Reprint as at 1 August 2009

Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003

Public Act	2003 No 52
Date of assent	13 October 2003
Commencement	see section 2

Note

Changes authorised by section 17C of the Acts and Regulations Publication Act 1989 have been made in this reprint.

A general outline of these changes is set out in the notes at the end of this reprint, together with other explanatory material about this reprint.

This Act is administered by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

1 Title

Part 1
Preliminary provisions

7 Meaning of credit contract

8 Meaning of buy-back transaction

8A Meanings of associated and associated person

9 Act binds the Crown

Part 2
Consumer credit contracts

Subpart 1—Application

10 When this Part applies

11 Meaning of consumer credit contract

12 Investment purposes

13 Presumption relating to consumer credit contract

14 Effect of declaration

15 Certain contracts not consumer credit contracts

16 Lease of goods treated as consumer credit contract

Subpart 2—Required disclosure

Initial disclosure

17 Initial disclosure

Continuing disclosure

18 Continuing disclosure

19 Content of continuing disclosure statement

20 Opening unpaid balance must not exceed closing unpaid balance of previous continuing disclosure statement

21 Continuing disclosure not required

Variation disclosure

22 Disclosure of agreed changes

23 Disclosure of changes following exercise of power

Request and guarantee disclosure

24 Request disclosure

25 Disclosure of guarantee

26 Disclosure of changes to guarantors

Subpart 3—Debtor's right to cancel

27 Right to cancel consumer credit contract

28 Notice of cancellation, return of property, and payment of cash price

29 Right of cancellation does not apply in certain situations

30 Effect of cancellation

31 Effect of credit sale cancellation

Subpart 4—Disclosure standards and how disclosure is made

32 Disclosure standards

33 Assumptions

34 Model forms

35 How disclosure is made

Subpart 5—Interest charges

36 End of day

37 Creditor to ensure that contract specifies annual interest rate or rates

38 Early debit or payment of interest charges prohibited

39 Limit on interest charges

40 Default interest charges

Subpart 6—Fees

Unreasonable fees

41 Unreasonable credit fee or default fee

42 Establishment fees

43 Prepayment fees

44 Other credit fees and default fee

Fees or charges passed on by creditor

45 Fees or charges passed on by creditor

Subpart 7—Payments

46 Crediting of payments

47 Dating and adjustments of debits and credits in accounts

48 Recovery of payments

Prepayments

49 Part prepayments

50 Debtor's right to full prepayment

51 Amount required for full prepayment

52 Rebate of insurance

53 Termination of consumer credit insurance contract

54 Creditor's loss arising from full prepayment

Subpart 8—Changes on grounds of unforeseen hardship

55 Changes on grounds of unforeseen hardship

56 Changes that can be made

57 Application may not be made in certain circumstances

58 Changes by court

59 Creditor may apply for variation of change

Part 3
Consumer leases, credit-related insurance, and buy-back transactions of land

