarantor in respect of money payable under such contract of guarantee as aforesaid shall be enforceable against the hirer or guarantor by any holder thereof, unless the requirements specified in sections 57 and 58 have been complied with:

Provided that if a court is satisfied in any action that a failure to comply with any of the aforesaid requirements, other than section 58 (1), was not deliberate and has not prejudiced the hirer, and that it would be just and equitable to dispense with the requirement, the court may, subject to any conditions that it sees fit to impose, decide that the agreement shall be enforceable.

60.—(1) The Bank may make regulations amending section 58 or the Fifth Schedule with respect to the form or content of hire-purchase agreements.

(2) The Bank may exercise the power conferred by subsection (1) only after consulting with, or at the request of, the Director and only after obtaining the consent of the Minister for Finance.]

61.—An owner who is a party to a hire-purchase agreement shall ensure that the contents of the agreement comply with section 58 and any regulations made under section 60.

62.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), any provision in any hire-purchase agreement whereby—

(a) an owner or a person acting on the owner's behalf is authorised to enter upon any premises for the purpose of taking possession of goods which have been let under a hire-purchase agreement,

(b) the right conferred on a hirer by this Part to determine a hire-purchase agreement is excluded or restricted,

(c) any liability in addition to the liability imposed by this Part is imposed on a hirer by reason of the termination of the hire-purchase agreement by the hirer under this Part,

(d) a hirer, after the determination of the hire-purchase agreement or the bailment in any manner whatsoever, is subject to a liability which exceeds the liability to which he would have been subject if the agreement had been determined by him under this Part,

(e) any person acting on behalf of an owner or seller in connection with the formation or conclusion of a hire-purchase agreement is treated as or deemed to be the agent of the hirer, or

(f) an owner or seller is relieved from liability for the acts or defaults of any person acting on his behalf in connection with the formation or conclusion of a hire-purchase agreement,

shall be void.

(2) Subsection (1) does not apply in relation to a provision in a hire-purchase agreement whereby an owner of a motor vehicle which has been let under a hire-purchase agreement or a person acting on his behalf—

(a) authorised to enter premises (other than a house used as a dwelling or any building within the curtilage thereof) for the purpose of taking possession of the motor vehicle, or

(b) relieved from liability for any such entry.

63.—(1) A hirer shall at any time before the final payment under a hire-purchase agreement falls due, be entitled to determine the agreement by giving notice of termination in writing to the owner or any person entitled or authorised to receive the sums payable under the agreement.

(2) Where a hire-purchase agreement has been determined under this section, the hirer shall, without prejudice to any liability which has accrued before termination, have the option to either—

(a) pay the amount, if any, by which one-half of the hire-purchase price exceeds the total of the sums paid and the sums due in respect of the hire-purchase price immediately before termination, or such less amount as may be specified in the agreement, or

(b) purchase the goods by paying the difference between the amount already paid under the agreement and the hire-purchase price after the latter amount has been reduced in accordance with section 52 or 53, or such lesser amount as may be specified in the agreement.

(3) Where a hire-purchase agreement has been determined under this section, the hirer shall, if he has failed to take reasonable care of the goods, be liable to pay for the failure.

(4) Where a hirer, having determined a hire-purchase agreement under this section, wrongfully retains possession of the goods, then in any action brought by the owner to recover possession of the goods from the hirer, the court shall, unless it is satisfied that having regard to the circumstances it would not be just and equitable so to do, order the goods to be delivered to the owner, without giving the hirer the option to pay the value of the goods.

(5) Nothing in this section shall prejudice any right of a hirer to determine a hire-purchase agreement otherwise than by virtue of this section.

64.—(1) Subject to subsection (3), where goods have been let under a hire-purchase agreement and one-third of the hire-purchase price has been paid or tendered by or on behalf of the hirer or any guarantor, the owner shall not enforce any right to recover possession of the goods from the hirer otherwise than by legal proceedings.

