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24 1995

CONSUMER CREDIT ACT, 1995

PART III

Requirements Relating to Credit Agreements and Form and Contents thereof

Application of Part III .

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

General requirements relating to contents of credit agreements.

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—

(a) a copy of the agreement shall be—

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

(ii) delivered or 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—

(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 creditor to the guarantor.

(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.

Contents of credit agreements for cash loans.

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,

(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.

Requirements relating to credit-sale agreements.

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”.

Avoidance of certain provisions in credit-sale agreements.

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.

Requirements relating to contents of contracts for services.

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.

Advances on current account.

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 granted by a credit institution, other than on credit card accounts, of—

(a) the credit limit, if any,

(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.

Notice of important information to be included in credit agreements.

36. —A credit agreement other than an overdraft facility, a credit-sale agreement or a moneylending 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.

Regulations.

37. —The Minister may make regulations in relation to the form and content of credit agreements and in so doing may amend or modify section 30 , 31 , 32 (3), (4) or (5), 34 or 35 .

Enforceability.

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.

Obligations on creditors to comply with Part III .

39. —A creditor being a credit institution, a moneylender 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 .