Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts

Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, Section 2 Consumer Protection Act 1987. Section 7 The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1994, Schedule 3, paragraph 1(a). 

At one time, particularly in the field of the sale of goods, the small print of the contract would often contain clauses, usually called exclusion clauses, which took away from the consumer the rights given him under such legislation as the Sale of Goods Acf. The use of such clauses is now subject to the controls imposed by the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 . 

The Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999, SI 1999 No. 2032, Stationery Office, London (1999)... 

On 1 July 1995 the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations came into force. They only apply to consumer contracts and not to business contracts. Unlike the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 the regulations apply to all unfair contract terms and not just unfair exception... 

Unlike the Unfair Contract Terms Act, the Regulations do not automatically render any terms void, but the range of clauses dealt with is wider than in the Act. At the same time the scope of the Regulations is narrower because they only cover consumer contracts. The Regulations apply to all contracts made between an individual and a business which have not been individually negotiated. 

Lawson, R. G. Advertising Law in the United Kingdom, Macdonald Evans, Plymouth (1978) Lawson, R. G. Exclusion Clauses after the Unfair Contract Terms Act, Oyez, London (1983) Irving, R. Outline of the Law of Product Liability and Consumer Protection, B. Rose Publishers Ltd, Chichester (1980)... 

Prior to the Consumer Protection Act a very limited form of strict liability existed in the form of statutory liability in contract arising from the direct supply of defective products. This is defined by the Sale of Goods Act 1893 as amended by the Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1973 (now consolidated into the Sale of Goods Act 1979) and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977. 

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