(2) If an owner recovers possession of goods in contravention of subsection (1), the hire-purchase agreement, if not previously determined, shall determine, and—

(a) the hirer shall be released from all liability under the agreement, and shall be entitled to recover from the owner all sums paid by the hirer under the agreement or under any security given by him in respect thereof, and

(b) any guarantor shall be entitled to recover from the owner in an action all sums paid by him under the contract of guarantee or under any security given by him in respect thereof.

(3) Where the owner of a motor vehicle let under a hire-purchase agreement has commenced legal proceedings to recover possession of the vehicle from the hirer and it has been abandoned or left unattended in circumstances which have resulted or are likely to result in damage to the vehicle, the owner shall be entitled to enforce a right to recover possession of the vehicle and to retain possession thereof pending the outcome of the proceedings.

(4) If a hirer refuses to give up possession of goods to an owner whose right to recover possession is restricted by subsection (1), the hirer shall not be liable, by reason only of the refusal, for conversion of the goods.

(5) In this section a reference to the hire-purchase price includes any installation charge provided for in the hire-purchase agreement.

65.—(1) In this Part “hire-purchase price” means the total sum payable by the hirer under a hire-purchase agreement in order to complete the purchase of the goods to which the agreement relates, exclusive of any sum payable as a penalty or as compensation or damages for a breach of the agreement.

(2) Where an owner has agreed that any part of the hire-purchase price may be discharged otherwise than by payment of cash, any such discharge shall for the purposes of this Act, be deemed to be a payment of that part of the hire-purchase price.

(3) Any sum payable by the hirer under a hire-purchase agreement by way of a deposit or other initial payment, or credited or to be credited to the hirer under such an agreement or account of any such deposit or payment, whether that sum is to be or has been paid to the owner or to any other person or is to be or has been discharged by a payment of cash or by the transfer or delivery of goods or by any other means shall form part of the hire-purchase price.

66.—(1) Where legal proceedings by virtue of section 64 have been commenced the owner shall not enforce or attempt to enforce payment other than in those proceedings or any negotiations connected with those proceedings.

(2) Pending the hearing of an action, or any settlement, in relation to such proceedings the court may, on the application of the owner, make such order as it thinks fit for the protection of the goods.

(3) On hearing the action, the court may, without prejudice to any other power—

(a) order the delivery of the goods to the owner,

(b) order such delivery but postpone its operation subject to such conditions as the court thinks fit, or

(c) order—

(i) the transfer to the hirer of title to part of the goods, and

(ii) delivery of the remainder to the owner, subject to such conditions as the court thinks fit.

(4) Where the operation of an order is postponed under subsection (3) (b) the agreement shall continue to operate except that—

(a) no further sum shall become payable on account of the unpaid balance except as provided for in the order, and

(b) the court may modify the terms of the agreement as it thinks fit.

(5) Where an owner has recovered a part of the goods let under a hire-purchase agreement, and the recovery was effected in contravention of section 64, the provisions of this section shall not apply in relation to any action by the owner to recover the goods.

67.—Where a hire-purchase agreement has been determined under section 63, the hirer shall, if he has failed to take reasonable care of the goods, be liable to pay damages for the failure.

68.—Where an owner has recovered possession of goods let under a hire-purchase agreement, whether as a result of legal proceedings or otherwise, the liability of the guarantor shall be limited to the amount which would have been payable by the hirer if he had determined the agreement under section 63.

69.—Where by virtue of a hire-purchase agreement a hirer is under a duty to keep the goods comprised in the agreement in his possession or control, the hirer shall, within 10 days of receipt of a request in writing from the owner inform the owner where the goods are at the time when the information is given or, if it is sent by post, at the time of the posting.

70.—Where goods of any class or description are let under a hire-purchase agreement to a dealer who deals in goods of that class or description and the dealer sells the goods when ostensibly acting in the ordinary course of his business, the sale shall be valid as if the dealer were expressly authorised by the owner to make the sale:

Provided that the buyer acts in good faith and has not at the time of the sale notice that the dealer has no authority to make the sale.

