Consumer Protection Act 1991

c i e
AT 11 of 1991

CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 1991

Consumer Protection Act 1991 Index


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 3

c i e
CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 1991

Index Section Page

PART I – PRODUCT LIABILITY 7

1 Liability for defective products ..................................................................................... 7
2 Meaning of “defect” ....................................................................................................... 8
3 Defences ........................................................................................................................... 9
4 Damage giving rise to liability .................................................................................... 10
5 Application of certain enactments .............................................................................. 11
6 Prohibition of exclusions from liability ..................................................................... 12
7 Interpretation of Part I ................................................................................................. 12
PART II – CONSUMER SAFETY 13

8 The general safety requirement .................................................................................. 13
9 Safety regulations ......................................................................................................... 15
10 Offences against safety regulations ............................................................................ 17
11 Prohibition notices and notices to warn .................................................................... 18
12 Suspension notices ........................................................................................................ 19
13 Appeals against suspension notices ........................................................................... 20
14 Forfeiture ........................................................................................................................ 20
15 Power to obtain information ....................................................................................... 21
16 Interpretation of Part II ................................................................................................ 22
PART III – MISLEADING PRICE INDICATIONS 23

17 Offence of giving misleading information ................................................................ 23
18 Meaning of “misleading” ............................................................................................ 24
19 Application to provision of services and facilities ................................................... 25
20 Application to provision of accommodation etc ...................................................... 26
21 Defences ......................................................................................................................... 27
22 Codes of practice ........................................................................................................... 28
23 Regulations .................................................................................................................... 29
PART IV – ENFORCEMENT OF PARTS II AND III 30

24 [Repealed] ...................................................................................................................... 30
Index Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 4 AT 11 of 1991 c

25 Test purchases ............................................................................................................... 30
26 Powers of search etc ..................................................................................................... 31
27 Provisions supplemental to s 26 ................................................................................. 32
28 Power of customs officer to detain goods ................................................................. 34
29 Obstruction of officer of OFT ...................................................................................... 34
30 Appeals against detention of goods .......................................................................... 35
31 Compensation for seizure and detention .................................................................. 36
32 Recovery of expenses of enforcement ....................................................................... 36
33 Power of Treasury to disclose information............................................................... 36
34 Restrictions on disclosure of information ................................................................. 37
35 Defence of due diligence ............................................................................................. 38
36 Liability of persons other than principal offender ................................................... 39
37 Civil proceedings .......................................................................................................... 39
PART V – UNFAIR CONTRACT TERMS IN CONSUMER

CONTRACTS 40

38 Contracts to which this Part applies .......................................................................... 40
39 Unfair terms .................................................................................................................. 40
40 Assessment of unfair terms ......................................................................................... 41
40A Effect of unfair term ..................................................................................................... 41
40B Complaints - consideration by Board ........................................................................ 42
40C Injunctions to prevent continued use of unfair terms ............................................. 42
40D Powers to obtain documents and information ......................................................... 42
40E Publication, information and advice ......................................................................... 43
40F Interpretation etc. ......................................................................................................... 44
PART VI – MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENTS 44

41 Complaints to OFT ....................................................................................................... 44
42 Applications to the court etc ....................................................................................... 45
43 Functions of the court .................................................................................................. 45
44 Powers to obtain and disclose information etc ........................................................ 46
44A Complaints to Communications Commission ......................................................... 47
45 Interpretation of Part VI .............................................................................................. 48
PART VII – CANCELLATION OF CERTAIN CONTRACTS 49

46 Contracts to which Part VII applies ........................................................................... 49
46A Offence to enter into certain contracts ....................................................................... 49
47 Cancellation of contract ............................................................................................... 50
47A Failure to provide notice of cancellation rights ....................................................... 50
47B Defence of due diligence ............................................................................................. 51
47C Liability of persons other than the principal offender ............................................ 51
47CA Test purchases ................................................................................................................ 52
47D Enforcement powers .................................................................................................... 52
47E Obstruction of OFT’s officers ...................................................................................... 53
47F Restrictions on disclosure of information ................................................................. 53
48 Recovery of money paid by consumer ...................................................................... 54
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Index


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 5

49 Repayment of credit ..................................................................................................... 54
50 Return of goods by consumer after cancellation ...................................................... 55
51 Goods given in part-exchange .................................................................................... 56
52 No contracting-out........................................................................................................ 57
53 Interpretation of Part VII ............................................................................................. 57
PART VIII - TITLE TO MOTOR VEHICLES 59

54 Protection of purchaser of motor vehicle .................................................................. 59
55 Presumptions relating to dealings with motor vehicles .......................................... 60
56 Interpretation of Part VIII ............................................................................................ 61
PART VIIIA - DISTANCE SELLING 62

57A Contracts to which this Part applies .......................................................................... 62
57B Prior information .......................................................................................................... 63
57C Written and additional information ........................................................................... 64
57D Right to cancel ............................................................................................................... 65
57E Cancellation period: contracts for the supply of goods .......................................... 66
57F Cancellation period: contracts for the supply of services ....................................... 67
57G Exceptions to the right to cancel ................................................................................. 67
57H Recovery of sums and return of security................................................................... 68
57I Cancellation of related credit agreement .................................................................. 69
57J Restoration of goods after cancellation ...................................................................... 70
57K Goods given in part-exchange .................................................................................... 71
57L Performance ................................................................................................................... 72
57M No contracting-out........................................................................................................ 73
57N Supplemental ................................................................................................................. 73
PART IX – MISCELLANEOUS AND SUPPLEMENTAL 74

57 Functions of OFT .......................................................................................................... 74
58 Enforcement of trade mark provisions ...................................................................... 75
59 Financial provisions ..................................................................................................... 75
60 Interpretation: general ................................................................................................. 76
61 Meaning of “supply” .................................................................................................... 78
62 Self-incrimination and legal professional privilege ................................................. 79
62A Power to amend Act and apply certain subordinate legislation of the
United Kingdom ........................................................................................................... 79
63 Orders and regulations ................................................................................................ 80
64 Transitional provisions, amendments and repeals .................................................. 80
65 Short title and commencement ................................................................................... 81
SCHEDULE 1 83

AMENDMENTS OF LIMITATION ACT 1984 83
SCHEDULE 2 83

PROHIBITION NOTICES AND NOTICES TO WARN 83
Index Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 6 AT 11 of 1991 c

SCHEDULE 2A 88

LIST OF TERMS WHICH MAY BE REGARDED AS UNFAIR 88
SCHEDULE 2B 90

MEANING OF “EXCEPTED CONTRACT” FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTION
46 90
SCHEDULE 3 91

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS 91
SCHEDULE 4 93

MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS 93
SCHEDULE 5 93

ENACTMENTS REPEALED 93
ENDNOTES 95

TABLE OF ENDNOTE REFERENCES 95

Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 1


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 7

c i e
CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 1991

Received Royal Assent: 9 July 1991
Passed: 9 July 1991
Commenced: See legislative history
AN ACT
to make provision with respect to the liability of persons for damage
caused by defective products; to make further provision with respect to the
safety of consumers and others; to make provision as to the disposition of
motor vehicles let on hire-purchase; to enable certain consumer contracts
concluded away from business premises to be cancelled; to provide for the
control of misleading advertisements; to provide for the enforcement of certain
provisions as to trade marks; and for connected purposes.
GENERAL NOTE:
The maximum fines in this Act are as increased by the Criminal
Justice (Penalties, Etc.) Act 1993 s 1.
PART I – PRODUCT LIABILITY

1 Liability for defective products

[P1987/43/2]
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part, where any damage is
caused wholly or partly by a defect in a product, each of the following
persons is liable for the damage —
(a) the producer of the product;
(b) any person who, by putting his name on the product or using a
trade mark or other distinguishing mark in relation to the
product, has held himself out to be the producer of the product;
(c) any person who has imported the product into a member State
from a place outside the member States in order, in the course of
any business of his, to supply it to another.
(2) Subject as aforesaid, where any damage is caused wholly or partly by a
defect in a product, any person who supplied the product (whether to
the person who suffered the damage, to the producer of any product in
Section 2 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 8 AT 11 of 1991 c

which the product in question is comprised or to any other person) is
liable for the damage if —
(a) the person who suffered the damage requests the supplier to
identify one or more of the persons referred to in subsection (1)
(whether still in existence or not) in relation to the product;
(b) that request is made within a reasonable period after the damage
occurs and at a time when it is not reasonably practicable for the
person making the request to identify all those persons; and
(c) the supplier fails, within a reasonable period after receiving the
request, either to comply with the request or to identify the
person who supplied the product to him.
(3) A person does not fall within subsection (1), and subsection (2) does not
apply to him, in respect of any defect in any game or agricultural
produce if the only supply of the game or produce by that person to
another was at a time when it had not undergone an industrial process.
(4) Where two or more persons are liable by virtue of this Part for the same
damage, their liability is joint and several.
(5) This section is without prejudice to any liability arising otherwise than
by virtue of this Part.
(6) For the purposes of section 1(1)(c) the Island shall be treated as if it were
part of a member State.1

2 Meaning of “defect”

[P1987/43/3]
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, there is a defect in a
product for the purposes of this Part if the safety of the product is not
such as persons generally are entitled to expect; and for those purposes
“safety”, in relation to a product, includes safety with respect to products
comprised in that product and safety in the context of risks of damage to
property, as well as in the context of risks of death or personal injury.
(2) In determining for the purposes of subsection (1) what persons generally
are entitled to expect in relation to a product, all the circumstances shall
be taken into account, including —
(a) the manner in which, and purposes for which, the product has
been marketed, its get-up, the use of any mark in relation to the
product and any instructions for, or warnings with respect to,
doing or refraining from doing anything with or in relation to the
product;
(b) what might reasonably be expected to be done with or in relation
to the product; and
(c) the time when the product was supplied by its producer to
another;
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 3


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 9

and nothing in this section requires a defect to be inferred from the fact
alone that the safety of a product which is supplied after that time is
greater than the safety of the product in question.
3 Defences

[P1987/43/4]
(1) In any civil proceedings by virtue of this Part against any person (“the
defendant”) in respect of a defect in a product it shall be a defence for
him to show —
(a) that the defect is attributable to compliance with any requirement
imposed by or under any enactment or with any EU obligation;
or2

(b) that the defendant did not at any time supply the product to
another; or
(c) that the following conditions are satisfied —
(i) that the only supply of the product to another by the
defendant was otherwise than in the course of a business
of his; and
(ii) that the defendant does not fall within section 1(1)(a), (b)
or (c), or does so by virtue only of things done otherwise
than with a view to profit; or
(d) that the defect did not exist in the product at the relevant time; or
(e) that the state of scientific and technical knowledge at the relevant
time was not such that a producer of products of the same
description as the product in question might be expected to have
discovered the defect if it had existed in his products while they
were under his control; or
(f) that the defect —
(i) constituted a defect in a product (“the subsequent
product”) in which the product in question had been
comprised; and
(ii) was wholly attributable to the design of the subsequent
product or to compliance by the producer of the product in
question with instructions given by the producer of the
subsequent product.
(2) In this section “the relevant time”, in relation to electricity, means the
time at which it was generated, being a time before it was transmitted or
distributed, and in relation to any other product, means —
(a) if the defendant is a person falling within section 1(1) in relation
to the product, the time when he supplied the product to another;
Section 4 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 10 AT 11 of 1991 c

(b) if the defendant does not fall within section 1(1) in relation to the
product, the time when the product was last supplied by a person
falling within section 1(1) in relation to the product.
4 Damage giving rise to liability

[P1987/43/5]
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, in this Part “damage
”
means death or personal injury or any loss of or damage to any property
(including land).
(2) A person shall not be liable under section 1 in respect of any defect in a
product for the loss of or any damage to the product itself or for the loss
of or any damage to the whole or any part of any product which has
been supplied with the product in question comprised in it.
(3) A person shall not be liable under section 1 for any loss of or damage to
any property which, at the time it is lost or damaged, is not —
(a) of a description of property ordinarily intended for private use,
occupation or consumption; and
(b) intended by the person suffering the loss or damage mainly for
his own private use, occupation or consumption.
(4) No damages shall be awarded to any person by virtue of this Part in
respect of any loss of or damage to any property if the amount which
would fall to be so awarded to that person, apart from this subsection
and any liability for interest, does not exceed such sum as may be
prescribed.
(5) In determining for the purposes of this Part who has suffered any loss of
or damage to property and when any such loss or damage occurred, the
loss or damage shall be regarded as having occurred at the earliest time
at which a person with an interest in the property had knowledge of the
material facts about the loss or damage.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) the material facts about any loss of or
damage to any property are such facts about the loss or damage as
would lead a reasonable person with an interest in the property to
consider the loss or damage sufficiently serious to justify his instituting
proceedings for damages against a defendant who did not dispute
liability and was able to satisfy a judgment.
(7) For the purposes of subsection (5) a person’s knowledge includes
knowledge which he might reasonably have been expected to acquire —
(a) from facts observable or ascertainable by him; or
(b) from facts ascertainable by him with the help of appropriate
expert advice which it is reasonable for him to seek;
but a person shall not be taken by virtue of this subsection to have
knowledge of a fact ascertainable by him only with the help of expert
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 5


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 11

advice unless he has failed to take all reasonable steps to obtain (and,
where appropriate, to act on) that advice.
5 Application of certain enactments

[P1987/43/6]
(1) Any damage for which a person is liable under section 1 shall be deemed
to have been caused for the purposes of the Fatal Accidents Act 1981 by
that person’s wrongful act, neglect or default.
(2) Where —
(a) a person’s death is caused wholly or partly by a defect in a
product, or a person dies after suffering damage which has been
so caused;
(b) a request such as mentioned in section 1(2)(a) is made to a
supplier of the product by that person’s personal representatives
or, in the case of a person whose death is caused wholly or partly
by the defect, by any dependant or relative of that person; and
(c) the conditions specified in section 1(2)(b) and (c) are satisfied in
relation to that request,
this Part shall have effect for the purposes of the Law Reform
(Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1938 and the Fatal Accidents Act 1981 as if
liability of the supplier to that person under section 1(2) did not depend
on that person having been satisfied in relation to a request made by that
person.
(3) Section 1 of the Congenital Disabilities (Civil Liability) Act 1986 shall have
effect for the purposes of this Part as if —
(a) a person were answerable to a child in respect of an occurrence
caused wholly or partly by a defect in a product if he is or has
been liable under section 1 in respect of any effect of the
occurrence on a parent of the child, or would be so liable if the
occurrence caused a parent of the child to suffer damage;
(b) the provisions of this Part relating to liability under section 1
applied in relation to liability by virtue of paragraph (a) under
section 1 of that Act; and
(c) subsection (6) of the said section 1 (exclusion of liability) were
omitted.
(4) Where any damage is caused partly by a defect in a product and partly
by the fault of the person suffering the damage, the Law Reform
(Contributory Negligence) Act 1946 and section 5 of the Fatal Accidents Act
1981 (contributory negligence) shall have effect as if the defect were the
fault of every person liable by virtue of this Part for the damage caused
by the defect.
Section 6 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 12 AT 11 of 1991 c

(5) In subsection (4) above “fault” has the same meaning as in the said Act
of 1946.
(6) Schedule 1 shall have effect for the purpose of amending the Limitation
Act 1984 in its application in relation to the bringing of actions by virtue
of this Part.
(7) Nothing in this Part prejudices the operation of section 12 of the Nuclear
Installations Act 1965 (an Act of Parliament), as it has effect in the Island
(rights to compensation for certain breaches of duties confined to rights
under that Act).
6 Prohibition of exclusions from liability

[P1987/43/7]
The liability of a person by virtue of this Part to a person who has suffered
damage caused wholly or partly by a defect in a product, or to a dependant of
such a person, shall not be limited or excluded by any contract term, by any
notice or by any other provision.
7 Interpretation of Part I

(1) In this Part —
“agricultural produce
” means any produce of the soil, of stock-farming or of
fisheries;
“dependant
” has the same meaning as it has in the Fatal Accidents Act 1981;
“producer
”, in relation to a product, means —
(a) the person who manufactured it;
(b) in the case of a substance which has not been manufactured but
has been won or abstracted, the person who won or abstracted it;
(c) in the case of a product which has not been manufactured, won or
abstracted but essential characteristics of which are attributable to
an industrial or other process having been carried out (for
example, in relation to agricultural produce), the person who
carried out that process;
“product
” means any goods or electricity and (subject to subsection (2))
includes a product which is comprised in another product, whether by
virtue of being a component part or raw material or otherwise.
(2) For the purposes of this Part a person who supplies any product in
which products are comprised, whether by virtue of being component
parts or raw materials or otherwise, shall not be treated by reason only of
his supply of that product as supplying any of the products so
comprised.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 8


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 13

PART II – CONSUMER SAFETY

8 The general safety requirement

[P1987/43/10]
(1) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he —
(a) supplies any consumer goods which fail to comply with the
general safety requirement;
(b) offers or agrees to supply any such goods; or
(c) exposes or possesses any such goods for supply.
(2) For the purposes of this section consumer goods fail to comply with the
general safety requirement if they are not reasonably safe having regard
to all the circumstances, including —
(a) the manner in which, and purposes for which, the goods are being
or would be marketed, the get-up of the goods, the use of any
mark in relation to the goods and any instructions or warnings
which are given or would be given with respect to the keeping,
use or consumption of the goods;
(b) any standards of safety published by any person either for goods
of a description which applies to the goods in question or for
matters relating to goods of that description; and
(c) the existence of any means by which it would have been
reasonable (taking into account the cost, likelihood and extent of
any improvement) for the goods to have been made safer.
(3) For the purposes of this section consumer goods shall not be regarded as
failing to comply with the general safety requirement in respect of —
(a) anything which is shown to be attributable to compliance with
any requirement imposed by or under any enactment or with any
EU obligation;3

