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Fairer contracts for holiday caravanners

177/04    28 October 2004

Britain's 335,000 holiday caravanners are set to get a fairer deal following the OFT's new draft guidance on caravan agreements.

The OFT is consulting on the new guidance aimed at park owners who run seasonal holiday caravan parks for static caravans and who have contracts with consumers for the sale and stationing of these holiday homes.

Download Guidance on unfair terms in holiday caravan agreements (pdf 864 kb).

Businesses are required to comply with the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations (UTCCRs) ensuring that they use fair and clear terms in their standard agreements with consumers.

The draft guidance has been designed specifically for the holiday caravan sector following complaints about unfair terms. In particular, problems were found with terms permitting variations to the agreement, terms restricting sale of second-hand caravans, and terms allowing unrestricted increases in pitch fees.

The draft guidance explains the requirements of the UTCCRs and gives examples of unfairness that do not comply with the regulations and ways of revising them. Examples of terms that potentially could be consider unfair include those which:

• seek to unfairly exclude the park owners' liability
• unreasonably restrict caravan owners' rights to assign their licence to occupy a pitch to a third party, such as a family member 
• insist caravan owners upgrade their caravans, regardless of condition
• put unreasonable restrictions on use of caravans such as forbidding guests
• without good reason, tie caravan owners to purchasing services supplied by the park owner such as caravan accessories or the supply of LPG
• vary the services provided as part of the contract such as leisure clubs and facilities.

Christine Wade, Director of Consumer Regulation and Enforcement at the OFT, said:

'There is a substantial market for static holiday caravans and consumers need to be confident that their rights are protected. The draft guidance is intended to provide suppliers and advisers with a clear idea of the law on fairness of contracts.'

Comments are welcome on the usability of the guide. The deadline for the consultation is 31 January 2005.

NOTES

1. The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCRs) superseding the UTCCRs 1994, apply to standard contract terms used with consumers. The UTCCRs protect consumers against unfair standard terms in contracts they make with traders. The OFT, together with certain other bodies, can take legal action to prevent the use of potentially unfair terms. A term is likely to be considered unfair if it causes a significant imbalance in the parties' rights and obligations under the contract, to the detriment of consumers. The regulations say that a consumer is not bound by a standard term in a contract with a trader if that term is unfair. Ultimately, only a court can decide whether a term is unfair.

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