71.—(1) Where, in an action by an owner of goods which have been let under a hire-purchase agreement to enforce a right to recover possession of the goods from the hirer, the owner proves that, before the commencement of the action and after the right to recover possession of the goods accrued, the owner made a request in writing to the hirer to surrender the goods, the hirer's possession of the goods shall, for the purpose of the owner's claim to recover possession thereof, be deemed to be adverse to the owner.

(2) Nothing in subsection (1) shall affect a claim for adverse conversion.

72.—Where goods have been let under a hire-purchase agreement at any time after one-third of the hire-purchase price has been paid or tendered the owner makes a further hire-purchase agreement with the hirer comprising the goods, the provisions of sections 64 and 66 shall have effect in relation to that further agreement as from its making.

73.—If, whilst by virtue of this Part the enforcement by an owner of a right to recover possession of goods from a hirer is subject to any restriction, the hirer refuses to give up possession of the goods to the owner, the hirer shall not, by reason only of the refusal, be liable to the owner for the conversion of the goods.

73A.—(1) Where a hire-purchase agreement is concluded between an owner and a hirer, the owner shall deliver goods to the hirer that are in conformity with the hire-purchase agreement at the relevant time.

(2) Goods are in conformity with the hire-purchase agreement if the goods—

(a) comply with the requirements of sections 73B to 73D, and

(b) do not fall to be treated as not being in conformity with the hire‑purchase agreement under section 73E.

(3) Subject to sections 73B(3) and 73G(1) to (3), where the goods delivered by the owner are not in conformity with the hire-purchase agreement at the relevant time, the hirer shall have the right to the remedies specified in section 73I and 73L.

(4) In this section, "relevant time"—

(a) in relation to goods other than goods with digital elements, means the time at which—

(i) the hirer or a person indicated by the hirer for the purpose acquires the physical possession of the goods, or

(ii) the goods are delivered to a carrier who was commissioned by the hirer to deliver the goods (and who was not proposed by the owner for that purpose),

and

(b) in relation to goods with digital elements, means the time at which, following delivery of the physical component of the goods to the hirer or a person indicated by the hirer for the purpose—

(i) the single act of supply of the digital content or digital service is performed, or

(ii) the continuous supply of the digital content or digital service over a period of time begins,

in such a way that the digital content or digital service, or any means suitable for downloading or accessing it, has reached the sphere of the hirer and no further action by the owner is required in order to enable the hirer to use the digital content or digital service in accordance with the hire-purchase agreement.]

73B.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), the requirements referred to in section 73A(2) are that the owner shall ensure that—

(a) at the time when the ownership of the goods is to be transferred under the hire-purchase agreement, the owner has the right to sell the goods,

(b) at the time when the ownership of goods is to be transferred under the hire-purchase agreement, the goods are free from any charge or other encumbrance (other than a charge or other encumbrance which was disclosed to the hirer before the hirer entered into the hire-purchase agreement), and

(c) the hirer shall enjoy quiet possession of the goods except so far as it may be disturbed by the owner or any other person entitled to the benefit of any charge or encumbrance so disclosed.

(2) Where the hire-purchase agreement shows, or the circumstances at the time the agreement was concluded imply, that the owner and the hirer intend that the owner transfer only the limited title to the goods that the owner or a third person may have—

(a) all charges and encumbrances known to the owner shall be disclosed to the hirer before the hirer enters into the agreement, and

(b) the hirer’s quiet possession of the goods shall not be disturbed by—

(i) the owner,

(ii) the third person, or

(iii) a person claiming through or under the owner or the third person unless that person is claiming under a charge or encumbrance that was disclosed to the hirer before the agreement was concluded.

(3) Where the owner does not have the right to sell goods as required by subsection (1)(a), the hirer shall have the right to terminate the hire‑purchase agreement.