(b) any failure to do more in relation to any matter than is required
by —
(i) any safety regulations imposing requirements with respect
to that matter;
(ii) any standards of safety approved for the purposes of this
subsection by or under any such regulations and imposing
requirements with respect to that matter;
(iii) any provision of any enactment or subordinate legislation
imposing such requirements with respect to that matter as
are designated for the purposes of this subsection by any
such regulations.
(4) In any proceedings against any person for an offence under this section
in respect of any goods it shall be a defence for that person to show —
Section 8 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 14 AT 11 of 1991 c

(a) that he reasonably believed that the goods would not be used or
consumed in the Island, or
(b) that the following conditions are satisfied —
(i) that he supplied the goods, offered or agreed to supply
them or, as the case may be, exposed or possessed them for
supply in the course of carrying on a retail business; and
(ii) that, at the time he supplied the goods or offered or agreed
to supply them or exposed or possessed them for supply,
he neither knew nor had reasonable grounds for believing
that the goods failed to comply with the general safety
requirement; or
(c) that the terms on which he supplied the goods or agreed or
offered to supply them or, in the case of goods which he exposed
or possessed for supply, the terms on which he intended to
supply them —
(i) indicated that the goods were not supplied or to be
supplied as new goods; and
(ii) provided for, or contemplated, the acquisition of an
interest in the goods by the persons supplied or to be
supplied.
(5) For the purposes of subsection (4)(b) goods are supplied in the course of
carrying on a retail business if —
(a) whether or not they are themselves acquired for a person’s private
use or consumption, they are supplied in the course of carrying on
a business of making a supply of consumer goods available to
persons who generally acquire them for private use or
consumption; and
(b) the descriptions of goods the supply of which is made available in
the course of that business do not, to a significant extent, include
manufactured or imported goods which have not previously been
supplied in the Island.
(6) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on
summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months
or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or to both.
(7) In this section “consumer goods” means any goods which are ordinarily
intended for private use or consumption, not being —
(a) growing crops or things comprised in land by virtue of being
attached to it;
(b) water, food, feeding stuff or fertiliser;
(c) gas which is, is to be or has been supplied by a person authorised
to supply it by or under an Act of Tynwald;
(d) aircraft (other than hang-gliders) or motor vehicles;
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 9


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 15

(e) controlled drugs or licensed medicinal products;
(f) tobacco.
9 Safety regulations

[P1987/43/11]
(1) The Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading may by regulations under this
section (“safety regulations”) make such provision as it considers
appropriate for the purposes of section 8(3) and for the purpose of
securing —
(a) that goods to which this section applies are safe;
(b) that goods to which this section applies which are unsafe, or
would be unsafe in the hands of persons of a particular
description, are not made available to persons generally or, as the
case may be, to persons of that description; and
(c) that appropriate information is, and inappropriate information is
not, provided in relation to goods to which this section applies.4

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1) safety regulations
may contain provision —
(a) with respect to the composition or contents, design, construction,
finish or packing of goods to which this section applies, with
respect to standards for such goods and with respect to other
matters relating to such goods;
(b) with respect to the giving, refusal, alteration or cancellation of
approvals of such goods, of descriptions of such goods or of
standards for such goods;
(c) with respect to the conditions that may be attached to any
approval given under the regulations;
(d) for requiring such fees as may be determined by or under the
regulations to be paid on the giving or alteration of any approval
under the regulations and on the making of an application for
such an approval or alteration;
(e) with respect to appeals against refusals, alterations and
cancellations of approvals given under the regulations and
against the conditions contained in such approvals;
(f) for requiring goods to which this section applies to be approved
under the regulations or to conform to the requirements of the
regulations or to descriptions or standards specified in or
approved by or under the regulations;
(g) with respect to the testing or inspection of goods to which this
section applies (including provision for determining the standards
to be applied in carrying out any test or inspection);
Section 9 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 16 AT 11 of 1991 c

(h) with respect to the ways of dealing with goods of which some or
all do not satisfy a test required by or under the regulations or a
standard connected with a procedure so required;
(i) for requiring a mark, warning or instruction or any other
information relating to goods to be put on or to accompany the
goods or to be used or provided in some other manner in relation
to the goods, and for securing that inappropriate information is
not given in relation to goods either by means of misleading
marks or otherwise;
(j) for prohibiting persons from supplying, or from offering to
supply, agreeing to supply, exposing for supply or possessing for
supply, goods to which this section applies and component parts
and raw materials for such goods;
(k) for requiring information to be given to any such person as may
be determined by or under the regulations for the purpose of
enabling that person to exercise any function conferred on him by
the regulations.
(3) Without prejudice as aforesaid, safety regulations may contain
provision —
(a) for securing that a person shall not be guilty of an offence under
section 10 unless it is shown that the goods in question do not
conform to a particular standard;
(b) for securing that proceedings for such an offence are not brought
except by or with the consent of OFT or of the Attorney General;5

(c) for enabling a court of summary jurisdiction to try a complaint in
respect of such an offence if the complaint was made within 12
months from the time when the offence was committed;
(d) for determining the persons by whom, and the manner in which,
anything required to be done by or under the regulations is to be
done.
(4) Safety regulations shall not provide for any contravention of the
regulations to be an offence.
(5) Where OFT proposes to make safety regulations it shall before it makes
them —
(a) consult such organisations as appear to it to be representative of
interests substantially affected by the proposal;
(b) consult such other persons as it considers appropriate; and
(c) in the case of proposed regulations relating to goods suitable for
use at work, consult the Department of Infrastructure.6
7

(6) Subsection (5) does not apply in the case of regulations which provide
for the regulations to cease to have effect at the end of a period of not
more than 12 months beginning with the day on which they come into
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 10


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 17

force and which contain a statement that it appears to OFT that the need
to protect the public requires that the regulations should be made
without delay.8

(7) Subsection (5)(a) does not apply in the case of regulations to the extent
that they contain provision substantially corresponding to that contained
in regulations made under section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act
1987 (an Act of Parliament).
(8) This section applies to any goods other than —
(a) growing crops and things comprised in land by virtue of being
attached to it;
(b) water, food, feeding stuff or fertiliser;
(c) gas which is, is to be or has been supplied by a person authorised
to supply it by or under an Act of Tynwald;
(d) controlled drugs and licensed medicinal products.
10 Offences against safety regulations

[P1987/43/12]
(1) Where safety regulations prohibit a person from supplying or offering or
agreeing to supply any goods or from exposing or possessing any goods
for supply, that person shall be guilty of an offence if he contravenes the
prohibition.
(2) Where safety regulations require a person who makes or processes any
goods in the course of carrying on a business —
(a) to carry out a particular test or use a particular procedure in
connection with the making or processing of the goods with a
view to ascertaining whether the goods satisfy any requirements
of such regulations; or
(b) to deal or not to deal in a particular way with a quantity of the
goods of which the whole or part does not satisfy such a test or
does not satisfy standards connected with such a procedure,
that person shall be guilty of an offence if he does not comply with the
requirement.
(3) If a person contravenes a provision of safety regulations which prohibits
or requires the provision, by means of a mark or otherwise, of
information of a particular kind in relation to goods, he shall be guilty of
an offence.
(4) Where safety regulations require any person to give information to
another for the purpose of enabling that other to exercise any function,
that person shall be guilty of an offence if —
(a) he fails without reasonable cause to comply with the requirement;
or
Section 11 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 18 AT 11 of 1991 c

(b) in giving the information which is required of him —
(i) he makes any statement which he knows is false in a
material particular; or
(ii) he recklessly makes any statement which is false in a
material particular.
(5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on
summary conviction to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months
or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or to both.
11 Prohibition notices and notices to warn

[P1987/43/13]
(1) OFT may —
(a) serve on any person a notice (a “prohibition notice”) prohibiting
that person, except with the consent of OFT, from supplying, or
from offering to supply, agreeing to supply, exposing for supply
or possessing for supply, any relevant goods which OFT considers
are unsafe and which are described in the notice;9

(b) serve on any person a notice (a “notice to warn”) requiring that
person at his own expense to publish, in a form and manner and
on occasions specified in the notice, a warning about any relevant
goods which OFT considers are unsafe, which that person
supplies or has supplied and which are described in the notice.10
11

(2) Schedule 2 shall have effect with respect to prohibition notices and
notices to warn; and OFT may by regulations make provision specifying
the manner in which information is to be given to any person under that
Schedule.12

(3) A consent given by OFT for the purposes of a prohibition notice may
impose such conditions on the doing of anything for which the consent is
required as OFT considers appropriate.13

(4) A person who contravenes a prohibition notice or a notice to warn shall
be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not
exceeding £5,000 or to both.
(5) In this section “relevant goods” means —
(a) in relation to a prohibition notice, any goods to which section 9
applies; and
(b) in relation to a notice to warn, any goods to which that section
applies or any growing crops or things comprised in land by
virtue of being attached to it.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 12


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 19

12 Suspension notices

[P1987/43/14]
(1) Where OFT has reasonable grounds for suspecting that any safety
provision has been contravened in relation to any goods it may serve a
notice (a “suspension notice”) prohibiting the person on whom it is
served, for such period ending not more than 6 months after the date of
the notice as is specified therein, from doing any or the following things
without the consent of OFT, that is to say, supplying the goods, offering
to supply them, agreeing to supply them or exposing them for supply.14

(2) A suspension notice served by OFT in respect of any goods shall —
(a) describe the goods in a manner sufficient to identify them;
(b) set out the grounds on which OFT suspects that a safety provision
has been contravened in relation to the goods; and15

(c) state that, and the manner in which, the person on whom the
notice is served may appeal against the notice under section 13.16

(3) A suspension notice served by OFT for the purpose of prohibiting a
person for any period from doing the things mentioned in subsection (1)
in relation to any goods may also require that person to keep OFT
informed of the whereabouts throughout that period of any of those
goods in which he has an interest.17

(4) Where a suspension notice has been served on any person in respect of
any goods, no further such notice shall be served on that person in
respect of the same goods unless —
(a) proceedings against that person for an offence in respect of a
contravention in relation to the goods of a safety provision (not
being an offence under this section); or
(b) proceedings for the forfeiture of the goods under section 14,
are pending at the end of the period specified in the first-mentioned
notice.
(5) A consent given by OFT for the purposes of subsection (1) may impose
such conditions on the doing of anything for which the consent is
required as OFT considers appropriate.18

(6) Any person who contravenes a suspension notice shall be guilty of an
offence and liable on summary conviction to imprisonment for a term
not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not exceeding £5,000 or to both.
(7) Where OFT serves a suspension notice in respect of any goods, OFT shall
be liable to pay compensation to any person having an interest in the
goods in respect of any loss or damage caused by reason of the service of
the notice if —
(a) there has been no contravention in relation to the goods of any
safety provision; and
Section 13 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 20 AT 11 of 1991 c

(b) the exercise of the power is not attributable to any neglect or
default by that person.19

(8) Any disputed question as to the right to or the amount of any
compensation payable under this section shall be determined by
arbitration.
13 Appeals against suspension notices

[P1987/43/15]
(1) Any person having an interest in any goods in respect of which a
suspension notice is for the time being in force may apply to a court of
summary jurisdiction for an order setting aside the notice.
(2) On application under this section the court shall make an order setting
aside the suspension notice only if the court is satisfied that there has
been no contravention in relation to the goods of any safety provision.
(3) Any person aggrieved by an order made under this section by a court of
summary jurisdiction, or by a decision of such a court not to make such
an order, may appeal against that order or decision to the High Court.
(4) An order so made may contain such provision as appears to the court to
be appropriate for delaying the coming into force of the order pending
the making and determination of any appeal (including any application
under section 109 of the Summary Jurisdiction Act 1989 (statement of
case)).
14 Forfeiture

[P1987/43/16]
(1) OFT may apply to a court of summary jurisdiction for an order for the
forfeiture of any goods on the grounds that there has been a
contravention in relation to the goods of a safety provision.20

(2) On an application under this section the court shall make an order for the
forfeiture of any goods only if it is satisfied that there has been a
contravention in relation to the goods of a safety provision.
(3) For the avoidance of doubt it is declared that a court may infer for the
purposes of this section that there has been a contravention in relation to
any goods of a safety provision if it is satisfied that any such provision
has been contravened in relation to goods which are representative of
those goods (whether by reason of being of the same design or part of the
same consignment or batch or otherwise).
(4) Any person aggrieved by an order made under this section by a court of
summary jurisdiction or by a decision of such a court not to make such
an order, may appeal against that order or decision to the High Court;
and section 13(4) applies to such an order as it applies to an order under
section 13.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 15


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 21

(5) Subject to subsection (6), where any goods are forfeited under this
section they shall be destroyed in accordance with such directions as the
court may give.
(6) On making an order under this section a court of summary jurisdiction
may, if it considers it appropriate to do so, direct that the goods to which
the order relates shall (instead of being destroyed) be released, to such
person as the court may specify, on condition that that person —
(a) does not supply those goods to any person otherwise than as
mentioned in section 61(7)(a) or (b); and
(b) complies with any order to pay costs or expenses (including any
order under section 32) which has been made against that person
in the proceedings for the order for forfeiture.
15 Power to obtain information

[P1987/43/18]
(1) If OFT considers that, for the purpose of deciding whether —
(a) to make, vary or revoke any safety regulations; or
(b) to serve, vary or revoke a prohibition notice; or
(c) to serve or revoke a notice to warn,
it requires information which another person is likely to be able to
furnish, OFT may serve on the other person a notice under this section.21

(2) A notice served on any person under this section may require that
person —
(a) to furnish to OFT, within a period specified in the notice, such
information as is so specified;22

(b) to produce such records as are specified in the notice at a time and
place so specified and to permit a person appointed by OFT for
the purpose to take copies of the records at that time and place.23

(3) A person shall be guilty of an offence if he —
(a) fails, without reasonable cause, to comply with a notice served on
him under this section; or
(b) in purporting to comply with a requirement which by virtue of
subsection (2)(a) is contained in such a notice —
(i) furnishes information which he knows is false in a material
particular; or
(ii) recklessly furnishes information which is false in a material
particular.
(4) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) shall be liable —
(a) in the case of an offence under subsection (3)(a), on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding £5,000; and
Section 16 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 22 AT 11 of 1991 c

(b) in the case of an offence under subsection (3)(b) —
(i) on conviction on information, to a fine;
(ii) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £5,000.
16 Interpretation of Part II

[P1987/43/19]
(1) In this Part —
“controlled drug
” means a controlled drug within the meaning of the Misuse of
Drugs Act 1976;
“feeding stuff
” and “fertiliser
” have the same meanings as in the Fertilisers and
Feeding Stuffs Act 1975;
“food
” does not include anything containing tobacco but, subject to that, has the
same meaning as in the Food Act 1996;24

“licensed medicinal product
” means —
(a) any medicinal product or veterinary medicinal product within the
meaning of the Medicines Act 2003 in respect of which a
Community authorisation or UK authorisation within the
meaning of that Act is for the time being in force; or
(b) any other article or substance in respect of which any such
authorisation is for the time being in force in pursuance of an
order under section 50 of that Act (application of Act to other
articles and substances);25

“safe
”, in relation to any goods, means such that there is no risk, or no risk apart
from one reduced to a minimum, that any of the following will (whether
immediately or after a definite or indefinite period) cause the death of, or
any personal injury to, any person whatsoever —
(a) the goods;
(b) the keeping, use or consumption of the goods;
(c) the assembly of any of the goods which are, or are to be, supplied
unassembled;
(d) any emission or leakage from the goods or, as a result of the
keeping, use or consumption of the goods, from anything else; or
(e) reliance on the accuracy of any measurement, calculation or other
reading made by or by means of the goods,
and “safer
” and “unsafe
” shall be construed accordingly;
“tobacco
” includes any tobacco product within the meaning of the Tobacco
Products Duty Act 1986 and any article or substance containing tobacco
and intended for oral or nasal use.
(2) In the definition of “safe” in subsection (1), references to the keeping, use
or consumption of any goods are references to —
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 17


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 23

(a) the keeping, use or consumption of the goods by the persons by
whom, and in all or any of the ways or circumstances in which,
they might reasonably be expected to be kept, used or consumed;
and
(b) the keeping, use or consumption of the goods either alone or in
conjunction with other goods in conjunction with which they
might reasonably be expected to be kept, used or consumed.
PART III – MISLEADING PRICE INDICATIONS

17 Offence of giving misleading information

[P1987/43/20]
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part, a person shall be guilty of
an offence if, in the course of any business of his, he gives (by any means
whatever) to any consumers an indication which is misleading as to the
price at which any goods, services, accommodation or facilities are
available (whether generally or from particular persons).
(2) Subject as aforesaid, a person shall be guilty of an offence if —
(a) in the course of any business of his, he has given an indication to
any consumers which, after it was given, has become misleading
as mentioned in subsection (1); and
(b) some or all of those consumers might reasonably be expected to
rely on the indication at a time after it has become misleading;
and
(c) he fails to take all such steps as are reasonable to prevent those
consumers from relying on the indication.
(3) For the purposes of this section it shall be immaterial —
(a) whether the person who gives or gave the indication is or was
acting on his own behalf or on behalf of another;
(b) whether or not that person is the person, or included among the
persons, from whom the goods, services, accommodation or
facilities are available; and
(c) whether the indication is or has become misleading in relation to
all the consumers to whom it is or was given or only in relation to
some of them.
(4) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) shall be liable —
(a) on conviction on information, to a fine;
(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £5,000.
(5) No prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) or (2) shall be brought
after whichever is the earlier of the following, that is to say —
Section 18 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 24 AT 11 of 1991 c

(a) the end of the period of 3 years beginning with the day on which
the offence was committed; and
(b) the end of the period of one year beginning with the day on which
the person bringing the prosecution discovered that the offence
had been committed.
(6) In this Part —
“consumer
” —
(a) in relation to any goods, means any person who might wish to be
supplied with the goods for his own private use or consumption;
(b) in relation to any services or facilities, means any person who
might wish to be provided with the services or facilities otherwise
than for the purposes of any business of his; and
(c) in relation to any accommodation, means any person who might
wish to occupy the accommodation otherwise than for the
purposes of any business of his;
“price
”, in relation to any goods, services, accommodation or facilities,
means —
(a) the aggregate of the sums required to be paid by a consumer for
or otherwise in respect of the supply of the goods or the provision
of the services, accommodation or facilities; or
(b) except in section 18, any method which will be or has been
applied for the purpose of determining that aggregate.
18 Meaning of “misleading”

