A consumer credit contract is a contract between a consumer and a lender. If you provide a mortgage, credit card, arranged overdraft or personal or cash loan – you have probably entered a consumer credit contract.
A consumer credit contract is a type of credit contract where the borrower meets all of these criteria:
is a private individual (in other words, they are not a company or incorporated society)
is entering the contract predominantly for personal, domestic or household purposes (as opposed to primarily for business or investment purposes)
has to pay interest or a credit fee, or provide a security interest.
In addition, as the lender you must either:
be in the business of providing credit (such as a finance company or bank) – although lending does not have to be your only business or main business
be in the practice of providing credit as part of your business (such as a car dealer)
make a practice of entering into credit contracts on behalf of someone else
have been introduced to the borrower through a paid advisor or broker.
Exclusions
Some credit contracts aren’t consumer credit contracts, even if these conditions are met. A contract is not a consumer credit contract where:
it is a credit sale, the amount is an agreed price, and the borrower has to pay in full for the goods or services within 2 months
someone has overdrawn their bank account without having an agreed overdraft facility on the account
the borrower is acting as trustee for a family trust
it is under the Student Loan Scheme Act
it is specifically excluded under regulations.
However, these transactions are still credit contracts and they can still be re-opened by the courts if they are oppressive.