(4) Where the hirer has the right to terminate the hire-purchase agreement under subsection (3) and wishes to exercise that right—

(a) the hirer shall exercise that right in accordance with section 73N, and

(b) the owner shall comply with the obligations in section 73O.

(5) The hirer shall have the right to the remedies specified in sections 73I and 73L where—

(a) the goods are not in compliance with subsection (1)(b) and (c),

(b) the owner does not disclose all known charges or encumbrances in accordance with subsection (2)(a),

(c) the hirer’s possession of the goods does not comply with subsection (2)(b), or

(d) a restriction resulting from a violation of any right of a third party, in particular an intellectual property right, prevents or limits the use of the goods in accordance with sections 73C and 73D.

(6) In case of dispute, it shall be for the owner to show that—

(a) the owner had the right to sell the goods in accordance with subsection (1)(a),

(b) the goods complied with the requirements of subsection (1)(b) and (c),

(c) the owner disclosed all known charges and encumbrances in accordance with subsection (2)(a), and

(d) the hirer’s possession of the goods complied with subsection (2)(b).]

73C.—(1) The goods delivered under a hire-purchase agreement shall—

(a) be of the description, type, quantity and quality, and possess the functionality, compatibility, interoperability and other features, specified in the hire-purchase agreement,

(b) be fit for any particular purpose for which the hirer requires them—

(i) that the hirer made known to the owner at the time of, or before, the conclusion of the hire-purchase agreement, and

(ii) that the owner has accepted,

(c) be delivered with all accessories and instructions, including on installation of the goods, specified in the hire-purchase agreement, and

(d) be updated as specified in the hire-purchase agreement.

(2) Spare parts and an adequate after-sales service shall be made available by the owner—

(a) in such circumstances as are stated in an offer, description or advertisement by the owner on behalf of the producer or on his or her own behalf, and

(b) for such period as is so stated or, if no period is so stated, for a reasonable period.

(3) In this section, "interoperability" means the ability of goods to function with hardware or software different from those with which goods of the same type are normally used.]

73D.—(1) The goods delivered under a hire-purchase agreement shall—

(a) be fit for all of the purposes for which goods of the same type would normally be used, taking into account so far as relevant any enactment or rule of law, European Union law, technical standards or, in the absence of technical standards, applicable sector-specific industry codes of conduct,

(b) be of the quality and correspond to the description of any sample or model that the owner made available to the hirer before the conclusion of the hire-purchase agreement,

(c) be delivered along with any accessories, including packaging, installation instructions or other instructions, that the hirer may reasonably expect to receive, and

(d) be of the quantity and possess the qualities and other features (including in relation to durability, functionality, compatibility, safety and security) normal for goods of the same type that the hirer may reasonably expect given the nature of the goods and taking into account any public statement in relation to the goods made by, or on behalf of, the owner or any other person constituting a previous link in the chain of transactions relating to the hire-purchase agreement, including the producer, particularly in advertising or on labelling.

(2) In subsection (1)(d), the reference to the durability of the goods is a reference to the ability of the goods to maintain their functions and performance through normal use and to possess the ability to do so which is normal for goods of the same type and which the hirer can reasonably expect having regard to—

(a) the specific nature of the goods,

(b) the possible need for reasonable maintenance of the goods,

(c) any public statement on the durability of the goods made by or on behalf of any person constituting a link in the chain of transactions, and

(d) all other relevant circumstances, including the price of the goods and the intensity or frequency of the use made of the goods by the hirer.

(3) The owner shall not be bound by any public statement referred to in subsection (1)(d) or (2)(c) if the owner shows that—

(a) the owner was not, and could not reasonably have been, aware of the public statement in question,

(b) at the time of the conclusion of the hire-purchase agreement, the public statement had been corrected in the same way as it had been made (or in a comparable way), or

(c) the decision of the hirer to take the goods could not have been influenced by the public statement.