[P1987/43/21]
(1) For the purposes of section 17 an indication given to any consumers is
misleading as to a price if what is conveyed by the indication, or what
those consumers might reasonably be expected to infer from the
indication or any omission from it, includes any of the following —
(a) that the price is less than in fact it is;
(b) that the applicability of the price does not depend on facts or
circumstances on which its applicability does in fact depend;
(c) that the price covers matters in respect of which an additional
charge is in fact made;
(d) that a person who in fact has no such expectation —
(i) expects the price to be increased or reduced (whether or
not at a particular time or by a particular amount); or
(ii) expects the price, or the price as increased or reduced, to be
maintained (whether or not for a particular period); or
(e) that the facts or circumstances by reference to which the
consumers might reasonably be expected to judge the validity of
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 19


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 25

any relevant comparison made or implied by the indication are
not what in fact they are.
(2) For the purpose of section 17, an indication given to any consumers is
misleading as to a method of determining a price if what is conveyed by
the indication, or what those consumers might reasonably be expected to
infer from the indication or any omission from it, includes any of the
following —
(a) that the method is not what in fact it is;
(b) that the applicability of the method does not depend on facts or
circumstances on which its applicability does in fact depend;
(c) that the method takes into account matters in respect of which an
additional charge will in fact be made;
(d) that a person who in fact has no such expectation —
(i) expects the method to be altered (whether or not at a
particular time or in a particular respect); or
(ii) expects the method, or that method as altered, to remain
unaltered (whether or not for a particular period); or
(e) that the facts or circumstances by reference to which the
consumers might reasonably be expected to judge the validity of
any relevant comparison made or implied by the indication are
not what in fact they are.
(3) For the purposes of subsections (1)(e) and (2)(e) a comparison is a
relevant comparison in relation to a price or method of determining a
price if it is made between that price or that method, or any price which
has been or may be determined by that method, and —
(a) any price or value which is stated or implied to be, to have been
or to be likely to be attributed or attributable to the goods,
services, accommodation or facilities in question or to any other
goods, services, accommodation or facilities; or
(b) any method, or other method, which is stated or implied to be, to
have been or to be likely to be applied or applicable for the
determination of the price or value of the goods, services,
accommodation or facilities in question or of the price or value of
any other goods, services, accommodation or facilities.
19 Application to provision of services and facilities

[P1987/43/22]
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, references in this Part
to services or facilities are references to any services or facilities whatever
including, in particular —
(a) the provision of credit or of banking or insurance services and the
provision of facilities incidental to the provision of such services;
Section 20 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 26 AT 11 of 1991 c

(b) the purchase or sale of foreign currency;
(c) the supply of electricity;
(d) the provision of a place, other than on a highway, for the parking
of a motor vehicle.
(2) References in this Part to services do not include references to services
provided to an employer under a contract of employment.
(3) References in this Part to services or facilities do not include references to
services or facilities which are provided by a permitted person
undertaking a regulated activity within the meaning of the Financial
Services Act 2008.26

(4) In relation to a service consisting in the purchase or sale of foreign
currency, references in this Part to the method by which the price of the
service is determined include references to the rate of exchange.
(5) In this section —
“contract of employment” and “employer” have the same meanings as in
the Employment Act 1991;
“credit” includes a loan of money, and any other form of financial
accommodation.
20 Application to provision of accommodation etc

[P1987/43/23]
(1) Subject to subsection (2), references in this Part to accommodation or
facilities being available do not include references to accommodation or
facilities being available to be provided by means of the creation or
disposal of an interest in land, except where —
(a) the person who is to create or dispose of the interest will do so in
the course of any business of his; and
(b) the interest to be created or disposed of is a relevant interest in a
new dwelling and is to be created or disposed of for the purpose
of enabling that dwelling to be occupied as a residence, or one of
the residences, of the person acquiring the interest.
(2) Subsection (1) does not prevent the application of any provision of this
Part in relation to —
(a) the supply of any goods as part of the same transaction as any
creation or disposal of an interest in land; or
(b) the provision of any services or facilities for the purposes of, or in
connection with, any transaction for the creation or disposal of
such an interest.
(3) In this section —
“new dwelling” means any building or part of a building in the Island
which —
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 21


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 27

(a) has been constructed or adapted to be occupied as a residence;
and
(b) has not previously been so occupied or has been so occupied only
with other premises or as more than one residence,
and includes any yard, garden, out-houses or appurtenances which
belong to that building or part or are to be enjoyed with it;
“relevant interest” in relation to a new dwelling means a customary freehold
estate in the dwelling or a leasehold interest in the dwelling for a term of
years absolute of more than 21 years, not being a term of which 21 years
or less remains unexpired.
21 Defences

[P1987/43/24]
(1) In any proceedings against a person for an offence under section 17 in
respect of any indication it is a defence for that person to show that his
acts or omissions were authorised for the purposes of this subsection by
regulations under section 23.
(2) In proceedings against a person for an offence under section 17 in respect
of an indication published in a book, newspaper, magazine or film or in a
programme included in a programme service (within the meaning of
Part 1 of the Broadcasting Act 1993), it is a defence for that person to show
that the indication was not contained in an advertisement.27

(3) In proceedings against a person for an offence under section 17 in respect
of an indication published in an advertisement it is a defence for that
person to show that —
(a) he is a person who carries on a business of publishing or
arranging for the publication of advertisements;
(b) he received the advertisement for publication in the ordinary
course of that business; and
(c) at the time of publication he did not know and had no grounds
for suspecting that the publication would involve the commission
of the offence.
(4) In any proceedings against a person for an offence under section 17 in
respect of any indication, it is a defence for that person to show that —
(a) the indication did not relate to the availability from him of any
goods, services, accommodation or facilities;
(b) a price had been recommended to every person from whom the
goods, services, accommodation or facilities were indicated as
being available;
(c) the indication related to that price and was misleading as to that
price only by reason of a failure by any person to follow the
recommendation; and
Section 22 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 28 AT 11 of 1991 c

(d) it was reasonable for the person who gave the indication to
assume that the recommendation was for the most part being
followed.
(5) The provisions of this section are without prejudice to the provisions of
section 35.
(6) In this section —
“advertisement” includes a catalogue, a circular and a price list.
“cable programme service” [Repealed]28

22 Codes of practice

[P1987/43/25]
(1) OFT may, after consulting such persons as it considers appropriate, by
order approve any code of practice issued (whether by OFT or another
person) for the purpose of —
(a) giving practical guidance with respect to any of the requirements
of section 17; and
(b) promoting what appear to OFT to be desirable practices as to the
circumstances and manner in which any person gives an
indication as to the price at which any goods, services,
accommodation or facilities are available or indicates any other
matter in respect of which any such indication may be
misleading.29
30

(2) A contravention of a code of practice approved under this section shall
not of itself give rise to any criminal or civil liability, but in any
proceedings against any person for an offence under section 17 —
(a) any contravention by that person of such a code may be relied on
in relation to any matter for the purpose of establishing that that
person committed the offence or of negativing any defence; and
(b) compliance by that person with such a code may be relied on in
relation to any matter for the purpose of showing that the
commission of the offence by that person has not been established
or that that person has a defence.
(3) Where OFT approves a code of practice under this section it may, after
such consultation as is mentioned in subsection (1), at any time by
order —
(a) approve any modification of the code; or
(b) withdraw its approval;
and references in subsection (2) to a code of practice approved under this
section shall be construed accordingly.31

Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 23


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 29

23 Regulations

[P1987/43/26]
(1) OFT may, after consulting such persons as it considers appropriate, by
regulations make provision —
(a) for the purpose of regulating the circumstances and manner in
which any person —
(i) gives any indication as to the price at which any goods,
services, accommodation or facilities will be or are
available or have been supplied or provided; or
(ii) indicates any other matter in respect of which any such
indication may be misleading;
(b) for the purpose of facilitating the enforcement of the provisions of
section 17 or of any regulations under this section.32

(2) OFT shall not make regulations by virtue of subsection (1)(a) except in
relation to —
(a) indications given by persons in the course of business; and
(b) such indications given otherwise than in the course of business
as —
(i) are given by or on behalf of persons by whom
accommodation is provided to others by means of leases or
licences; and
(ii) relate to goods, services or facilities supplied or provided
to those others in connection with the provision of the
accommodation.33

(3) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), regulations under
this section may —
(a) prohibit an indication as to a price from referring to such matters
as may be prescribed by the regulations;
(b) require an indication as to a price or other matter to be
accompanied or supplemented by such explanation or such
additional information as may be prescribed by the regulations;
(c) require information or explanations with respect to a price or
other matter to be given to an officer of OFT and to authorise such
an officer to require such information or explanations to be
given;34

(d) require any information or explanation provided for the purposes
of any regulations made by virtue of paragraph (b) or (c) to be
accurate;
(e) prohibit the inclusion in indications as to a price or other matter of
statements that the indications are not to be relied upon;
Section 24 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 30 AT 11 of 1991 c

(f) provide that expressions used in any indication as to a price or
other matter shall be construed in a particular way for the
purposes of this Part;
(g) provide that a contravention of any provision of the regulations
shall constitute a criminal offence punishable —
(i) on conviction on information, by a fine;
(ii) on summary conviction, by a fine not exceeding £5,000;
(h) apply any provision of this Act which relates to a criminal offence
to an offence created by virtue of paragraph (g).
(4) In this section “lease” includes a sub-lease and an agreement for a lease.
PART IV – ENFORCEMENT OF PARTS II AND III

24 [Repealed]
35

25 Test purchases

[P1987/43/28]
(1) OFT may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether any safety provision
or any provision made by or under Part III has been contravened in
relation to any goods, services, accommodation or facilities —
(a) make, or authorise an officer of OFT to make, any purchase of any
goods; or36

(b) secure, or authorise an officer of OFT to secure, the provision of
any services, accommodation or facilities.37
38

(2) Where —
(a) any goods purchased under this section by or on behalf of OFT
are submitted to a test; and39

(b) the test leads to —
(i) the bringing of proceedings for an offence in respect of a
contravention in relation to the goods of any safety
provision or of any provision made by or under Part III or
for the forfeiture of the goods under section 14; or
(ii) the serving of a suspension notice in respect of any goods;
and
(c) OFT is requested to do so and it is practicable for OFT to comply
with the request,40

OFT shall allow the person from whom the goods were purchased or any
person who is a party to the proceedings or has an interest in any goods
to which the notice relates to have the goods tested.41

Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 26


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 31

(3) OFT may by regulations provide that any test of goods purchased under
this section by or on behalf of OFT shall —
(a) be carried out at the expense of OFT in a manner and by a person
prescribed by or determined under the regulations; or42

(b) be carried out either as mentioned in paragraph (a) or by OFT in a
manner prescribed by the regulations.43
44

(4) Nothing in this section authorises the acquisition by or on behalf of OFT
of any interest in land.45

(5) OFT may by regulations prescribe the person, or the manner of
determining the person, from whom any goods were purchased where
they were purchased from a vending machine.46

26 Powers of search etc

[P1987/43/29]
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this Part, an officer of OFT may at
any reasonable hour and on production, if required, of his credentials
exercise any of the powers conferred by the following provisions of this
section.47

(2) The officer may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been
any contravention of any safety provision or of any provision made by or
under Part III, inspect any goods and enter any premises other than
premises occupied only as a person’s residence.
(3) The officer may, for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been
any contravention of any safety provision, examine any procedure
(including any arrangements for carrying out a test) connected with the
production of any goods.
(4) If the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that any goods are
manufactured or imported goods which have not been supplied in the
Island since they were manufactured or imported he may —
(a) for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been any
contravention of any safety provision in relation to the goods,
require any person carrying on a business, or employed in
connection with a business, to produce any records relating to the
business;
(b) for the purpose of ascertaining (by testing or otherwise) whether
there has been any such contravention, seize and detain the
goods;
(c) take copies of, or of any entry in, any records produced by virtue
of paragraph (a).
Section 27 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 32 AT 11 of 1991 c

(5) If the officer has reasonable grounds for suspecting that there has been a
contravention in relation to any goods of any safety provision or of any
provision made by or under Part III, he may —
(a) for the purpose of ascertaining whether there has been any such
contravention, require any person carrying on a business, or
employed in connection with a business, to produce any records
relating to the business;
(b) for the purpose of ascertaining (by testing or otherwise) whether
there has been any such contravention, seize and detain the
goods;
(c) take copies of, or of any entry in, any records produced by virtue
of paragraph (a).
(6) The officer may seize and detain —
(a) any goods or records which he has reasonable grounds for
believing may be required as evidence in proceedings for an
offence in respect of a contravention of any safety provision or of
any provision made by or under Part III;
(b) any goods which he has reasonable grounds for suspecting may
be liable to be forfeited under section 14.
(7) If and to the extent that it is reasonably necessary to do so to prevent a
contravention of any safety provision or of any provision made by or
under Part III, the officer may, for the purpose of exercising his power
under subsection (4), (5) or (6) to seize any goods or records —
(a) require any person having authority to do so to open any
container or to open any vending machine; and
(b) himself open or break open any such container or machine where
a requirement made under paragraph (a) in relation to the
container or machine has not been complied with.
27 Provisions supplemental to s 26

[P1987/43/30]
(1) An officer seizing any goods or records under section 26 shall inform the
following persons that the goods or records have been so seized —
(a) the person from whom they are seized; and
(b) in the case of imported goods seized on any premises under the
control of the Treasury, the importer of those goods (within the
meaning of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1986).
(2) If a justice of the peace —
(a) is satisfied by any written information on oath that there are
reasonable grounds for believing either —
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 27


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 33

(i) that any goods or records which any officer has power to
inspect under section 26 are on any premises and that their
inspection is likely to disclose evidence that there has been
a contravention of any safety provision or of any provision
made by or under Part III; or
(ii) that such a contravention has taken place, is taking place or
is about to take place on any premises; and
(b) is also satisfied by any such information either —
(i) that admission to the premises has been or is likely to be
refused and that notice of intention to apply for a warrant
under this subsection has been given to the occupier; or
(ii) that an application for admission, or the giving of such a
notice, would defeat the object of the entry or that the
premises are unoccupied or that the occupier is
temporarily absent and it might defeat the object of the
entry to await his return,
the justice may by warrant under his hand, which shall continue in force
for a period of one month, authorise any officer of OFT to enter the
premises, if need be by force.48

(3) An officer entering any premises by virtue of section 26 or a warrant
under subsection (2) may take with him such other persons and such
equipment as may appear to him necessary.
(4) On leaving any premises which a person is authorised to enter by a
warrant under subsection (2), that person shall, if the premises are
unoccupied or the occupier is temporarily absent, leave the premises as
effectively secured against trespassers as he found them.
(5) If any person who is not an officer of OFT purports to act as such under
section 26 or this section, he shall be guilty of an offence and liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £5,000.49

(6) Where any goods seized by an officer under section 26 are submitted to a
test, the officer shall inform the persons mentioned in subsection (1) of
the result of the test and, if —
(a) proceedings are brought for an offence in respect of a
contravention in relation to the goods of any safety provision or of
any provision made by or under Part III or for the forfeiture of the
goods under section 14, or a suspension notice is served in respect
of any goods; and
(b) the officer is requested to do so and it is practicable to comply
with the request,
the officer shall allow any person who is a party to the proceedings or, as
the case may be, has an interest in the goods to which the notice relates to
have the goods tested.
Section 28 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 34 AT 11 of 1991 c

(7) OFT may by regulations provide that any test of goods seized under
section 26 by an officer of OFT shall —
(a) be carried out at the expense of OFT in a manner and by a person
prescribed by or determined under the regulations; or50

(b) be carried out either as mentioned in paragraph (a) or by OFT in a
manner prescribed by the regulations.51

(8) OFT may by regulations prescribe the person, or the manner of
determining the person, who is to be treated for the purposes of this
section as the person from whom any goods were seized, where they
were seized from a vending machine.52

28 Power of customs officer to detain goods

[P1987/43/31]
(1) A customs officer may, for the purpose of facilitating the exercise by OFT
or an officer of OFT of any functions conferred on OFT or officer by or
under Part II, or by or under this Part in its application for the purposes
of the safety provisions, seize any imported goods and detain them for
not more than 2 working days.53

(2) Anything seized and detained under this section shall be dealt with
during the period of its detention in such manner as the Treasury may
direct.
(3) In subsection (1) the reference to 2 working days is a reference to a
period of 48 hours calculated from the time when the goods in question
are seized but disregarding so much of any period as falls on a Saturday
or Sunday or on Christmas Day, Good Friday or a bank holiday.
(4) In this section and section 29 “customs officer
” means any officer within
the meaning of the Customs and Excise Management Act 1986.
29 Obstruction of officer of OFT
54

[P1987/43/32]
(1) Any person who —
(a) intentionally obstructs any officer of OFT who is acting in
pursuance of any provision of this Part or any customs officer
who is so acting; or55

(b) intentionally fails to comply with any requirement made of him
by any officer of OFT under any provision of this Part; or56

(c) without reasonable cause fails to give any officer of OFT who is so
acting any other assistance or information which the officer may
reasonably require of him for the purposes of the exercise of the
officer’s functions under any provision of this Part,57

Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 30


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 35

shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine
not exceeding £5,000.
(2) A person shall be guilty of an offence if, in giving any information which
is required of him by virtue of subsection (1)(c) —
(a) he makes any statement which he knows is false in a material
particular; or
(b) he recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material
particular.
(3) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (2) shall be liable —
(a) on conviction on information, to a fine;
(b) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding £5,000.
30 Appeals against detention of goods

[P1988/43/33]
(1) Any person having an interest in any goods which are for the time being
detained under any provision of this Part by OFT or by an officer of OFT
may apply to a court of summary jurisdiction for an order requiring the
goods to be released to him or to another person.58

