Consumer Credit Act 1974

	Consumer Credit Act 1974
United Kingdom Parliament
Long title:	An Act to establish for the protection of consumers a new system, administered by the Director General of Fair Trading...
Statute book chapter:	1974 c. 39
Territorial extent:	England & Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland
Dates
Date of Royal Assent:	31 July 1974
Commencement:	31 July 1974, 19 May 1985
Other legislation
Amendments:	Multiple amendments
Status: Substantially amended
Text of statute as originally enacted
Official text of the statute as amended and in force today within the United Kingdom, from the UK Statute Law Database
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The Consumer Credit Act 1974 is a consumer protection law in the UK. Until 6 April 2008, it required certain businesses to obtain Consumer credit licences and protected individuals receiving credit up to £25,000. After that date, new agreements for credit in excess of £25,000 are also protected as a result of amendments made by the Consumer Credit Act 2006. Appeals under the Consumer Credit Act are made to the Office of Fair Trading. Mortgages of land are regulated by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. The Consumer Credit Act 1974 which was re-evaluated in 2006, regulates the industury of pawnbrokers.

Cancellable agreements have a cooling-off period starting on the day the customer signs. This period is 14 days for goods bought from a mail-order catalogue. Otherwise, it is five days from the day the customer receives either a second copy of the agreement or a separate copy of a notice of cancellation rights.

You will only benefit from a cooling off period concerning a credit agreement if the credit agreement was made in one of the following ways:

1. For agreements signed away from the creditor’s normal business premises - i.e. at your home, place of work or at an exhibition stand

2. For agreements made at a distance (online, by phone or by post)

For agreements, which fall under (1), you will have a cooling off period of 5 days, which begins from the time you receive the second copy of the agreement (containing the cancellation form). For contracts, which fall under (2), you benefit from a 14 day cooling off period. Unlike the cooling off period for goods bought under the Distance Selling Regulations (DSRs), the creditor may make a reasonable charge for any service (such as insurance cover) which was operating during this time

[edit] Consumer credit licences

Consumer credit licences are issued by the Office of Fair Trading. It is a criminal offence to offer credit services without a licence; penalties include a fixed fine and imprisonment.