Caversham Finance Ltd
- Investigation:
- Caversham Finance Ltd
- Contract identifier:
- UTCCRContract-1
- Country of complaint:
- United Kingdom
- Country of origin:
- United Kingdom
- Trading sector group:
- Reading Borough Council
- Trading Sector:
- Financial//Hire and Unsecured Credit
- Action taken by:
- OFT
- Local Authority:
- Reading Borough Council
- Legislation used:
- Community Infringements Specified UK Laws//Unfair Contract Terms 1999
- Regulation breached:
- Unfair Contract Term
- Notes:
Notes
| Original term | Application of regulations/Enforcer view | How changed | New term |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4(f) | 1(n)14a Clauses disclaiming liability for employees statemen : _ |
Amended to warn consumers to ensure that oral variations are confirmed in writing, to avoid any misunderstanding as to the parties' obligations. | 4(f) |
| Your Declaration (iv) | Reg 5 18(e) Consumer declarations about contractual circumst : _ |
Amended to request an acknowledgement that the consumer has had the opportunity to read the terms of the agreement as well as highlighting the effect of certain terms. | Your Declaration (v) |
| 2 | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Amended to accurately describe nature of hire purchase agreement. | 2 |
| 3(b) | 1(b) Exclusion/restriction of liability for breaches of cont : _ |
Amended to reflect both parties' right to cancel the agreement and to clearly set out what supplier will do if cancelling the agreement. Attention is drawn to the latter by a reference to this right in the 'Your Declaration' section. | 3(b) and (c) |
| 4(b) | 1(n) Entire agreement and formality clauses : _ |
Amended to reflect fact that while the consumer is encouraged to comply with certain formalities, a successful claim does not depend on compliance. | 4(b) |
| 4(c) | Reg 5 18(c) Unfair enforcement powers : _ |
Amended to reflect the common law position that a court would be unlikely to award damages for losses which the consumer could have avoided by reasonable mitigation. | 4(c) |
| 4(d) | 1(b) Exclusion/restriction of liability for breaches of cont : _ |
Amended to remove limit on liability for all claims where losses are foreseeable or caused by supplier's breach. | 4(d) |
| 4(g) | 1(a) Exclusion/restriction of liability for death or injury : _ |
Amended to make it clear that the supplier does not exclude liability for death or personal injury resulting from an act or omission of the supplier. | 4(g) |
| 5(f) | 1(n) Entire agreement and formality clauses : _ |
Amended to limit supplier's discretion by making them take consumer's reasonable request as to order of allocation into account. | 5(f) |
| 7(a) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
'Interfere with' replaced with 'repair'. | 7(a) |
| 7(c) | 1(i) Binding consumers to hidden terms : _ |
Deleted | n/a |
| 7(e) | 1(e) Penalty clause (financial) : _ |
Amended to exclude all costs incurred by the supplier when damage to goods is caused by the supplier's negligence or the goods not being of satisfactory quality. | 7(c) |
| 7(g) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Amended to clarify that the restriction only applied while the consumer was still paying for the goods under the hire purchase agreement. | 8(e) |
| 9(d) | 1(e) Penalty clause (financial) : _ |
Amended to provide for lost or stolen goods, which are then subsequently recovered, to be returned to the consumer and for the consumer to have the agreement reinstated, thus preserving their right to purchase the goods at the end of the agreement. | 10(d) |
| 10(a) | Reg 5 18(c) Unfair enforcement powers : _ |
Amended to bring the right of entry into line with what is permitted under the CCA. | 11(a) |
| 10(c) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Redrafted to make the provisions of the term cleared to consumers. | 11(c) |
| 10(d) | 1(b)2e Exclusion of consumer's right to set-off : _ |
Amended to make it clear that consumers will be entitled to a refund of payments if the supplier is in breach. | 11(d) |
| 12(b) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Redrafted to make the consumers options clearer and referred to in the 'Your Declaration' section on the front of the contract. | 13(b) |
| 15 | 1(l) Right to increase the price : _ |
Deleted | n/a |
| 17 | 1(p) Supplier's right to assign without consent : _ |
Amended to ensure that the consumer's guarantees under contract are preserved on assignment. | 17 |
| 18 | 1(k) Right to change what is supplied : _ |
Amended to increase the time from 7 to 30 days within which the consumer can consider the variations to the contract and decide whether to accept or reject them. | 18 |
| Service Cover Insurance C(1)(a) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Redrafted to make the consumer's obligations under the contract clearer. | Failure Indemnity C(1)(a) |
| F | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Redrafted with example of what might be 'impracticable'. | F |
| G(1) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Redrafted to clarify what is and isn't covered. | G(1) |
| Damage Liability Cover - D1(a) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Redrafted to make the consumer's obligations under the contract clearer. | D(1)(a) |
| F(1) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Technical language omitted from redrafted term. | F(1) |
| F(6) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Redrafted to clarify what liability is excluded from the cover under the insurance. | F(6) |
| F(7) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Redrafted to clarify which situations would not be covered by the insurance. | F(7) |
| Meter Business Agreement - 4(c) | Reg 5 18(c) Unfair enforcement powers : _ |
Amended to reflect the common law position that a court would be unlikely to award damages for losses which the consumer could have avoided by reasonable mitigation. | 4(c) |
| 4(d) | 1(b) Exclusion/restriction of liability for breaches of cont : _ |
Amended to remove limit on liability for all claims where losses are foreseeable or caused by supplier's breach. | 4(d) |
| 5(d) | Reg 7 Plain and intelligible language : _ |
Redrafted to remove doubt as to consumer's obligation to make payment. | 5(d) |
| 5(g) | Reg 5 18(c) Unfair enforcement powers : _ |
Amended to limit supplier's discretion by making them take consumer's reasonable request as to order of allocation into account. | 5(g) |
| 7(b) | 1(i) Binding consumers to hidden terms : _ |
Amended to make consumer obliged to use payment meter as demonstrated by the supplier's employee. | 7(b) |
| 10(a) | Reg 5 18(c) Unfair enforcement powers : _ |
Amended to bring the right of entry into line with what is permitted under the CCA. | 10(a) |
| 14 | 1(k) Right to change what is supplied : _ |
Amended to increase the time from 7 to 30 days within which the consumer can consider the variations to the contract and decide whether to accept or reject them. | 14 |
- Outcome reached:
- Informal Undertaking Obtained
- Date effective:
- 7 January 2003
- Received from:
- Outcome text:
- Informal Undertaking
- OFT telephone enquiries:08457 22 44 99
- Consumer Direct telephone enquiries:08454 04 05 06