(2) On an application under this section an order requiring goods to be
released shall be made only if the court is satisfied —
(a) that proceedings —
(i) for an offence in respect of a contravention in relation to
the goods of any safety provision or of any provision made
by or under Part III; or
(ii) for the forfeiture of the goods under section 14,
have not been brought or, having been brought, have been
concluded without the goods being forfeited; and
(b) where no such proceedings have been brought, that more than 6
months have elapsed since the goods were seized.
(3) Any person aggrieved by an order made under this section by a court of
summary jurisdiction, or by a decision of such a court not to make such
an order, may appeal against that order or decision to the High Court.
(4) An order so made may contain such provision as appears to the court to
be appropriate for delaying the coming into force of the order pending
the making and determination of any appeal (including any application
under section 109 of the Summary Jurisdiction Act 1989 (statement of
case)).
Section 31 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 36 AT 11 of 1991 c

31 Compensation for seizure and detention

[P1987/43/34]
(1) Where an officer of OFT exercises any power under section 26 to seize
and detain goods, OFT shall be liable to pay compensation to any person
having an interest in the goods in respect of any loss or damage caused
by reason of the exercise of the power if —
(a) there has been no contravention in relation to the goods of any
safety provision or of any provision made by or under Part III;
and
(b) the exercise of the power is not attributable to any neglect or
default by that person.59

(2) Any disputed question as to the right to or the amount of any
compensation payable under this section shall be determined by
arbitration.
32 Recovery of expenses of enforcement

[P1987/43/35]
(1) This section shall apply where a court —
(a) convicts a person of an offence in respect of a contravention in
relation to any goods of any safety provision or of any provision
made by or under Part III; or
(b) makes an order under section 14 for the forfeiture of any goods.
(2) The court may (in addition to any other order it may make as to costs or
expenses) order the person convicted or, as the case may be, any person
having an interest in the goods to reimburse OFT for any expenditure
which has been or may be incurred by OFT —
(a) in connection with any seizure or detention of the goods by or on
behalf of OFT; or60

(b) in connection with any compliance by OFT with directions given
by the court for the purposes of any order for the forfeiture of the
goods.61
62

33 Power of Treasury to disclose information

[P1987/43/37]
(1) If it thinks it appropriate to do so for the purpose of facilitating the
exercise by OFT or any officer of OFT of any functions conferred on it or
him by or under Part II, or by or under Part IV in its application for the
purposes of the safety provisions, the Treasury may authorise the
disclosure to OFT or that officer, as the case may be, of any information
obtained for the purposes of the exercise by the Treasury of its functions
in relation to imported goods.63

Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 34


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 37

(2) A disclosure of information made to any person under subsection (1)
shall be made in such manner as may be directed by the Treasury and
may be made through such persons acting on behalf of that person as
may be so directed.
(3) Information may be disclosed to a person under subsection (1) whether
or not the disclosure of the information has been requested by or on
behalf of that person.
34 Restrictions on disclosure of information

[P1987/43/38]
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, a person shall be guilty
of an offence if he discloses any information —
(a) which was obtained by him in consequence of its being given to
any person in compliance with any requirement imposed by
safety regulations or regulations under section 23;
(b) which consists in a secret manufacturing process or a trade secret
and was obtained by him in consequence of the inclusion of the
information —
(i) in written or oral representations made for the purposes of
Part I or II of Schedule 2; or
(ii) in a statement of a witness in connection with any such
oral representations;
(c) which was obtained by him in consequence of the exercise by OFT
of the power conferred by section 15;64

(d) which was obtained by OFT in consequence of the exercise by any
person of any power conferred by this Part; or65

(e) which was disclosed to or through him under section 33.
(2) Subsection (1) shall not apply to a disclosure of information if the
information is publicised information or the disclosure is made —
(a) for the purpose of facilitating the exercise of a relevant person’s
functions under this Act or any enactment mentioned in
subsection (3);
(b) for the purposes of compliance with an EU obligation;66

(c) in connection with the investigation of any criminal offence or for
the purposes of any civil or criminal proceedings.
(3) The enactments referred to in subsection (2)(a) are —
(a) the Consumer Protection (Trade Descriptions) Act 1970;
(b) the relevant statutory provisions within the meaning of Part I of
the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (an Act of
Parliament), as it has effect in the Island;
(c) the Estate Agents Act 1975;
Section 35 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 38 AT 11 of 1991 c

(d) the Telecommunications Act 1984.
(4) In subsection (2)(a) reference to a person’s functions includes a reference
to any function of making, amending or revoking any regulations or
order.
(5) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on
summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months
or to a fine not exceeding £5,000, or to both.
(6) In this section —
“publicised information” means any information which has been
disclosed in any civil or criminal proceedings or is or has been
required to be contained in a warning published in pursuance of a
notice to warn; and
“relevant person” means any of the following —
(a) a Department or Statutory Board;
(b) any person who is an enforcing authority for the purposes of Part
I of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (an Act of
Parliament), as it has effect in the Island.
35 Defence of due diligence

[P1987/43/39]
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, in proceedings against
any person for an offence to which this section applies it is a defence for
that person to show that he took all reasonable steps and exercised all
due diligence to avoid committing the offence.
(2) Where in any proceedings against any person for such an offence the
defence provided by subsection (1) involves an allegation that the
commission of the offence was due —
(a) to the act or default of another; or
(b) to reliance on information given by another,
that person shall not, without the leave of the court, be entitled to rely on
the defence unless, not less than 7 clear days before the hearing of the
proceedings, he has served a notice under subsection (3) on the person
bringing the proceedings.
(3) A notice under this subsection shall give such information identifying or
assisting in the identification of the person who committed the act or
default or gave the information as is in the possession of the person
serving the notice at the time he serves it.
(4) It is hereby declared that a person is not entitled to rely on the defence
provided by subsection (1) by reason of his reliance on information
supplied by another, unless he shows that it was reasonable in all the
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 36


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 39

circumstances for him to have relied on the information, having regard
in particular —
(a) to the steps which he took, and those which might reasonably
have been taken, for the purpose of verifying the information; and
(b) to whether he had any reason to disbelieve the information.
(5) This section applies to an offence under section 8, 10(1), (2) or (3), 11(4),
12(6) or 17(1).
36 Liability of persons other than principal offender

[P1987/43/40]
(1) Where the commission by any person of an offence to which section 35
applies is due to an act or default committed by some other person in the
course of any business of his, the other person shall be guilty of the
offence and may be proceeded against and punished by virtue of this
subsection whether or not proceedings are taken against the first
mentioned person.
(2) Where a body corporate is guilty of an offence under this Act (including
where it is so guilty by virtue of subsection (1)) in respect of any act or
default which is shown to have been committed with the consent or
connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on the part of, any
director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the body corporate
or any person who was purporting to act in any such capacity he, as well
as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence and shall be liable to
be proceeded against and punished accordingly.
(3) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members,
subsection (2) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member
in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director
of the body corporate.
37 Civil proceedings

[P1987/43/41]
(1) An obligation imposed by safety regulations is a duty owed to any
person who may be affected by a contravention of the obligation and,
subject to any provision to the contrary in the regulations and to the
defences and other incidents applying to actions for breach of statutory
duty, a contravention of any such obligation is actionable accordingly.
(2) This Act shall not be construed as conferring any other right of action in
civil proceedings, apart from the right conferred by virtue of Part I, in
respect of any loss or damage suffered in consequence of a contravention
of a safety provision or of a provision made by or under Part III.
Section 38 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 40 AT 11 of 1991 c

(3) Subject to any provision to the contrary in the agreement itself, an
agreement is not void or unenforceable by reason only of a contravention
of a safety provision or of a provision made by or under Part III.
(4) Liability by virtue of subsection (1) is not limited or excluded by any
contract term, by any notice or (subject to the power contained in
subsection (1) to limit or exclude it in safety regulations) by any other
provision.
(5) Nothing in subsection (1) prejudices the operation of section 12 of the
Nuclear Installations Act 1965 (an Act of Parliament), as it has effect in
the Island (rights to compensation for certain breaches of duties confined
to rights under that Act).
(6) In this section “damage” includes personal injury and death.
PART V – UNFAIR CONTRACT TERMS IN CONSUMER

CONTRACTS
67

38 Contracts to which this Part applies

[SI 1999/2083/4, 9]
(1) Subject to subsection (2), this Part applies to contracts concluded between
a seller or supplier and a consumer.
(2) OFT may by order exclude from the application of this Part contracts of a
description specified in the order.68

(3) This Part applies to a contract notwithstanding any contract term which
applies or purports to apply the law of a country or territory outside the
Island, unless the contract has a close connection with that country or
territory.69

39 Unfair terms

[SI999/2083/5, P1996/23/91]
(1) A contract term which has not been individually negotiated shall be
regarded as unfair if it causes a significant imbalance in the parties’
rights and obligations arising under the contract, which is to the
detriment of the consumer and cannot be justified.
(2) A term shall always be regarded as not having been individually
negotiated where it has been drafted in advance and the consumer has
therefore not been able to influence the substance of the term.
(3) Even though a specific term or certain aspects of it in a contract has been
individually negotiated, this Part applies to the rest of the contract if,
taken as a whole, it is a pre-formulated standard contract.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 40


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 41

(4) It shall be for any seller or supplier who claims that a term was
individually negotiated to show that it was.
(5) Schedule 2A contains an indicative and non-exhaustive list of the terms
which may be regarded as unfair.
(6) Without prejudice to subsections (1) to (5), a contract term which
constitutes an arbitration agreement shall be regarded as unfair so far as
it relates to a claim for a pecuniary remedy which does not exceed £5,000.
(7) OFT may by order vary the amount specified in subsection (6) (or the
amount substituted for it by a previous order under this subsection).70
71

40 Assessment of unfair terms

[SI999/2083/6]
(1) Without prejudice to section 40C, the unfairness of a contract term shall
be assessed having regard to the following matters (as at the time the
contract was concluded) —
(a) the nature of the goods or services to be supplied;
(b) all the circumstances attending the conclusion of the contract; and
(c) all the other terms of the contract and of any other contract on
which it is dependent.
(2) In so far as it is in plain intelligible language, the assessment of fairness
of a term shall not have regard to —
(a) the definition of the main subject matter of the contract, or
(b) the adequacy of the price or remuneration, as against the goods or
services supplied in exchange.
(3) Except in proceedings under section 40C, if there is doubt about the
meaning of a written term of a contract, it shall be interpreted in such a
way as is most favourable to the consumer.72

40A Effect of unfair term

[SI999/2083/8]
(1) Subject to subsection (2), an unfair term in a contract to which this Part
applies shall not be binding on the consumer.
(2) Subsection (1) does not apply to contract terms which —
(a) are required by any statutory provision to be included in the
contract; or
(b) reflect any provision or principle of an international convention
which extends to the Island.
(3) The contract shall continue to bind the parties if it is capable of
continuing in existence without the unfair term.73

Section 40 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 42 AT 11 of 1991 c

40B Complaints - consideration by Board

[SI999/2083/10]
(1) It shall be the duty of OFT to consider any complaint made to it that any
contract term drawn up for general use is unfair, unless the complaint
appears to OFT to be frivolous or vexatious.74

(2) OFT shall notify a person who makes a complaint to it under subsection
(1) —
(a) what action (if any) it proposes to take under this Part with regard
to the subject matter of the complaint; and
(b) if it proposes not to take any action, its reasons for not doing so.75

(3) In deciding whether or not to take action under this Part in respect of a
term which OFT considers to be unfair, it may, if it considers it
appropriate to do so, have regard to any undertakings given to it by or
on behalf of any person as to the continued use of such a term in
contracts concluded with consumers.76
77

40C Injunctions to prevent continued use of unfair terms

[SI999/2083/12]
(1) The Attorney General, at the request of OFT, may apply to the High
Court for an injunction (including an interim injunction) against any
person appearing to him to be using, or recommending use of, an unfair
term drawn up for general use in contracts concluded with consumers.78

(2) The High Court on an application under this section may grant an
injunction on such terms as it thinks fit.
(3) An injunction may relate not only to use of a particular contract term
drawn up for general use but to any similar term, or a term having like
effect, used or recommended for use by any person.79

40D Powers to obtain documents and information

[SI999/2083/13]
(1) OFT may exercise the power conferred by this section for the purpose of
—
(a) facilitating its consideration of a complaint that a contract term
drawn up for general use is unfair; or
(b) ascertaining whether a person has complied with an undertaking
or court order as to the continued use, or recommendation for use,
of a term in contracts concluded with consumers.80

(2) OFT may require any person to supply to it —
(a) a copy of any document which that person has used or
recommended for use, at the time the notice referred to in
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 40


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 43

subsection (3) is given, as a pre-formulated standard contract in
dealings with consumers;
(b) information about the use, or recommendation for use, by that
person of that document or any other such document in dealings
with consumers.81

(3) The power conferred by this section is to be exercised by a notice in
writing which may —
(a) specify the way in which and the time within which it is to be
complied with; and
(b) be varied or revoked by a subsequent notice.
(4) Nothing in this section compels a person to supply any document or
information which he would be entitled to refuse to produce or give in
civil proceedings before the High Court.
(5) If a person makes default in complying with a notice under this section,
the High Court may, on the application of the Attorney General, make
such order as the court thinks fit for requiring the default to be made
good, and any such order may provide that all the costs or expenses of
and incidental to the application shall be borne by the person in default
or by any officers of a company or other body who are responsible for its
default.82

40E Publication, information and advice

[SI999/2083/15]
(1) OFT shall arrange for the publication, in such form and manner as it
considers appropriate, of details of —
(a) any undertaking given to it by or on behalf of any person as to the
continued use of a term which OFT considers to be unfair in
contracts concluded with consumers;83

(b) any application made under section 40C, and the terms of any
undertaking given to, or order made by, the High Court;
(c) any application made by the Attorney General under section
40D(5) to enforce a previous order of the High Court.84

(2) OFT shall inform any person on request whether a particular term to
which this Part applies has been —
(a) the subject of an undertaking given to OFT; or85

(b) the subject of an order of the High Court under section 40C;
and shall give that person details of the undertaking or a copy of the
order, as the case may be, together with a copy of any amendments
which the person giving the undertaking has agreed to make to the term
in question.86

Section 41 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 44 AT 11 of 1991 c

(3) OFT may arrange for the dissemination in such form and manner as it
considers appropriate of such information and advice concerning the
operation of this Part as may appear to it to be expedient to give to the
public and to all persons likely to be affected by this Part.87
88

40F Interpretation etc.

[SI999/2083/3]
(1) In this Part —
“arbitration agreement
” means an agreement to submit to arbitration present or
future disputes or differences (whether or not contractual);
“consumer
” means any person who, in contracts to which this Part applies, is
acting for purposes which are outside his trade, business or profession;
“notified
” means notified in writing;
“seller or supplier
” means any person who, in contracts to which this Part
applies, is acting for purposes relating to his trade, business or
profession, whether publicly or privately owned;
“unfair
”, in relation to contract terms, has the meaning given by section 39.
(2) If it appears to the Department of Economic Development that, in
relation to contracts of any description, the functions of OFT under
sections 40B to 40E would more appropriately be exercised by another
public authority, it may, after consulting OFT and with the consent of
that authority, by order —
(a) provide that those functions shall be exercised by that authority in
relation to contracts of that description;
(b) provide that references to OFT in those sections shall, in relation
to such contracts, be construed as references to that authority;
and89

(c) make such consequential, incidental, supplemental and
transitional provisions as appear to that Department to be
necessary or expedient for the purposes of the order.90
91

PART VI – MISLEADING ADVERTISEMENTS

41 Complaints to OFT
92

[SI88/915/4]
(1) Subject to subsections (2) and (3), OFT shall consider any complaint
made to it that an advertisement is misleading, unless the complaint
appears to OFT to be frivolous or vexatious.93

(2) OFT shall not consider any complaint which, leaving aside any question
as to the frivolous or vexatious nature of the complaint —
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 42


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 45

(a) the Communications Commission is or would be required to
consider under section 44A, or94

(b) the Independent Television Commission or the Radio Authority is
or would be required to consider under the Control of Misleading
Advertisements Regulations 1988 (a statutory instrument made
under the European Communities Act 1972 (an Act of Parliament)
and having effect in the United Kingdom).95

(3) Before considering any complaint under subsection (1) OFT may require
the person making the complaint to satisfy OFT that —
(a) there have been invoked in relation to the same or substantially
the same complaint about the advertisement in question such
established means of dealing with such complaints as OFT may
consider appropriate, having regard to all the circumstances of the
particular case;96

(b) a reasonable opportunity has been allowed for those means to
deal with the complaint in question; and
(c) those means have not dealt with the complaint adequately.97

(4) In exercising the powers conferred on it by this Part OFT shall have
regard to —
(a) all the interests involved and in particular the public interest; and
(b) the desirability of encouraging the control, by self-regulatory
bodies, of advertisements.98

42 Applications to the court etc

[SI88/915/5]
(1) If, having considered a complaint about an advertisement pursuant to
section 41(1), OFT considers that the advertisement is misleading, OFT
may with the consent of the Attorney General bring proceedings for an
injunction (in which proceedings it may also apply for an interlocutory
injunction) against any person appearing to OFT to be concerned or
likely to be concerned with the publication of the advertisement.99

(2) [Repealed]100

(3) OFT shall give reasons for its decision to apply or not to apply for an
injunction in relation to any complaint which this Part requires it to
consider.101

(4) [Repealed]102

43 Functions of the court

[SI88/915/6]
(1) The court on an application by OFT may grant an injunction on such
terms as it may think fit but (except where it grants an interlocutory
Section 44 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 46 AT 11 of 1991 c

injunction) only if the court is satisfied that the advertisement to which
the application relates is misleading; and before granting an injunction
the court shall have regard to all the interests involved and in particular
the public interest.103