(4) Where a hire-purchase agreement for the letting of goods with digital elements provides for a single act of supply of the digital content or digital service, the owner shall ensure that the hirer is informed of and supplied with updates, including security updates, that are necessary to maintain the goods in conformity with the agreement for the period of time that the hirer may reasonably expect given the type and purpose of the goods and the digital elements, and taking into account the circumstances and nature of the hire-purchase agreement.

(5) Where a hire-purchase agreement for the letting of goods with digital elements provides for a continuous supply of the digital content or digital service for a period exceeding two years, the owner shall ensure that the hirer is informed of the availability, and supplied with, any update (including a security update) that is necessary to maintain the goods in conformity with the agreement during that period.

(6) Where a hire-purchase agreement for the letting of goods with digital elements provides for a continuous supply of the digital content or digital service for a period not exceeding two years, the owner shall ensure that the hirer is informed of the availability, and supplied with, any update (including a security update) that is necessary to maintain the goods in conformity with the contract for the period of two years beginning with the delivery of the goods with digital elements.

(7) Where the hirer fails to install within a reasonable time an update supplied in accordance with subsection (4), (5) or (6), the owner shall not be liable for any lack of conformity with the hire-purchase agreement resulting solely from the failure to install the update—

(a) if the owner informed the hirer of the need for the hirer to install the update (including the consequences of failing to do so), and

(b) the failure of the hirer to install the update, or the incorrect installation by the hirer of the update, was not due to shortcomings in the installation instructions provided to the hirer.

(8) There shall be no lack of conformity with a hire-purchase agreement under subsection (1), (4), (5) or (6) if, at the time of the conclusion of the agreement—

(a) the hirer was specifically informed by the owner that a particular characteristic of the goods deviated from the requirements of the subsection concerned, including a lack of conformity with the hire-purchase agreement caused by a restriction resulting from a violation of an intellectual property right or any other right of a third person, and

(b) the hirer expressly and separately accepted that deviation.

(9) In case of dispute, it shall be for the owner to show that the hirer—

(a) was specifically informed by the owner that a particular characteristic of the goods deviated from the requirements of subsection (1), (4), (5) or (6), and

(b) expressly and separately accepted that deviation when concluding the hire-purchase agreement.]

73E.—Any lack of conformity with the hire-purchase agreement resulting from the incorrect installation of the goods shall be treated as a lack of conformity of the goods with the hire-purchase agreement if—

(a) the installation forms part of the agreement and was carried out by the owner or under the owner’s responsibility, or

(b) the installation, intended to be carried out by the hirer, was done by the hirer and the incorrect installation was due to shortcomings in the installation instructions provided to the hirer by the owner or, in the case of goods with digital elements, provided to the hirer by the owner or by the supplier of the digital content or digital service.]

73F.—Sections 73B to 73E shall be implied into every hire-purchase agreement and shall have effect as if they were terms of such an agreement.]

73G.—(1) Where a hire-purchase agreement for the letting of goods with digital elements provides for a continuous supply of digital content or a digital service for a period specified in the agreement, the owner shall be liable for a lack of conformity of the digital content or digital service with the agreement that occurs or becomes apparent within that period.

(2) Where a hire-purchase agreement provides for the delivery of goods on more than one occasion during the period for which the agreement subsists, the owner shall be liable to the hirer during that period for a lack of conformity of the goods with the hire-purchase agreement which exists at the relevant time.

(3) Where an update is supplied by the owner or a third party supplying the digital content or digital service under a hire-purchase agreement for the letting of goods with digital elements, the owner shall be liable for any lack of conformity of the digital content or digital service with the agreement—

(a) caused by the update which exists at the time of supply or installation of the update, or

(b) caused by the failure of the owner to supply an update in accordance with section 73D at the time when the update should have been supplied.

(4) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), where a hire-purchase agreement for the letting of goods other than goods with digital elements provides for a continuous supply of digital content or a digital service for a period specified in the hire-purchase agreement, the hirer’s right to a remedy in respect of a lack of conformity with the hire-purchase agreement for which the owner is liable under this section shall apply for the period of 6 years beginning with the relevant time.