Subpart 1—Consumer leases

60 Consumer leases

61 Presumption relating to consumer lease

62 Declaration concerning consumer lease

Disclosure of consumer lease

63 Application of disclosure provisions

64 Initial disclosure of consumer lease

65 Variation disclosure of consumer leases

66 Variation disclosure not required

67 Request disclosure for consumer leases

Amount payable on termination

68 Amount payable on termination

Subpart 2—Credit-related insurance, repayment waivers, and extended warranties

69 Restrictions on credit-related insurance, repayment waivers, and extended warranties

70 Disclosure of credit-related insurance, repayment waiver, or extended warranty

Subpart 3—Buy-back transactions of land

71 Application of disclosure provisions

72 Initial disclosure of buy-back transaction

73 Independent legal advice must be given to occupier

74 Buy-back transactions involving buy-back promoter

75 Land cannot be dealt with without leave of court if initial disclosure not made or no independent legal advice given

76 Interest of occupier is caveatable interest

77 Variation disclosure of buy-back transactions

78 Variation disclosure not required

79 Request disclosure for buy-back transactions

80 Unreasonable buy-back fees or buy-back default fees

81 Fees or charges passed on by transferee

82 Unreasonable fees payable to buy-back promoter or associated person

83 No limit on Part 2

Part 4
Enforcement and remedies

Subpart 1—Preliminary provisions

84 Compliance programmes

Jurisdiction

85 Jurisdiction of High Court

86 Jurisdiction of District Courts

87 Jurisdiction of Disputes Tribunals

Subpart 2—Statutory damages

88 Creditors, lessors, transferees, and buy-back promoters liable for statutory damages

89 Amount of statutory damages

90 Enforcement of statutory damages

91 Court may reduce statutory damages

92 Guidelines for reducing statutory damages

Subpart 3—Orders, injunctions, and prohibited enforcement

Court's general power to make orders

93 Court's general power to make orders

94 Court orders

95 Miscellaneous provisions concerning court's general power to make orders

Injunctions

96 Injunctions

97 Injunctions restraining conduct of particular kind

98 Interim injunction

Prohibited enforcement

99 Enforcement of consumer credit contract prohibited

100 Enforcement of guarantee prohibited

101 Enforcement of consumer lease prohibited

102 Enforcement of buy-back transaction prohibited

Subpart 4—Offences

103 Offences

104 Conviction for 2 or more offences

105 When proceedings may be commenced

Subpart 5—Defence

106 Reasonable mistake defence

107 Relevance of compliance programme

Subpart 6—Prohibition on certain creditors, lessors, transferees, and buy-back promoters

108 Power to order certain persons not to act as creditors, lessors, transferees, or buy-back promoters

109 Who may apply and nature of order

110 Costs

Subpart 7—Application of Commerce Act 1986 and provisions relating to Commerce Commission

111 Role and functions of Commission under this Act

112 Commission's rights to appear and adduce evidence

113 Application of Commerce Act 1986

114 Additional proceedings

115 Disposal of things seized

116 Court order for disposal of things seized to be suspended on conviction

Part 5
Reopening of oppressive credit contracts, consumer leases, and buy-back transactions

117 Application of Part

118 Meaning of oppressive

119 Collateral contracts and linked transactions

120 Reopening of credit contracts, consumer leases, and buy-back transactions

121 Refusal to agree to early termination, variation, or waiver

122 Reopening credit contracts involved in arrangement

123 Time and circumstances relevant to reopening credit contracts, consumer leases, or buy-back transactions

124 Guidelines for reopening credit contracts, consumer leases, and buy-back transactions

125 When reopening proceedings may be commenced

126 Evidence

127 Power of court on reopening credit contract, consumer lease, or buy-back transaction

128 Costs in consumer cases

129 Persons who share in profits or have beneficial interest in reopened credit contract, consumer lease, or buy-back transaction

130 Time of exercise of court's powers

131 No limit on sections 41, 80, and 82

Part 6
Miscellaneous provisions

132 Provisions relating to assignment of credit contracts, consumer leases, or buy-back transactions

133 Changes, deferrals, or postponements under credit contracts and consumer leases

134 Right to set-off

135 No contracting out

136 Application of law relating to illegal contracts

137 Conflict of laws

Regulations

138 Regulations

Acts amended and repealed

139 Acts amended

140 Repeal of Credit Contracts Act 1981 and Hire Purchase Act 1971

Transitional provisions

141 Transitional provision

142 Election for Act to apply

143 Continuing application of Credit Contracts Act 1981 and Hire Purchase Act 1971

Schedule 1
Key information concerning consumer credit contract

Schedule 2
Information concerning consumer lease

Schedule 3
Information concerning buy-back transactions of land

Schedule 4
Acts amended

Reprint notes

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Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003 No 52 (as at 01 August 2009), Public Act

Credit Contracts and Consumer Finance Act 2003

Note

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