(2) An injunction may relate not only to a particular advertisement but to
any advertisement in similar terms or likely to convey a similar
impression.
(3) In considering an application for an injunction the court may, whether or
not on the application of any party to the proceedings, require any
person appearing to the court to be responsible for the publication of the
advertisement to which the application relates to furnish the court with
evidence of the accuracy of any factual claim made in the advertisement.
(4) The court shall not make a requirement under subsection (3) unless it
appears to the court to be appropriate in the circumstances of the
particular case, having regard to the legitimate interests of the person
who would be the subject of or affected by the requirement and of any
other person concerned with the advertisement.
(5) If such evidence is not furnished to it following a requirement made by it
under subsection (3) or if it considers such evidence inadequate, the
court may decline to consider the factual claim mentioned in that
paragraph accurate.
(6) The court shall not refuse to grant an injunction for lack of evidence
that —
(a) the publication of the advertisement in question has given rise to
loss or damage to any person; or
(b) the person responsible for the advertisement intended it to be
misleading or failed to exercise proper care to prevent its being
misleading.
(7) An injunction may prohibit the publication or the continued or further
publication of an advertisement.
44 Powers to obtain and disclose information etc

[SI88/915/7]
(1) For the purpose of facilitating the exercise by it of any functions
conferred on it by this Part OFT may, by notice in writing, require any
person to furnish to it such information as may be specified or described
in the notice or to produce to it any documents so specified or
described.104

(2) A notice under subsection (1) may —
(a) specify the way in which and the time within which it is to be
complied with; and
(b) be varied or revoked by a subsequent notice.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 44


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 47

(3) Nothing in this regulation compels the production or furnishing by any
person of a document or of information which he would in an action in a
court be entitled to refuse to produce or furnish on grounds of legal
professional privilege.
(4) If a person makes default in complying with a notice under subsection
(1), OFT may with the consent of the Attorney General apply to the court
for an order under this subsection; and the court may, on such an
application, make such an order as the court thinks fit for requiring the
default to be made good, and any such order may provide that all the
costs or expenses of and incidental to the application shall be borne by
the person in default or by any officer of a company or other association
who are responsible for its default.105

(5) Subject to any provision to the contrary made by or under any
enactment, where OFT consider it appropriate to do so for the purpose of
controlling misleading advertisements, it may refer to any complaint
(including any related documentation) about an advertisement or
disclose to any person any information (whether or not obtained by
means of the exercise of the power conferred by subsection (1)).106

(6) Subject to subsection (5), any person who knowingly discloses, otherwise
than for the purposes of any legal proceedings or of a report of such
proceedings or the investigation of any criminal offence, any information
obtained by means of the exercise of the power conferred by
subsection (1) without the consent either —
(a) of the person to whom the information relates, or
(b) if the information relates to a business, the consent of the person
for the time being carrying on that business,
shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding 6 months or to a fine not
exceeding £5,000 or to both.
(7) OFT may arrange for the dissemination in such form and manner as it
considers appropriate of such information and advice concerning the
operation of this Part as may appear to it to be expedient to give to the
public and to all persons likely to be affected by this Part.107

44A Complaints to Communications Commission

(1) Subject to subsection (2), the Communications Commission shall
consider any complaint made to it that any advertisement included or
proposed to be included in a licensed service (within the meaning of Part
1 of the Broadcasting Act 1993) is misleading, unless the complaint
appears to it to be frivolous or vexatious.
Section 45 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 48 AT 11 of 1991 c

(2) In exercising the powers conferred on it by this Part the Communications
Commission shall have regard to all the interests involved and in
particular the public interest.
(3) If, having considered a complaint about an advertisement pursuant to
subsection (1), it considers that the advertisement is misleading, the
Communications Commission may, if it thinks it appropriate to do so,
exercise in relation to the advertisement the power conferred on it by
section 5(5) of the Broadcasting Act 1993 (directions about
advertisements).
(4) The Communications Commission may require any person appearing to
it to be responsible for an advertisement which it believes may be
misleading to furnish it with evidence as to the accuracy of any factual
claim made in the advertisement; and in deciding whether or not to
make such a requirement the Commission shall have regard to the
legitimate interests of any person who would be the subject of or affected
by the requirement.
(5) If such evidence is not furnished to it following a requirement made by it
under subsection (4), or if it considers such evidence inadequate, the
Communications Commission may consider the factual claim
inaccurate.108

45 Interpretation of Part VI

[SI88/915/2]
(1) In this Part —
“advertisement
” means any form of representation which is made in connection
with a trade, business, craft or profession in order to promote the supply
or transfer of goods or services, immovable property, rights or
obligations except an advertisement in respect of a regulated activity
(within the meaning of the Financial Services Act 2008);109

“the court
” means the High Court;
“publication
”, in relation to an advertisement, means the dissemination of that
advertisement, whether to an individual person or a number of persons,
and whether orally or in writing or in any other way whatsoever, and
“publish
” shall be construed accordingly.
(2) For the purposes of this Part an advertisement is misleading if in any
way, including its presentation, it deceives or is likely to deceive the
persons to whom it is addressed or whom it reaches and if, by reason of
its deceptive nature, it is likely to affect their economic behaviour or, for
those reasons, injures or is likely to injure a competitor of the person
whose interests the advertisement seeks to promote.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 46


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 49

PART VII – CANCELLATION OF CERTAIN CONTRACTS

46 Contracts to which Part VII applies

[SI88/2117/3; SI87/2117/3(3); SI98/3050/2]
(1) This Part applies to a contract (a “relevant contract
”) between a
consumer and a trader which is for the supply of goods or services to the
consumer by a trader and which is made —
(a) during an unsolicited visit by the trader to the consumer’s home
or place of work, or to the home of another individual;
(b) during an excursion organised by the trader away from the
trader’s permanent or temporary business premises;
(c) as the result of a telephone call by or on behalf of the trader to the
consumer which the consumer neither initiated nor requested; or
(d) after an offer made by the consumer during such a visit, excursion
or telephone call.110

(1A) Subsection (1) is subject to the qualifications in subsections (1B) and
(1C).111

(1B) This Part does not apply to an excepted contract.112

(1C) OFT may by order prescribe —
(a) contracts to which this Part does not apply;
(b) persons or classes of persons to whose contracts this Part does not
apply;
(c) other circumstances where this Part is not to apply.
An order under this subsection may amend or repeal any provision of
this Part (including a provision contained in Schedule 2B) if it appears to
OFT to be necessary or expedient to do so in consequence of or in
connection with the provision made by the order.113

(2) Schedule 2B has effect to define “excepted contract
”.114

(3) [Repealed]115

46A Offence to enter into certain contracts

(1) A person commits an offence if, as a trader, he or she enters into a
relevant contract.
(2) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—
(a) on conviction on information, to custody for not more than 2
years, a fine or both;
(b) on summary conviction, to custody for a term not exceeding 6
months, a fine not exceeding £10,000, or both.116

Section 47 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 50 AT 11 of 1991 c

47 Cancellation of contract

[SI87/2117/4]
(1) A relevant contract is not enforceable against the consumer unless the
trader has delivered to the consumer notice in writing in the prescribed
form, indicating the right of the consumer to cancel the contract within
the period of 14 days mentioned in subsection (3).117

(2) The notice must be dated and delivered to the consumer —
(a) if the consumer and the trader are in the same place when the
contract is made, at the time the contract is made; and
(b) in any other case within 48 hours of the time at which the contract
is made.118

(3) If within the period of 14 days —
(a) following the making of the contract in a case falling within
subsection (2)(a); or
(b) following the delivery of a notice under subsection (1) in a case
falling within subsection (2)(b),
the consumer serves a notice in writing (a “notice of cancellation”) on the
trader or any other person specified in a notice referred to in subsection
(1) as a person to whom notice of cancellation may be given which,
however expressed and whether or not conforming to any prescribed
form, indicates the intention of the consumer to cancel the contract, the
notice of cancellation shall operate to cancel the contract.119

(4) Except as otherwise provided under this Part, a contract cancelled under
subsection (3) shall be treated as if it had never been entered into by the
consumer.
(5) Notwithstanding anything in section 41 of the Interpretation Act 1976, a
notice of cancellation sent by post by a consumer shall be deemed to
have been served at the time of posting, whether or not it is actually
received.
47A Failure to provide notice of cancellation rights

[SI87/2117/4A, 4D; SI98/3050/2]
(1) A trader is guilty of an offence if he enters into a relevant contract with a
consumer but fails to deliver to the consumer the notice in writing
referred to in section 47(1) in accordance with subsection (2).120

(2) A notice is delivered in accordance with this subsection if it —
(a) contains what is required by section 47(1); and
(b) complies with the requirements of section 47(2).
(c) [Repealed]121

(3) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable —
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 47


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 51

(a) on conviction on information to custody for a term not exceeding
2 years, a fine or both;
(b) on summary conviction, to custody for a term not exceeding 6
months, a fine not exceeding £10,000 or both.122

(4) [Repealed]123
124

47B Defence of due diligence

[SI87/2117/4B; SI98/3050/2]
(1) In proceedings against any person for an offence under section 46A or
47A it shall be a defence for that person to show that he took all
reasonable steps and exercised all due diligence to avoid committing the
offence.125

(2) Where in proceedings against a person for such an offence the defence
provided for by subsection (1) involves an allegation that the commission
of the offence was due —
(a) to the act or default of another, or
(b) to reliance on information given by another,
that person shall not, without the leave of the court, be entitled to rely on
the defence unless he has served a notice under subsection (3) on the
person bringing the proceedings not less than 7 clear days before the
hearing of the proceedings.
(3) A notice under this subsection shall give such information identifying or
assisting in the identification of the person who committed the act or
default or gave the information as is in the possession of the person
serving the notice at the time when he serves it.126

47C Liability of persons other than the principal offender

[SI87/2117/4C; SI98/3050/2]
(1) Where the commission by a person of an offence under section 46A or
47A is due to the act or default of some other person, that other person is
guilty of the offence and may be proceeded against and punished by
virtue of this section whether or not proceedings are taken against the
first-mentioned person.127

(2) Where a body corporate is guilty of an offence under section 46A or 47A
in respect of any act or default which is shown to have been committed
with the consent or connivance of, or to be attributable to any neglect on
the part of, any director, manager, secretary or other similar officer of the
body corporate or any person who was purporting to act in any such
capacity he, as well as the body corporate, shall be guilty of that offence
and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly.128

Section 47 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 52 AT 11 of 1991 c

(3) Where the affairs of a body corporate are managed by its members,
subsection (2) shall apply in relation to the acts and defaults of a member
in connection with his functions of management as if he were a director
of the body corporate.129

47CA Test purchases

OFT may make such purchases of goods, and secure the provision of such
services, as may appear expedient for the purpose of determining whether or
not the provisions of this Part are being complied with.130

47D Enforcement powers

[SI87/2117/4E, 4H; SI98/3050/2]
(1) If an officer of OFT has reasonable grounds for suspecting that an offence
has been committed under section 46A or 47A, he may
(a) require a person carrying on or employed in a business to
produce any book, document or record in non-documentary form
relating to the business, and take copies of it or any entry in it, or
(b) require such a person to produce in a visible and legible
documentary form any information so relating which is contained
in a computer, and take copies of it,
for the purposes of ascertaining whether such an offence has been
committed.131

(2) If such an officer has reasonable grounds for believing that any books,
documents or records may be required as evidence in proceedings for
such an offence, he may seize and detain them and shall, if he does so,
inform the person from whom they are seized.
(3) The powers of an officer under this section may be exercised by him only
at a reasonable hour and on production (if required) of his credentials.
(4) Nothing in this section requires a person to produce, or authorises the
taking from a person of, a book, document or record which he could not
be compelled to produce in civil proceedings before the High Court.
(5) Nothing in this section or section 47E requires a person to answer any
question or give any information if to do so might incriminate him.
(6) In this section “document” includes information recorded in any form.132

(7) The reference in subsection (1) to production of documents is, in the case
of a document which contains information recorded otherwise than in a
legible form, a reference to the production of a copy of the information in
a legible form.133
134

Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 47


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 53

47E Obstruction of OFT’s officers
135

[SI87/2117/4F; SI98/3050/2]
(1) A person who —
(a) intentionally obstructs an officer of OFT acting in pursuance of his
functions under this Part,136

(b) without reasonable cause fails to comply with the requirement
made of him by section 47D(1), or
(c) without reasonable excuse fails to give an officer of OFT acting in
pursuance of his functions under this Part any other assistance or
information which the officer has reasonably required of him for
the purpose of the performance of the officer’s functions under
this Part,137

is guilty of an offence.
(2) If a person, in giving information to an officer of OFT who is acting in
pursuance of his functions under this Part —
(a) makes a statement which he knows is false in a material
particular, or
(b) recklessly makes a statement which is false in a material
particular,
he is guilty of an offence.138

(3) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) or (2) is liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.139

47F Restrictions on disclosure of information

[SI87/2117/4G; SI98/3050/2]
(1) If a person discloses to another any information obtained in the exercise
of his functions under section 47D, he is guilty of an offence unless the
information has already been disclosed in any civil or criminal
proceedings or the disclosure is made
(a) in or for the purpose of the performance by him or any other
person of any such function, or
(b) for a purpose specified in section 34(2)(a) or (b) or in the
circumstances or for a purpose described in section 34(2)(c).
(2) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable on summary
conviction to a fine not exceeding £1,000.140

Section 48 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 54 AT 11 of 1991 c

48 Recovery of money paid by consumer

[SI87/2117/5]
(1) Subject to section 50(2), on the cancellation of a contract under section 47
any sum paid by or on behalf of the consumer under or in contemplation
of the contract shall become repayable.
(2) If under the terms of the cancelled contract the consumer or any person
on his behalf is in possession of any goods, he shall have a lien on them
for any sum repayable to him under subsection (1).
(3) Where any security has been provided in relation to the cancelled
contract, the security, so far as it is so provided, shall be treated as never
having had effect and any property lodged with the trader solely for the
purposes of the security as so provided shall be returned by him
forthwith.
49 Repayment of credit

[SI87/2117/6; SI88/958/2]
(1) Notwithstanding the cancellation of a contract under section 47 under
which credit is provided, the contract shall continue in force so far as it
relates to repayment of credit and payment of interest.
(2) If, following the cancellation of the contract, the consumer repays the
whole or a portion of the credit —
(a) before the expiry of one month following service of the notice of
cancellation, or
(b) in the case of a credit repayable by instalments, before the date on
which the first instalment is due,
no interest shall be payable on the amount repaid.
(3) If the whole of a credit repayable by instalments is not repaid on or
before the date specified in subsection (2)(b), the consumer shall not be
liable to repay any of the credit except on receipt of a request in writing
signed by the trader stating the amounts of the remaining instalments
(recalculated by the trader as nearly as may be in accordance with the
contract and without extending the repayment period), but excluding
any sum other than principal and interest.
(4) Repayment of a credit, or payment of interest, under a cancelled contract
shall be treated as duly made if it is made to any person on whom, under
section 47(3) a notice of cancellation could have been served.
(5) Where any security has been provided in relation to the contract, the
duty imposed on the consumer by this section shall not be enforceable
before the trader has discharged any duty imposed on him by
section 48(3).
(6) In this section —
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 50


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 55

“cash” includes money in any form;
“credit” means a cash loan and any facility enabling the consumer to
overdraw on a current account;
“current account” means an account under which the customer may, by
means of cheques or similar orders payable to himself or to any
other person, obtain or have the use of money held or made
available by the person with whom the account is kept and which
records alterations in the financial relationship between the said
person and the customer; and
“repayment”, in relation to credit, means the repayment of money —
(a) paid to a consumer before the cancellation of the contract; or
(b) to the extent that he has overdrawn on his current account before
the cancellation.
50 Return of goods by consumer after cancellation

[SI87/2117/7]
(1) Subject to subsection (2), a consumer who has before cancelling a
contract under section 47 acquired possession of any goods by virtue of
the contract shall be under a duty, subject to any lien, on the cancellation
to restore the goods to the trader in accordance with this section, and
meanwhile to retain possession of the goods and take reasonable care of
them.
(2) The consumer shall not be under a duty to restore —
(i) perishable goods;
(ii) goods which by their nature are consumed by use and
which before the cancellation, were so consumed;
(iii) goods supplied to meet an emergency; or
(iv) goods which, before the cancellation, had become
incorporated in any land or thing not comprised in the
cancelled contract,
but he shall be under a duty to pay in accordance with the cancelled
contract for the supply of the goods and for the provision of any services
in connection with the supply of the goods before the cancellation.
(3) The consumer shall not be under any duty to deliver the goods except at
his own premises and in pursuance of a request in writing signed by the
trader and served on the consumer either before, or at the time when, the
goods are collected from those premises.
(4) If the consumer —
(a) delivers the goods (whether at his own premises or elsewhere) to
any person on whom, under section 47(3), a notice of cancellation
could have been served; or
Section 51 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 56 AT 11 of 1991 c

(b) sends the goods at his own expense to such a person,
he shall be discharged from any duty to retain possession of the goods or
restore them to the trader.
(5) Where the consumer delivers the goods as mentioned in subsection
(4)(a), his obligation to take care of the goods shall cease; and if he sends
the goods as mentioned in subsection (4)(b), he shall be under a duty to
take reasonable care to see that they are received by the trader and not
damaged in transit, but in other respects his duty to take care of the
goods shall cease.
(6) Where, at any time during the period of 21 days following the
cancellation, the consumer receives such a request as is mentioned in
subsection (3) and unreasonably refuses or unreasonably fails to comply
with it, his duty to retain possession and take reasonable care of the
goods shall continue until he delivers or sends the goods as mentioned in
subsection (4), but if within that period he does not receive such a
request his duty to take reasonable care of the goods shall cease at the
end of that period.
(7) Where any security has been provided in relation to the cancelled
contract, the duty imposed on the consumer to restore goods by this
section shall not be enforceable before the trader has discharged any
duty imposed on him by section 48(3).
(8) Breach of a duty imposed by this section on a consumer is actionable as a
breach of statutory duty.
51 Goods given in part-exchange