(5) Where a hire-purchase agreement for the letting of goods with digital elements provides for a continuous supply of digital content or a digital service for a period specified in the hire-purchase agreement, the hirer’s right to a remedy in respect of a lack of conformity with the hire-purchase agreement for which the owner is liable under this section shall apply for the period of 6 years beginning with the time at which the lack of conformity with the hire-purchase agreement occurs or becomes apparent during the period so specified.

(6) In this section, "relevant time" has the same meaning as it has in section 73A.]

73H.—(1) Subject to subsection (2), where it becomes apparent during the period of 12 months beginning with the relevant time that goods supplied under a hire-purchase agreement are not in conformity with the hire-purchase agreement, the lack of conformity with the agreement shall be presumed to have existed at the relevant time unless—

(a) the contrary is proven, or

(b) such a presumption is incompatible with the nature of the goods or with the nature of the lack of conformity with the agreement.

(2) Where a hire-purchase agreement for the letting of goods with digital elements provides for the continuous supply of the digital content or digital service for a period specified in the agreement, the burden of proof as to whether the digital content or digital service was in conformity with the hire-purchase agreement during that period shall be on the owner for a lack of conformity with the agreement which becomes apparent during that period.

(3) For the purposes of relying on the presumption under subsection (1), the hirer shall be required to prove only that—

(a) the goods are not in conformity with the hire-purchase agreement, and

(b) the lack of conformity became apparent during the period of 12 months beginning with the relevant time.

(4) Nothing in this section shall prevent or restrict a hirer from exercising a remedy after 12 months from the delivery of the goods.

(5) In this section, "relevant time" has the same meaning as it has in section 73A.]

73I.—(1) Where goods are not in conformity with the hire-purchase agreement at the relevant time, the hirer shall have the following rights—

(a) the right to exercise the short-term right to terminate the agreement in accordance with section 73J, and

(b) subject to subsections (2) and (3), the right to have the goods brought into conformity with the agreement through repair or replacement in accordance with section 73K.

(2) The hirer may choose between the remedies of repair and replacement of the goods unless the remedy chosen by the hirer—

(a) would be impossible for the owner to carry out, or

(b) compared to the alternative remedy, would impose disproportionate costs on the owner, taking all the circumstances into account, including—

(i) the value that the goods would have if there were no lack of conformity,

(ii) the significance of the lack of conformity, and

(iii) whether the alternative remedy could be provided without significant inconvenience to the hirer.

(3) The owner may refuse to bring the goods into conformity with the hire-purchase agreement if both repair and replacement—

(a) are impossible for the owner to carry out, or

(b) compared to the alternative remedy, would impose disproportionate costs on the owner, taking all the circumstances into account, including those specified in subsection (2)(b)(i) and (ii).

(4) In this section, "relevant time" has the same meaning as it has in section 73A.]

73J.—(1) This section applies where the hirer has the short-term right to terminate the hire-purchase agreement under section 73I(1)(a).

(2) The period during which the hirer has the short-term right to terminate the hire-purchase agreement—

(a) begins—

(i) where the hire-purchase agreement requires the owner to install the goods after their delivery or to take any other action to enable the hirer to use the goods, on the day on which the installation or other action is completed, or

(ii) in any other case, at the relevant time,

and

(b) subject to subsection (3), expires 30 days after that day or, as the case may be, the relevant time.

(3) Where goods are of a kind that can reasonably be expected to expire or deteriorate on the expiry of a smaller number of days than the 30 days referred to in paragraph (b) of subsection (2), that paragraph shall apply as if for the reference to 30 days there were substituted a reference to that smaller number of days.

(4) Nothing in subsection (2) prevents a hirer who has the right to terminate a hire-purchase agreement from terminating it before the beginning of the period referred to in that subsection (or that subsection as applied by subsection (3)).

(5) In case of dispute, it shall be for the owner to show that by virtue of subsection (3) the period referred to in subsection (2) is shorter than 30 days.