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The 'Consumer Credit Act 1974' is a consumer protection law in the UK. It requires certain businesses to obtain Consumer credit licences and protects individuals receiving credit up to £25,000. Appeals under the Consumer Credit Act are made to the Office of Fair Trading.
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.
The Act is modified by the Consumer Credit Act 2006

Contents

Consumer credit licences

See also

External links

Consumer credit licences

Consumer credit licences are issued by the Consumer Credit Licensing Bureau which is part of the Office of Fair Trading (OFT). Examples of businesses that may be required to obtain consumer credit licences are:

★ Retailers who arrange credit

★ finance companies

★ debt collectors, debt advisors or negotiators

★ credit reference agencies

★ hire and leasing business
However, it is possible to lawfully lend money to consumers without holding a consumer credit license if certain conditions are met. In particular, credit unions are exempted from the provisions of the Act.

See also

Annual percentage rate

External links

★ The Office of Fair Trading

★ Business Link - Applying for a licence

★ Scanned copy of the original Act

★ Zopa - non-commercial money lending