[SI87/2117/8]
(1) This section applies on the cancellation of a contract under section 47
where the trader agreed to take goods in part-exchange (the “part-
exchange goods”) and those goods have been delivered to him.
(2) Unless, before the end of the period of 10 days beginning with the date of
cancellation, the part-exchange goods are returned to the consumer in a
condition substantially as good as when they were delivered to the
trader, the consumer shall be entitled to recover from the trader a sum
equal to the part-exchange allowance.
(3) During the period of 10 days beginning with the date of cancellation, the
consumer, if he is in possession of goods to which the cancelled contract
relates, shall have a lien on them for —
(a) delivery of the part-exchange goods in a condition substantially as
good as when they were delivered to the trader; or
(b) a sum equal to the part-exchange allowance;
and if the lien continues to the end of that period it shall thereafter
subsist only as a lien for a sum equal to the part-exchange allowance.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 52


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 57

(4) In this section the “part-exchange allowance” means the sum agreed as
such in the cancelled contract, or if no such sum was agreed, such sum as
it would have been reasonable to allow in respect of the part-exchange
goods if no notice of cancellation had been served.
52 No contracting-out

(1) A term contained in a contract is void if, and to the extent that, it
purports to disapply this Part (or any of its provisions) if this Part would
otherwise apply.
(2) A term contained in a relevant contract is void if, and to the extent that, it
would —
(a) make the proper law of the contract the law of a place outside the
Island; or
(b) require any matter to be determined otherwise than by arbitration
or by the Manx courts.
(3) For the purposes of subsection (2)(b) —
“arbitration” is to be construed in accordance with the Arbitration Act 1976; and
“the Manx courts” means —
(a) the High Court;
(b) the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council; and
(c) the Court of Justice of the European Communities.141

53 Interpretation of Part VII

[SI87/2117/2]
(1) In this Part —
“arbitration
” means arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration Act 1976;142

“charge on land
” [Repealed]143

“consumer
” means an individual who in making a relevant contract is acting
for purposes which can be regarded as outside his or her business;144

“notice of cancellation
” has the meaning given by section 47(3);
“relevant contract
” has the meaning given in section 46(1);145

“security
” in relation to a contract means a mortgage, charge, pledge, bond,
debenture, indemnity, guarantee, bill, note or other right provided by the
consumer, or at his request (express or implied), to secure the carrying
out of his obligations under the contract;
“solicited visit
” has the meaning given in subsection (1A) (and “unsolicited

visit
” shall be construed accordingly);146

“telephone call
” includes —
Section 53 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 58 AT 11 of 1991 c

(a) any form of voice communication by means of a
telecommunication system;
(b) any form of communication comprising or including the
transmission of sound by means of the internet;147

“trader
” means a person who, in making a relevant contract, is acting in his or
her business capacity and includes anyone acting in the name or on
behalf of the trader;148

“unsolicited visit
” see the definition of “solicited visit
” above.149

(1A) A “solicited visit
” is a visit by a trader, whether or not he or she is the
trader who supplies the goods or services, to a consumer’s home or place
of work or to the home of another individual, which is made at the
express request of the consumer.
But neither of the following is a solicited visit —
(a) a visit by a trader which is made after he or she, or a person acting
in his or her name or on his or her behalf —
(i) contacts the consumer (otherwise than at the consumer’s
express request) and indicates during the course of the
contact (either expressly or by implication) that he or she,
or the trader in whose name or on whose behalf he or she
is acting, is willing to visit the consumer; or
(ii) visits the consumer (otherwise than at the consumer’s
express request) and indicates during the course of that
visit (either expressly or by implication) that he or she, or
the trader in whose name or on whose behalf he or she is
acting, is willing to make a subsequent visit to the
consumer;
(b) a visit during which a contract is made which relates to goods or
services which are materially different, either in nature or
quantity, from those originally requested by the consumer.150

(1B) For the purposes of subsection (1A)(a) a visit is not solicited by virtue of
the contact or visit being preceded by advertising material which the
trader has delivered, or has caused to be delivered to the —
(a) consumer’s home;
(b) consumer’s place of work; or
(c) home of another individual.151

(1C) For the purposes of this section —
“advertising” means any form of representation which is made in connection
with a business in order to promote the supply or transfer of a product or
service; and
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 54


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 59

“contact” includes (without limiting the breadth of that word) contacting by
telephone or by means of an electronic communication within the
meaning of section 12 of the Electronic Transactions Act 2000.152

(2) Any provision in this Part requiring a document to be signed shall be
complied with by a body corporate if the document is properly executed
under its common seal.
PART VIII - TITLE TO MOTOR VEHICLES

54 Protection of purchaser of motor vehicle

[P1964/53/27]
(1) This section applies where a motor vehicle has been bailed under a hire-
purchase agreement, or has been agreed to be sold under a conditional
sale agreement, and before the property in the vehicle has become vested
in the bailee or buyer, he disposes of the vehicle to another person.
(2) Where the disposition referred to in subsection (1) is to a private
purchaser, and he is a purchaser of the motor vehicle in good faith
without notice of the hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale
agreement, that disposition shall have effect as if the title of the owner or
seller to the vehicle had been vested in the hirer or buyer immediately
before that disposition.
(3) Where the person to whom the disposition referred to in subsection (1) is
made (“the original purchaser”) is a trade or finance purchaser, then if
the person who is the first private purchaser of the motor vehicle after
that disposition (“the first private purchaser”) is a purchaser of the
vehicle in good faith without notice of the hire-purchase agreement or
conditional sale agreement, the disposition of the vehicle to the first
private purchaser shall have effect as if the title of the owner or seller to
the vehicle had been vested in the hirer or buyer immediately before he
disposed of it to the original purchaser.
(4) Where, in a case within subsection (3) —
(a) the disposition by which the first private purchaser becomes a
purchaser of the motor vehicle in good faith without notice of the
hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement is itself a
letting under a hire-purchase agreement, and
(b) the person who is the owner in relation to that agreement
disposes of the vehicle to the first private purchaser, or a person
claiming under him, by way of transferring to him the property in
the vehicle in pursuance of a provision in the agreement in that
behalf,
the disposition referred to in paragraph (b) (whether the person to whom
it is made is a purchaser in good faith without notice of the original hire-
Section 55 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 60 AT 11 of 1991 c

purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement or not) shall, as well
as the disposition referred to in paragraph (a), have effect as mentioned
in subsection (3).
(5) This section applies —
(a) notwithstanding anything in section 21 of the Sale of Goods Act
1983 (sale of goods by person not the owner), but
(b) without prejudice to the Mercantile Agents Act 1983 or any other
enactment enabling the apparent owner of goods to dispose of
them as if he were the true owner.
(6) Nothing in this section exonerates the hirer or buyer from any liability
(whether criminal or civil) to which he would be subject apart from this
section; and in a case where the hirer or buyer disposes of the motor
vehicle to a trade or finance purchaser, nothing in this section
exonerates —
(a) that trade or finance purchaser, or
(b) any other trade or finance purchaser who becomes a purchaser of
the vehicle and is not a person claiming under the first private
purchaser,
from any liability (whether criminal or civil) to which he would be
subject apart from this section.
55 Presumptions relating to dealings with motor vehicles

[P1964/53/28]
(1) Where in any proceedings (whether criminal or civil) relating to a motor
vehicle it is proved —
(a) that the vehicle was let under a hire-purchase agreement or was
agreed to be sold under a conditional sale agreement, and
(b) that a person (whether a party to the proceedings or not) became
a private purchaser of the vehicle in good faith without notice of
the hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale agreement,
this section shall have effect for the purposes of the operation of
section 54 in relation to those proceedings.
(2) It shall be presumed for those purposes, unless the contrary is proved,
that the disposition of the vehicle to the person referred to in subsection
(1)(b) ( “the relevant purchaser”) was made by the hirer or buyer.
(3) If it is proved that that disposition was not made by the hirer or buyer,
then it shall be presumed for those purposes, unless the contrary is
proved —
(a) that the hirer or buyer disposed of the vehicle to a private
purchaser who was a purchaser of the vehicle in good faith and
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 56


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 61

without notice of the hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale
agreement, and
(b) that the relevant purchaser is or was a person claiming under the
person to whom the hirer or buyer so disposed of the vehicle.
(4) If it is proved that that disposition was not made by the hirer or buyer,
and that the person to whom the hirer or buyer, disposed of the vehicle
(“the original purchaser”) was a trade or finance purchaser, then it shall
be presumed for those purposes, unless the contrary is proved —
(a) that the person who, after the disposition of the vehicle to the
original purchaser, first became a private purchaser of the vehicle
was a purchaser in good faith without notice of the hire-purchase
agreement or conditional sale agreement, and
(b) that the relevant purchaser is or was a person claiming under the
original purchaser.
(5) Without prejudice to any other method of proof, where in any
proceedings a party thereto admits a fact, that fact shall, for the purposes
of this section, be taken as against him to be proved in relation to those
proceedings.
56 Interpretation of Part VIII

[P1964/53/29]
(1) In this Part —
“disposition
” means any sale or contract of sale (including a conditional sale
agreement), any bailment under a hire-purchase agreement and any
transfer of the property in goods in pursuance of a provision in that
behalf contained in a hire-purchase agreement, and includes any
transaction purporting to be a disposition (as so defined), and “dispose

of
” shall be construed accordingly;
“the hirer or buyer
” —
(a) in relation to a motor vehicle which has been let under a hire-
purchase agreement, means the person who at the material time
(whether the agreement has before that time been terminated or
not) is the hirer in relation to that agreement for the purposes of
the Hire Purchase Act 1939, including a person who at that time is,
by virtue of section 14(1) of that Act, deemed to be a bailee of the
vehicle as therein mentioned;
(b) in relation to a motor vehicle which has been agreed to be sold
under a conditional sale agreement, means the person who at the
material time (whether the agreement has before that time been
terminated or not) is the buyer in relation to that agreement for
the purposes of paragraph 6(2) of Schedule 1 to the Hire Purchase
Act 1973, including a person who at that time is, by virtue of
section 14(1) of the Hire Purchase Act 1939 as modified by
Section 56 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 62 AT 11 of 1991 c

paragraph 4 of that Schedule, deemed to be in possession of the
vehicle as therein mentioned;
“private purchaser
” means a purchaser who, at the time of the disposition
made to him, does not carry on a business referred to in the following
definition;
“trade or finance purchaser
” means a purchaser who, at the time of the
disposition made to him, carries on a business which consists wholly or
partly —
(a) of purchasing motor vehicles for the purpose of offering or
exposing them for sale, or
(b) of providing finance by purchasing motor vehicles for the
purpose of bailing them under hire-purchase agreements or
agreeing to sell them under conditional sale agreements.
(2) For the purposes of this Part a person becomes a purchaser of a motor
vehicle if, and at the time when, a disposition of the vehicle is made to
him; and a person shall be taken to be a purchaser of a motor vehicle
without notice of a hire-purchase agreement or conditional sale
agreement if, at the time of the disposition made to him, he has no actual
notice that the vehicle is or was the subject of any hire-purchase
agreement or conditional sale agreement.
(3) In this Part any reference to the title of the owner or seller to a motor
vehicle which has been let under a hire-purchase agreement, or agreed to
be sold under a conditional sale agreement, and is disposed of by the
hirer or buyer, is a reference to such title (if any) to the vehicle as,
immediately before that disposition, was vested in the person who was
then the owner in relation to the hire-purchase agreement, or the seller in
relation to the conditional sale agreement, as the case may be.
PART VIIIA - DISTANCE SELLING
153

57A Contracts to which this Part applies

(1) In this Part “distance contract
” means any contract concerning goods or
services concluded between a supplier and a consumer under an
organised distance sales or service provision scheme run by the supplier
who, for the purpose of the contract, makes exclusive use of one or more
means of distance communication up to and including the moment at
which the contract is concluded.
(2) This Part applies to any distance contract other than a contract —
(a) for the sale or other disposition of an interest in land, except a
tenancy for a term greater than one year;
(b) for the construction of a building where the contract also provides
for a sale or other disposition of an interest in land on which the
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 56


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 63

building is constructed, except a tenancy for a term greater than
one year;
(c) relating to financial services;
(d) concluded by means of an automated vending machine or
automated commercial premises;
(e) concluded with a telecommunications operator through the use of
a public pay-phone;
(f) concluded at an auction.
(3) Sections 57B to 57L do not apply to a contract which is a timeshare
agreement within the meaning of the Timeshare Act 1996 and to which
Chapter I of Part 1 of that Act applies.
(4) Sections 57B to 57K and 57L(1) do not apply to —
(a) contracts for the supply of food, beverages or other goods
intended for everyday consumption supplied to the consumer’s
residence or to his workplace by regular roundsmen; or
(b) contracts for the provision of accommodation, transport, catering
or leisure services, where the supplier undertakes, when the
contract is concluded, to provide these services on a specific date
or within a specific period.
(5) This Part does not apply to a relevant contract made in the circumstances
set out in section 46(1)(c).154
155

57B Prior information

(1) Subject to subsection (4), in good time before the conclusion of a contract
to which this Part applies the supplier shall —
(a) provide to the consumer the following information —
(i) the identity of the supplier and, where the contract
requires payment in advance, the supplier’s address;
(ii) a description of the main characteristics of the goods or
services;
(iii) the price of the goods or services including all taxes;
(iv) delivery costs where appropriate;
(v) the arrangements for payment, delivery or performance;
(vi) the existence of a right of cancellation except in the cases
referred to in section 57G;
(vii) the cost of using the means of distance communication
where it is calculated otherwise than at the basic rate;
(viii) the period for which the offer or the price remains
valid; and
Section 56 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 64 AT 11 of 1991 c

(ix) where appropriate, the minimum duration of the contract,
in the case of contracts for the supply of goods or services
to be performed permanently or recurrently;
(b) inform the consumer if he proposes, in the event of the goods or
services ordered by the consumer being unavailable, to provide
substitute goods or services (as the case may be) of equivalent
quality and price; and
(c) inform the consumer that the cost of returning any such substitute
goods to the supplier in the event of cancellation by the consumer
would be met by the supplier.
(2) The supplier shall ensure that the information required by subsection (1)
is provided in a clear and comprehensible manner appropriate to the
means of distance communication used, with due regard in particular to
the principles of good faith in commercial transactions and the principles
governing the protection of those who are unable to give their consent
such as minors.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), the supplier shall ensure that his commercial
purpose is made clear when providing the information required by
subsection (1).
(4) In the case of a telephone communication, the identity of the supplier
and the commercial purpose of the call shall be made clear at the
beginning of the conversation with the consumer.156

57C Written and additional information

(1) Subject to subsection (4), the supplier shall provide to the consumer in
writing, or in another durable medium which is available and accessible
to the consumer, the information referred to in subsection (2), either —
(a) prior to the conclusion of the contract, or
(b) thereafter, in good time and in any event —
(i) during the performance of the contract, in the case of
services; and
(ii) at the latest at the time of delivery where goods not for
delivery to third parties are concerned.
(2) The information required to be provided by subsection (1) is —
(a) the information set out in sub-paragraphs (i) to (vi) of section
57B(1)(a);
(b) information about the conditions and procedures for exercising
the right to cancel under section 57D, including —
(i) where a term of the contract requires (or the supplier
intends that it will require) that the consumer shall return
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 56


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 65

the goods to the supplier in the event of cancellation,
notification of that requirement; and
(ii) information as to whether the consumer or the supplier
would be responsible under this Part for the cost of
returning any goods to the supplier, or the cost of his
recovering them, if the consumer cancels the contract
under section 57D;
(c) the geographical address of the place of business of the supplier
to which the consumer may address any complaints;
(d) information about any after-sales services and guarantees; and
(e) the conditions for exercising any contractual right to cancel the
contract, where the contract is of an unspecified duration or a
duration exceeding one year.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), before the conclusion of a contract for the
supply of services, the supplier shall inform the consumer in writing or
in another durable medium which is available and accessible to the
consumer that, unless the parties agree otherwise, he will not be able to
cancel the contract under section 57D once the performance of the
services has begun with his agreement.
(4) In the case of a contract for the supply of services which are performed
through the use of a means of distance communication, where those
services are supplied on only one occasion and are invoiced by the
operator of the means of distance communication —
(a) subsections (1) to (3) do not apply, but
(b) the supplier shall take all necessary steps to ensure that a
consumer who is a party to such a contract is able to obtain the
supplier’s geographical address and the place of business to
which the consumer may address any complaints.
(5) In subsection (4) “operator”, in relation to a means of distance
communication, means any person whose business involves making one
or more means of distance communication available to suppliers.157

57D Right to cancel

(1) Subject to section 57G, if within the cancellation period set out in sections
57E and 57F, the consumer gives a notice of cancellation to the supplier,
or any other person previously notified by the supplier to the consumer
as a person to whom notice of cancellation may be given, the notice of
cancellation shall operate to cancel the contract.
(2) Except as otherwise provided by this Part, the effect of a notice of
cancellation is that the contract shall be treated as if it had not been
made.
Section 56 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 66 AT 11 of 1991 c

(3) For the purposes of this Part, a notice of cancellation is a notice in writing
or in another durable medium available and accessible to the supplier (or
to the other person to whom it is given) which, however expressed,
indicates the intention of the consumer to cancel the contract.
(4) A notice of cancellation given under this section by a consumer to a
supplier or other person is to be treated as having been properly given if
the consumer —
(a) leaves it at the address last known to the consumer and addressed
to the supplier or other person by name (in which case it is to be
taken to have been given on the day on which it was left);
(b) sends it by post to the address last known to the consumer and
addressed to the supplier or other person by name (in which case,
it is to be taken to have been given on the day on which it was
posted);
(c) sends it by facsimile to the business facsimile number last known
to the consumer (in which case it is to be taken to have been given
on the day on which it is sent); or
(d) sends it by electronic mail, to the business electronic mail address
last known to the consumer (in which case it is to be taken to have
been given on the day on which it is sent).
(5) Where a consumer gives a notice in accordance with subsection (4)(a) or
(b) to a supplier who is a body corporate or a partnership, the notice is to
be treated as having been properly given if —
(a) in the case of a body corporate, it is left at the address of, or sent
to, the secretary or clerk of that body; or
(b) in the case of a partnership, it is left with or sent to a partner or a
person having control or management of the partnership
business.158

