ABSTRACT
In our ‘live now, pay later’ society, credit is a fact of everyday life for most people. Credit is obtained by a wide range of methods, for example, loans, credit cards and mail order catalogues; for many years, the media has related stories of ‘loan sharks’ and unscrupulous money lenders taking advantage of consumers. The Consumer Credit Act (CCA) 1974 was passed following the Crowther Committee Report (Report of the Committee on Consumer Credit (Cmnd 4569, 1971)) and its purpose was to provide greater protection to those buying on credit – for example, the CCA 1974 repealed and replaced most of the Hire Purchase Act 1964 – and to rectify the imbalance in the bargaining positions of the respective parties.
