The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977
Introduction
In the present essay the problem covered will be The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, known as UCTA and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999, known as UTCCR. As things stand at present, consumers are faced with two pieces of legislation in a vital area of contracts. The main areas analysed will consist of a historical background of the Act and the Regulations, a comparison between them but also the inconsistencies and overlaps which exist regarding these two layers of complex regulation. After this thorough analysis is complete a conclusion will be drawn on the bases of what was covered.
Situation in UK
Legislation to combat unfair terms was first passed in the 19th century. Until 1994 the controls centred on clauses which exclude or limit liability; the principal Act is now The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA). However, in 1993 the European Council of Ministers passed a Directive on Unfair Terms on Consumer Contracts[1] which applies (with limited exceptions) to unfair terms of any type in consumer contracts. The Directive was implemented in the UK by Regulations made under European Communities Act 1972; these have now been superseded by the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCR)[2]. The Regulations did not amend or repeal UCTA; they provide an additional set of controls. The resulting structure is complex and proposals have been made to simplify it by combining the two sets of rules into a single one, modified legislative scheme[3]. The Regulations operates side by side with UCTA, so that is possible for a term to be valid under the Regulations and not the Act, and conversely. Or, to put the same point in another way, a party wishing to rely on a contract term will have to satisfy to both requirements of both sets of rules. The scope of the Regulations, however, differs significantly from that of the Act, so that often only one set of rules will apply[4].
If the term in question is one that
In the present essay the problem covered will be The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977, known as UCTA and the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contract Regulations 1999, known as UTCCR. As things stand at present, consumers are faced with two pieces of legislation in a vital area of contracts. The main areas analysed will consist of a historical background of the Act and the Regulations, a comparison between them but also the inconsistencies and overlaps which exist regarding these two layers of complex regulation. After this thorough analysis is complete a conclusion will be drawn on the bases of what was covered.
Situation in UK
Legislation to combat unfair terms was first passed in the 19th century. Until 1994 the controls centred on clauses which exclude or limit liability; the principal Act is now The Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977 (UCTA). However, in 1993 the European Council of Ministers passed a Directive on Unfair Terms on Consumer Contracts[1] which applies (with limited exceptions) to unfair terms of any type in consumer contracts. The Directive was implemented in the UK by Regulations made under European Communities Act 1972; these have now been superseded by the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (UTCCR)[2]. The Regulations did not amend or repeal UCTA; they provide an additional set of controls. The resulting structure is complex and proposals have been made to simplify it by combining the two sets of rules into a single one, modified legislative scheme[3]. The Regulations operates side by side with UCTA, so that is possible for a term to be valid under the Regulations and not the Act, and conversely. Or, to put the same point in another way, a party wishing to rely on a contract term will have to satisfy to both requirements of both sets of rules. The scope of the Regulations, however, differs significantly from that of the Act, so that often only one set of rules will apply[4].
If the term in question is one that