57E Cancellation period: contracts for the supply of goods

(1) For the purposes of section 57D, the cancellation period in the case of
contracts for the supply of goods begins with the day on which the
contract is concluded and ends as provided in subsections (2) to (5).
(2) Where the supplier complies with section 57C(1) and (2), the cancellation
period ends on the expiry of the period of 7 working days beginning
with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the goods.
(3) Where a supplier who has not complied with section 57C(1) and (2)
provides to the consumer the information referred to in section 57C(2),
and does so in writing or in another durable medium available and
accessible to the consumer, within the period of 3 months beginning with
the day after the day on which the consumer receives the goods, the
cancellation period ends on the expiry of the period of 7 working days
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 56


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 67

beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the
information.
(4) Where neither subsection (2) nor subsection (3) applies, the cancellation
period ends on the expiry of the period of 3 months and 7 working days
beginning with the day after the day on which the consumer receives the
goods.
(5) In the case of contracts for goods for delivery to third parties, subsections
(2) to (4) apply as if the consumer had received the goods on the day on
which they were received by the third party.159

57F Cancellation period: contracts for the supply of services

(1) For the purposes of section 57D, the cancellation period in the case of
contracts for the supply of services begins with the day on which the
contract is concluded and ends as provided in paragraphs (2) to (4).
(2) Where the supplier complies with section 57C(1) to (3) on or before the
day on which the contract is concluded, the cancellation period ends on
the expiry of the period of 7 working days beginning with the day after
the day on which the contract is concluded.
(3) Where a supplier who has not complied with section 57C(1) to (3) on or
before the day on which the contract is concluded provides to the
consumer the information referred to in section 57C(2) and (3), and does
so in writing or in another durable medium available and accessible to
the consumer, within the period of 3 months beginning with the day
after the day on which the contract is concluded, the cancellation period
ends on the expiry of the period of 7 working days beginning with the
day after the day on which the consumer receives the information.
(4) Where neither subsection (2) nor (3) applies, the cancellation period ends
on the expiry of the period of 3 months and 7 working days beginning
with the day after the day on which the contract is concluded.160

57G Exceptions to the right to cancel

Unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the consumer will not have the right
to cancel the contract by giving notice of cancellation pursuant to section 57D in
respect of contracts —
(a) for the supply of services if the supplier has complied with section
57C(3) and performance of the contract has begun with the
consumer’s agreement before the end of the cancellation period
applicable under section 57F;
(b) for the supply of goods or services the price of which is
dependent on fluctuations in the financial market which cannot be
controlled by the supplier;
Section 56 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 68 AT 11 of 1991 c

(c) for the supply of goods made to the consumer’s specifications or
clearly personalised or which by reason of their nature cannot be
returned or are liable to deteriorate or expire rapidly;
(d) for the supply of audio or video recordings or computer software
if they are unsealed by the consumer;
(e) for the supply of newspapers, periodicals or magazines; or
(f) for gaming, betting or lottery services.161

57H Recovery of sums and return of security

(1) On the cancellation of a contract under section 57D, the supplier shall
reimburse any sum paid by or on behalf of the consumer under or in
relation to the contract to the person by whom it was made free of any
charge, less any charge made in accordance with subsection (5).
(2) The reference in subsection (1) to any sum paid on behalf of the
consumer includes any sum paid by a creditor who is not the same
person as the supplier under a personal credit agreement with the
consumer.
(3) The supplier shall make the reimbursement referred to in subsection (1)
as soon as possible and in any case within a period not exceeding 30 days
beginning with the day on which the notice of cancellation was given.
(4) Where any security has been provided in relation to the contract, the
security (so far as it is so provided) shall, on cancellation under section
57D, be treated as never having had effect and any property lodged with
the supplier solely for the purposes of the security as so provided shall
be returned by him forthwith.
(5) Subject to paragraphs (6) and (7), the supplier may make a charge, not
exceeding the direct costs of recovering any goods supplied under the
contract, where a term of the contract provides that the consumer must
return any goods supplied if he cancels the contract under section 57D
but the consumer does not comply with this provision or returns the
goods at the expense of the supplier.
(6) Subsection (5) does not apply where —
(a) the consumer cancels in circumstances where he has the right to
reject the goods under a term of the contract, including a term
implied by virtue of any statutory provision, or
(b) the term requiring the consumer to return any goods supplied if
he cancels the contract is an unfair term for the purposes of Part
V.
(7) Subsection (5) does not apply to the cost of recovering any goods which
were supplied as substitutes for the goods ordered by the consumer.162

Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 56


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 69

57I Cancellation of related credit agreement

(1) Where a notice of cancellation is given under section 57D which has the
effect of cancelling the contract, the giving of the notice shall also have
the effect of cancelling any related credit agreement.
(2) Where a related credit agreement is cancelled by virtue of subsection (1),
the supplier shall, if he is not the same person as the creditor under that
agreement, forthwith on receipt of the notice of cancellation inform the
creditor that the notice has been given.
(3) Where a related credit agreement is cancelled by virtue of subsection
(1) —
(a) any sum paid by or on behalf of the consumer under, or in
relation to, the credit agreement which the supplier is not obliged
to reimburse under section 57H(1) shall be reimbursed, except for
any sum which, if it had not already been paid, would have to be
paid under paragraph (b);
(b) the agreement shall continue in force so far as it relates to
repayment of the credit and payment of interest, subject to
subsections (5) to (7); and
(c) subject to paragraph (b), the agreement shall cease to be
enforceable.
(4) Where any security has been provided under a related credit agreement,
the security, so far as it is so provided, shall be treated as never having
had effect and any property lodged with the creditor solely for the
purposes of the security as so provided shall be returned by him
forthwith.
(5) If, following the cancellation of a related credit agreement by virtue of
subsection (1), the consumer repays the whole or a portion of the
credit —
(a) before the expiry of one month following the cancellation of the
credit agreement, or
(b) in the case of a credit repayable by instalments, before the date on
which the first instalment is due,
no interest shall be payable on the amount repaid.
(6) If, following the cancellation of a related credit agreement by virtue of
subsection (1), the whole of a credit repayable by instalments is not
repaid on or before the date referred to in subsection (5)(b), the consumer
shall not be liable to repay any of the credit except on receipt of a request
in writing, signed by the creditor, stating the amounts of the remaining
instalments (recalculated by the creditor as nearly as may be in
accordance with the agreement and without extending the repayment
period), but excluding any sum other than principal and interest.
Section 56 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 70 AT 11 of 1991 c

(7) Where any security has been provided under a related credit agreement
the duty imposed on the consumer to repay credit and to pay interest
shall not be enforceable before the creditor has discharged any duty
imposed on him by subsection (4) to return any property lodged with
him as security on cancellation.
(8) For the purposes of this section —
(a) “creditor” is a person who grants credit under a related credit
agreement;
(b) ”fixed sum credit” means credit available otherwise than on a
current or running account;
(c) a “related credit agreement” means an agreement under which
fixed sum credit which fully or partly covers the price under a
contract cancelled under section 57D is granted —
(i) by the supplier, or
(ii) by another person, under an arrangement between that
person and the supplier;
(d) “repayment”, in relation to credit, means repayment of money
received by the consumer, and cognate expressions shall be
construed accordingly; and
(e) “interest” means interest on money so received.163

57J Restoration of goods after cancellation

(1) This section applies where a contract is cancelled under section 57D after
the consumer has acquired possession of any goods under the contract
other than any goods mentioned in section 57G(b) to (e).
(2) The consumer shall be treated as having been under a duty throughout
the period before cancellation —
(a) to retain possession of the goods, and
(b) to take reasonable care of them.
(3) On cancellation, the consumer shall be under a duty to restore the goods
to the supplier in accordance with this section, and in the meanwhile to
retain possession of the goods and take reasonable care of them.
(4) The consumer shall not be under any duty to deliver the goods except at
his own premises and in pursuance of a request in writing, or in another
durable medium available and accessible to the consumer, from the
supplier and given to the consumer either before, or at the time when,
the goods are collected from those premises.
(5) If the consumer —
(a) delivers the goods (whether at his own premises or elsewhere) to
any person to whom, under section 57D(1), a notice of
cancellation could have been given; or
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 56


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 71

(b) sends the goods at his own expense to such a person,
he shall be discharged from any duty to retain possession of the goods or
restore them to the supplier.
(6) Where the consumer delivers the goods in accordance with subsection
(5)(a), his obligation to take care of the goods shall cease; and if he sends
the goods in accordance with subsection (5)(b), he shall be under a duty
to take reasonable care to see that they are received by the supplier and
not damaged in transit, but in other respects his duty to take care of the
goods shall cease when he sends them.
(7) Where, at any time during the period of 21 days beginning with the day
notice of cancellation was given, the consumer —
(a) receives such a request as is mentioned in subsection (4), and
(b) unreasonably refuses or unreasonably fails to comply with it,
his duty to retain possession and take reasonable care of the goods shall
continue until he delivers or sends the goods as mentioned in
subsection (5), but if within that period he does not receive such a
request his duty to take reasonable care of the goods shall cease at the
end of that period.
(8) Where —
(a) a term of the contract provides that if the consumer cancels the
contract, he must return the goods to the supplier, and
(b) the consumer is not otherwise entitled to reject the goods under
the terms of the contract or by virtue of any statutory provision,
subsection (7) applies as if for the period of 21 days there were
substituted the period of 6 months.
(9) Where any security has been provided in relation to the cancelled
contract, the duty to restore goods imposed on the consumer by this
section shall not be enforceable before the supplier has discharged any
duty imposed on him by section 57H(4) to return any property lodged
with him as security on cancellation.
(10) Breach of a duty imposed by this section on a consumer is actionable as a
breach of statutory duty.164

57K Goods given in part-exchange

(1) This section applies on the cancellation of a contract under section 57D
where the supplier agreed to take goods in part-exchange (the “part-
exchange goods”) and those goods have been delivered to him.
(2) Unless, before the end of the period of 10 days beginning with the date of
cancellation, the part-exchange goods are returned to the consumer in a
condition substantially as good as when they were delivered to the
Section 56 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 72 AT 11 of 1991 c

supplier, the consumer shall be entitled to recover from the supplier a
sum equal to the part-exchange allowance.
(3) In this section the part-exchange allowance means the sum agreed as
such in the cancelled contract, or if no such sum was agreed, such sum as
it would have been reasonable to allow in respect of the part-exchange
goods if no notice of cancellation had been served.
(4) Where the consumer recovers from the supplier a sum equal to the part-
exchange allowance, the title of the consumer to the part-exchange goods
shall vest in the supplier (if it has not already done so) on recovery of
that sum.165

57L Performance

(1) Unless the parties agree otherwise, the supplier shall perform the
contract within a maximum of 30 days beginning with the day after the
day the consumer sent his order to the supplier.
(2) Subject to paragraphs (7) and (8), where the supplier is unable to perform
the contract because the goods or services ordered are not available,
within the period for performance referred to in subsection (1) or such
other period as the parties agree (“the period for performance”), he
shall —
(a) inform the consumer; and
(b) reimburse any sum paid by or on behalf of the consumer under or
in relation to the contract to the person by whom it was made.
(3) The reference in subsection (2)(b) to any sum paid on behalf of the
consumer includes any sum paid by a creditor who is not the same
person as the supplier under a personal credit agreement with the
consumer.
(4) The supplier shall make the reimbursement referred to in subsection
(2)(b) as soon as possible and in any event within a period of 30 days
beginning with the day after the day on which the period for
performance expired.
(5) A contract which has not been performed within the period for
performance shall be treated as if it had not been made, save for any
rights or remedies which the consumer has under it as a result of the
non-performance.
(6) Where any security has been provided in relation to the contract, the
security (so far as it is so provided) shall, where the supplier is unable to
perform the contract within the period for performance, be treated as
never having had any effect and any property lodged with the supplier
solely for the purposes of the security as so provided shall be returned by
him forthwith.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 56


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 73

(7) Where the supplier is unable to supply the goods or services ordered by
the consumer, the supplier may perform the contract for the purposes of
this Part by providing substitute goods or services (as the case may be) of
equivalent quality and price provided that —
(a) this possibility was provided for in the contract;
(b) before the conclusion of the contract the supplier gave the
consumer the information required by section 57B(1)(b) and (c) in
the manner required by section 57B(2).
(8) In the case of outdoor leisure events which by their nature cannot be
rescheduled, subsection 2(b) does not apply where the consumer and the
supplier so agree.
(9) Where a supplier is unable to perform the contract within the period for
performance —
(a) section 57I applies to any related credit agreement as if the
consumer had given a valid notice of cancellation under section
57D on the expiry of the period for performance; and
(b) the reference in section 57I(3)(a) to section 57H(1) shall be read,
for the purposes of this subsection, as a reference to
subsection (2).166

57M No contracting-out

(1) A term contained in any contract to which this Part applies is void if, and
to the extent that, it is inconsistent with a provision for the protection of
the consumer contained in this Part.
(2) Where a provision of this Part specifies a duty or liability of the
consumer in certain circumstances, a term contained in a contract to
which this Part applies, other than a term to which subsection (3) applies,
is inconsistent with that provision if it purports to impose, directly or
indirectly, an additional duty or liability on him in those circumstances.
(3) A term which requires the consumer to return any goods supplied to him
under the contract if he cancels it under section 57D has effect, in the
event of cancellation by the consumer under section 57D, only for the
purposes of sections 57H(5) and 57J(8).
(4) This Part applies notwithstanding any contract term which applies or
purports to apply the law of a country outside the Island if the contract
has a close connection with the Island.167

57N Supplemental

(1) In this Part —
“consumer
” means any natural person who, in contracts to which this Part
applies, is acting for purposes which are outside his business;
Section 57 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 74 AT 11 of 1991 c

“credit
” includes a cash loan and any other form of financial accommodation,
and for this purpose “cash
” includes money in any form;
“distance contract
” has the meaning given by section 57A(1);
“financial services
” means services which consist of, include or relate to —
(a) a collective investment scheme;
(b) investment business under the Financial Services Act 2008;168

(c) deposit taking under the Financial Services Act 2008;169

(d) insurance business within the meaning of the Insurance Act
2008;170

(e) credit business within the meaning of Part II of the Moneylenders
Act 1991;
(f) a business which would be a credit business if the person carrying
it on were not an exempt person (expressions in this paragraph
having the same meaning as in Part II of the Moneylenders Act
1991);
(g) a pension scheme within the meaning of section 1 of the Pension
Schemes Act 1995.
“means of distance communication
” means any means which, without the
simultaneous physical presence of the supplier and the consumer, may
be used for the conclusion of a contract between those parties;
“personal credit agreement
” means an agreement between a consumer and any
other person (“the creditor”) by which the creditor provides the
consumer with credit of any amount;
“related credit agreement
” has the meaning given by section 57I(8);
“supplier
” means any person who, in contracts to which this Part applies, is
acting in his commercial or professional capacity; and
“working day
” means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or bank holiday.
(2) Sections 40B to 40E (complaints and injunctions) apply, with any
necessary modifications, to any contravention by a supplier of a
prohibition in, or failure to comply with a requirement of, this Part as
they apply to the use of unfair contract terms drawn up for general
use.171

PART IX – MISCELLANEOUS AND SUPPLEMENTAL

57 Functions of OFT
172

(1) Subject to subsection (2) and to any other enactment (including an
enactment contained in this Act), the function of OFT is to protect,
inform, advise, support and represent generally the interests of
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 58


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 75

consumers as such, and to provide information and advice to persons on
legislation for which it is responsible.173

(2) Where any Department, or any Statutory Board other than OFT, is
empowered or obliged by any enactment to enforce any statutory
requirement relating to goods or services, the function of OFT under
subsection (1) does not extend to any matter to which that requirement
relates.174

(3) In this section “consumer” means any individual —
(a) to whom goods or services are supplied in consideration of
money or money’s worth, or
(b) by whom goods or services so supplied are consumed or used,
otherwise than in the course of a business carried on by him.
(4) Section 1(2) of, and Schedule 1 to, the Board of Consumer Affairs Act 1981
shall cease to have effect.
58 Enforcement of trade mark provisions

[P1938/22/58D; P1988/48/300]
(1) It shall be the duty of OFT to enforce section 92 (unauthorised use of
trade mark etc. in relation to goods) of the Trade Marks Act 1994 (an Act
of Parliament).175

(2) The following provisions of the Consumer Protection (Trade Descriptions)
Act 1970 apply in relation to the enforcement of that section as in relation
to the enforcement of that Act —
section 27 (test purchases),
section 28 (powers of entry, inspection and seizure),
section 29 (obstruction) and
section 33 (compensation).
(3) Any enactment which authorises the disclosure of information for the
purpose of facilitating the enforcement of the said Act of 1970 shall apply
as if the said section 92 were contained in that Act and as if the functions
of any person in relation to the enforcement of that section were
functions under that Act.176

59 Financial provisions

[P1987/43/43]
(1) There shall be paid out of money provided by Tynwald —
(a) any expenses incurred or compensation payable by a Department
or a Statutory Board in consequence of any provision of this Act;
and
Section 60 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 76 AT 11 of 1991 c

(b) any increase attributable to this Act in the sums payable out of
money so provided under any other Act.
(2) Any sums received by a Department or a Statutory Board by virtue of
this Act shall be paid into the general revenue of the Island.
60 Interpretation: general

[P1987/43/45]
(1) In this Act —
“aircraft
” includes gliders, balloons and hovercraft;
“the Board
” [Repealed]177

