ABSTRACT
An immediate question to ask is when does the section apply to contracting parties? It applies, we are told in s 3(1) in two situations: (a) ‘where one of them deals as a consumer’; or (b) ‘on the other’s written standard terms of business’. The important connector word ‘or’ connects (a) with (b). If the word ‘or’ is replaced by ‘and’, a different link would be made. Both situations (a) and (b) would need to occur together for s 3(1) to apply. The word, ‘or’, clarifies that in either situation, s 3(1) applies. So the key word for comprehension of the applicability of the rule is the connector word ‘or’. It is now possible to state that s 3(1) makes it clear that s 3 as a whole applies when one of the parties to a contract is entering the contract as a consumer or agrees to contract on the other party’s pre-prepared written standard terms.