“business
” includes a trade or profession and the activities of a professional or
trade association or of a local authority or other public authority;
“conditional sale agreement
” means an agreement for the sale of goods or land
under which the purchase price or part of it is payable by instalments,
and the property in the goods or land is to remain in the seller
(notwithstanding that the buyer is to be in possession of the goods or
land) until such conditions as to the payment of instalments or otherwise
as may be specified in the agreement are fulfilled;
“contravention
” includes a failure to comply and cognate expressions shall be
construed accordingly;
“credit sale agreement
” means an agreement for the sale of goods, under which
the purchase price or part of it is payable by instalments, but which is not
a conditional sale agreement;
“goods
” includes substances, growing crops and things comprised in land by
virtue of being attached to it and any ship, aircraft or vehicle;
“hire-purchase agreement
” means an agreement (other than a conditional sale
agreement) under which goods are bailed in return for periodical
payments by the person to whom they are bailed, and the property in the
goods will pass to that person if the terms of the agreement are complied
with and one or more of the following occurs —
(a) the exercise of an option to purchase by that person;
(b) the doing of any other specified act by any party to the agreement;
(c) the happening of any other specified event;
“information
” includes accounts, estimates and returns;
“mark
” and “trade mark
” have the same meanings as in the Trade Marks Act
1938 (an Act of Parliament);
“modifications
” includes additions, alterations and omissions, and cognate
expressions shall be construed accordingly;
“motor vehicle
” has the same meaning as in the Road Traffic Act 1985;
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 60


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 77

“notice
” means a notice in writing;
“notice to warn
” means a notice under section 11(1)(b);
“officer
” means a person authorised in writing to assist OFT in discharging its
functions under this Act;178

“OFT
” means the Isle of Man Office of Fair Trading;179

“personal injury
” includes any disease and any other impairment of a person’s
physical or mental condition;
“premises
” includes any place and any ship, aircraft or vehicle;
“prescribed
” means prescribed by regulations made by OFT;180

“prohibition notice
” means a notice under section 11(1)(a);
“records
” includes any books or documents and any records in non-
documentary form;
“safety provision
” means the general safety requirement in section 8 or any
provision of safety regulations, a prohibition notice or a suspension
notice;
“safety regulations
” means regulations under section 9;
“ship
” includes any boat and any other description of vessel used in navigation;
“substance
” means any natural or artificial substance, whether in solid, liquid
or gaseous form or in the form of a vapour, and includes substances that
are comprised in or mixed with other goods;
“supply
” and cognate expressions shall be construed in accordance with section
61;
“suspension notice
” means a notice under section 12.
(2) Except in so far as the context otherwise requires, references in this Act to
a contravention of a safety provision shall, in relation to any goods,
include references to anything which would constitute such a
contravention if the goods were supplied to any person.
(3) References in this Act to any goods in relation to which any safety
provision has been or may have been contravened shall include
references to any goods which it is not reasonably practicable to separate
from any such goods.
(4) Section 68(2) of the Trade Marks Act 1938 (an Act of Parliament)
(construction of references to use of a mark) shall apply for the purposes
of this Act as it applies for the purposes of that Act.
Section 61 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 78 AT 11 of 1991 c

61 Meaning of “supply”

[P1987/43/46]
(1) Subject to the following provisions of this section, references in this Act
to supplying goods shall be construed as references to doing any of the
following, whether as principal or agent —
(a) selling, hiring out or lending the goods;
(b) entering into a hire-purchase agreement to furnish the goods;
(c) the performance of any contract for work and materials to furnish
the goods;
(d) providing the goods in exchange for any consideration (including
trading stamps) other than money;
(e) providing the goods in or in connection with the performance of
any statutory function; or
(f) giving the goods as a prize or otherwise making a gift of the
goods;
and, in relation to gas or water, those references shall be construed as
including references to providing the service by which the gas or water is
made available for use.
(2) For the purposes of any reference in this Act to supplying goods, where a
person (“the ostensible supplier”) supplies goods to another person (“the
customer”) under a hire-purchase agreement, conditional sale agreement
or credit-sale agreement or under an agreement for the hiring of goods
(other than a hire-purchase agreement) and the ostensible supplier —
(a) carries on the business of financing the provision of goods for
others by means of such agreements; and
(b) in the course of that business acquired his interest in the goods
supplied to the customer as a means of financing the provision of
them for the customer by a further person (“the effective
supplier”),
the effective supplier and not the ostensible supplier shall be treated as
supplying the goods to the customer.
(3) Subject to subsection (4), the performance of any contract by the erection
of any building or structure on any land or by the carrying out of any
other building works shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as a
supply of goods in so far as, but only in so far as, it involves the
provision of any goods to any person by means of their incorporation
into the building, structure or works.
(4) Except for the purposes of, and in relation to, notices to warn or any
provision made by or under Part III, references in this Act to supplying
goods shall not include references to supplying goods comprised in land
where the supply is effected by the creation or disposal of an interest in
the land.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 62


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 79

(5) Except in Part I references in this Act to a person’s supplying goods shall
be confined to references to that person’s supplying goods in the course
of a business of his, but for the purposes of this subsection it shall be
immaterial whether the business is a business of dealing in the goods.
(6) For the purposes of subsection (5) goods shall not be treated as supplied
in the course of a business if they are supplied, in pursuance of an
obligation arising under or in connection with the insurance of the
goods, to the person with whom they were insured.
(7) Except for the purposes of, and in relation to, prohibition notices or
suspension notices, references in Parts II to IV to supplying goods shall
not include —
(a) references to supplying goods where the person supplied carries
on a business of buying goods of the same description as those
goods and repairing or reconditioning them;
(b) references to supplying goods by a sale of articles as scrap (that is
to say, for the value of materials included in the articles rather
than for the value of the articles themselves).
(8) Where any goods have at any time been supplied by being hired out or
lent to any person, neither a continuation or renewal of the hire or loan
(whether on the same or different terms) nor any transaction for the
transfer after that time of any interest in the goods to the person to whom
they were hired or lent shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as a
further supply of the goods to that person.
(9) A ship, aircraft, or motor vehicle shall not be treated for the purposes of
this Act as supplied to any person by reason only that services consisting
in the carriage of goods or passengers in that ship, aircraft or vehicle, or
in its use for any other purpose, are provided to that person in pursuance
of an agreement relating to the use of the ship, aircraft or vehicle for a
particular period or for particular voyages, flights or journeys.
62 Self-incrimination and legal professional privilege
181

[P1987/43/47]
(1) Nothing in this Act shall be taken as requiring any person to produce
any records if he would be entitled to refuse to produce those records in
any proceedings in any court on the grounds that they are the subject of
legal professional privilege or as authorising any person to take
possession of any records which are in the possession of a person who
would be so entitled.
(2) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as requiring a person to answer
any question or give any information if to do so would incriminate that
person or that person’s spouse or civil partner.182

62A Power to amend Act and apply certain subordinate legislation of the

Section 63 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 80 AT 11 of 1991 c

United Kingdom

(1) OFT may by order —
(a) modify this Act in such manner as appears to it expedient for the
purpose of making this Act correspond (subject to such
modifications as it considers appropriate) with the corresponding
legislation of the United Kingdom;
(b) apply to the Island as part of the law of the Island, subject to such
modifications as may be specified in the order, any subordinate
legislation of the United Kingdom concerning matters relating to
consumer protection.
(2) An order under subsection (1) may include provision repealing or
amending any provision of an enactment which is inconsistent with, or is
unnecessary or requires modification in consequence of, the order or any
subordinate legislation of the United Kingdom applied to the Island by
the order.
(3) An order under subsection (1)(b) may do all or any of the following —
(a) specify the modifications subject to which the subordinate
legislation of the United Kingdom applies to the Island;
(b) set out the subordinate legislation of the United Kingdom applied
by the order, incorporating the modifications subject to which it
applies to the Island;
(c) in the case of an order applying subordinate legislation of the
United Kingdom which amends previous subordinate legislation
of the United Kingdom applied to the Island, set out the previous
legislation so applied as amended, incorporating the
modifications subject to which that legislation applies to the
Island.
(4) In this section references to legislation of the United Kingdom includes
references to legislation applying in any part of the United Kingdom.183

63 Orders and regulations

(1) Orders and regulations under this Act (except an order under section
65(2)) shall not have effect unless they are approved by Tynwald.
(2) Orders and regulations under this Act may make such supplemental,
consequential and transitional provision as OFT considers appropriate.184

64 Transitional provisions, amendments and repeals

(1) The transitional provisions in Schedule 3 shall have effect.
(2) The enactments specified in Schedule 4 are amended in accordance with
that Schedule.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Section 65


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 81

(3) The enactments specified in Schedule 5 are repealed to the extent
specified in column 3 of that Schedule.
65 Short title and commencement

[P1987/43/Sch 1]
(1) This Act may be cited as the Consumer Protection Act 1991.
(2) Subject to subsection (3), this Act shall come into operation on such day
or days as the Board may by order appoint.185

(3) An order under subsection (2) shall not be made so as to bring into
operation the repeal of the Consumer Protection (Trade Descriptions) Act
1974, or of any provision of that Act, before the commencement of an
order under section 8 of the Consumer Protection (Trade Descriptions) Act
1970 requiring goods (other than goods of a description specified in the
order) to be marked with or accompanied by a statement as to the place
where they were manufactured or produced.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Schedule 1



c AT 11 of 1991 Page 83

Schedule 1

AMENDMENTS OF LIMITATION ACT 1984

Section 5 [P1987/43/Sch1]
[Sch 1 amends the following Act —
Limitation Act 1984 q.v.]
Schedule 2

PROHIBITION NOTICES AND NOTICES TO WARN

Section 11[P1987/43/Sch 2]
PART I – PROHIBITION NOTICES

1. A prohibition notice in respect of any goods shall —
(a) state that OFT considers that the goods are unsafe;186

(b) set out the reasons why OFT considers that the goods are
unsafe;187

(c) specify the day on which the notice is to come into force; and
(d) state that the trader may at any time make representations in
writing to OFT for the purpose of establishing that the goods are
safe.188

2. (1) If representations in writing about a prohibition notice are made by the
trader to OFT, OFT shall consider whether to revoke the notice and —
(a) if it decides to revoke it OFT shall do so;189

(b) in any other case OFT shall appoint a person to consider those
representations, any further representations made (whether in
writing or orally) by the trader about the notice and the
statements of any witnesses examined under this Part.190
191

(2) Where OFT has appointed a person to consider representations about a
prohibition notice it shall serve a notification on the trader which —
(a) states that the trader may make oral representations to the
appointed person for the purpose of establishing that the goods to
which the notice relates are safe; and
(b) specifies the place and time at which the oral representations may
be made.192

(3) The time specified in a notification served under subparagraph (2) shall
not be before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the day on which the
notification is served, unless the trader otherwise agrees.
Schedule 2 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 84 AT 11 of 1991 c

(4) A person on whom a notification has been served under sub-paragraph
(2) or his representative may, at the place and time specified in the notification —
(a) make oral representations to the appointed person for the purpose
of establishing that the goods in question are safe; and
(b) call and examine witnesses in connection with the
representations.
3. (1) Where representations in writing about a prohibition notice are made by
the trader to OFT at any time after a person has been appointed to consider
representations about that notice, then, whether or not the appointed person has made
a report to OFT, the following provisions of this paragraph shall apply instead of
paragraph 2.193

(2) OFT shall, before the end of the period of one month beginning with the
day on which it receives the representations, serve a notification on the trader which
states —
(a) that OFT has decided to revoke the notice, has decided to vary it
or, as the case may be, has decided neither to revoke nor to vary
it; or194

(b) that, a person having been appointed to consider representations
about the notice, the trader may, at a place and time specified in
the notification, make oral representations to the appointed
person for the purpose of establishing that the goods to which the
notice relates are safe.195

(3) The time specified in a notification served for the purposes of sub-
paragraph (2)(b) shall not be before the end of the period of 21 days beginning with the
day on which the notification is served, unless the trader otherwise agrees or the time
is the time already specified for the purposes of paragraph 2(2)(b).
(4) A person on whom a notification has been served for the purposes of
sub-paragraph (2)(b) or his representative may, at the place and time specified in the
notification —
(a) make oral representations to the appointed person for the purpose
of establishing that the goods in question are safe; and
(b) call and examine witnesses in connection with the
representations.
4. (1) Where a person is appointed to consider representations about a
prohibition notice he shall consider —
(a) any written representations made by the trader about the notice,
other than those in respect of which a notification is served under
paragraph 3(2)(a);
(b) any oral representations made under paragraph 2(4) or 3(4); and
(c) any statements made by witnesses in connection with the oral
representations,
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Schedule 2



c AT 11 of 1991 Page 85

and, after considering any matters under this paragraph, make a report
(including recommendations) to OFT about the matters considered by
him and the notice.196

(2) OFT shall consider any report made to it under subparagraph (1) and,
after considering the report, inform the trader of its decision with respect to the
prohibition notice to which the report relates.197

5. (1) OFT may revoke or vary a prohibition notice by serving on the trader a
notification stating that the notice is revoked or, as the case may be, is varied as
specified in the notification.198

(2) OFT shall not vary a prohibition notice so as to make the effect of the
notice more restrictive for the trader.199

(3) Without prejudice to the power conferred by section 11(2), the service of
a notification under sub-paragraph (1) shall be sufficient to satisfy the requirement of
paragraph 4(2) that the trader shall be informed of OFT’s decision.200

PART II – NOTICES TO WARN

6. (1) If OFT proposes to serve a notice to warn on any person in respect of any
goods, OFT, before it serves the notice, shall serve on that person a notification
which —
(a) contains a draft of the proposed notice;
(b) states that OFT proposes to serve a notice in the form of the draft
on that person;201

(c) states that OFT considers that the goods described in the draft are
unsafe;202

(d) sets out the reasons why OFT considers that those goods are
unsafe; and203

(e) states that that person may make representations to OFT for the
purpose of establishing that the goods are safe if, before the end of
the period of 14 days beginning with the day on which the
notification is served, he informs OFT —
(i) of his intention to make representations; and
(ii) whether the representations will be made only in writing
or both in writing and orally.204

(2) Where OFT has served a notification containing a draft of a proposed
notice to warn on any person, it shall not serve a notice to warn on that person in
respect of the goods to which the proposed notice relates unless —
(a) the period of 14 days beginning with the day on which the
notification was served expires without OFT being informed as
mentioned in sub-paragraph (1)(e);205

Schedule 2 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 86 AT 11 of 1991 c

(b) the period of 28 days beginning with that day expires without any
written representations being made by that person to OFT about
the proposed notice; or206

(c) OFT has considered a report about the proposed notice by a
person appointed under paragraph 7(1).207
208

7. (1) Where a person on whom a notification containing a draft of a proposed
notice to warn has been served —
(a) informs OFT as mentioned in paragraph 6(1)(e) before the end of
the period of 14 days beginning with the day on which the
notification was served; and209

(b) makes written representations to OFT about the proposed notice
before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with that day,210

OFT shall appoint a person to consider those representations, any further
representations made by that person about the draft notice and the
statements of any witnesses examined under this Part.211

(2) Where —
(a) OFT has appointed a person to consider representations about a
proposed notice to warn; and212

(b) the person whose representations are to be considered has
informed OFT for the purposes of paragraph 6(1)(e) that the
representations he intends to make will include oral
representations,213

OFT shall inform the person intending to make the representations of the
place and time at which oral representations may be made to the
appointed person.214

(3) Where a person on whom a notification containing a draft of a proposed
notice to warn has been served is informed of a time for the purposes of sub-paragraph
(2) that time shall not be —
(a) before the end of the period of 28 days beginning with the day on
which the notification was served; or
(b) before the end of the period of 7 days beginning with the day on
which that person is informed of the time.
(4) A person who has been informed of a place and time for the purposes of
sub-paragraph (2) or his representative may, at that place and time —
(a) make oral representations to the appointed person for the purpose
of establishing that the goods to which the proposed notice relates
are safe; and
(b) call and examine witnesses in connection with the
representations.
8. (1) Where a person is appointed to consider representations about a
proposed notice to warn, he shall consider —
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Schedule 2



c AT 11 of 1991 Page 87

(a) any written representations made by the person on whom it is
proposed to serve the notice; and
(b) in a case where a place and time has been appointed under
paragraph 7(2) for oral representations to be made by that person
or his representative, any representations so made and any
statements made by witnesses in connection with those
representations,
and, after considering those matters, make a report (including
recommendations) to OFT about the matters considered by him and the
proposal to serve the notice.215

(2) OFT shall consider any report made to it under subparagraph (1) and,
after considering the report, inform the person on whom it was proposed that a notice
to warn should be served of its decision with respect to the proposal.216

(3) If at any time after serving a notification on a person under paragraph 6
OFT decides not to serve on that person either the proposed notice to warn or that
notice with modifications, OFT shall inform that person of the decision; and nothing
done for the purposes of any of the preceding provisions of this Part before that person
was so informed shall —
(a) entitle OFT subsequently to serve the proposed notice or that
notice with modifications; or217

(b) require OFT, or any person appointed to consider representations
about the proposed notice, subsequently to do anything in respect
of, or in consequence of, any such representations.218
219

(4) Where a notification containing a draft of a proposed notice to warn is
served on a person in respect of any goods, a notice to warn served on him in
consequence of a decision made under subparagraph (2) shall either be in the form of
the draft or shall be less onerous than the draft.
9. OFT may revoke a notice to warn by serving on the person on whom the notice
was served a notification stating that the notice is revoked.220

PART III – GENERAL

10. (1) Where in a notification served on any person under this Schedule OFT
has appointed a time for the making of oral representations or the examination of
witnesses it may, by giving that person such notification as OFT considers appropriate,
change that time to a later time or appoint further times at which further
representations may be made or the examination of witnesses may be continued; and
paragraphs 2(4), 3(4) and 7(4) shall have effect accordingly.221

(2) For the purposes of this Schedule OFT may appoint a person (instead of
the appointed person) to consider any representations or statements, if the person
originally appointed, or last appointed under this sub-paragraph, to consider those
representations or statements has died or appears to OFT to be otherwise unable to
act.222

Schedule 2A Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 88 AT 11 of 1991 c

11. In this Schedule —
“the appointed person
” in relation to a prohibition notice or a proposal to serve
a notice to warn, means the person for the time being appointed under
this Schedule to consider representations about the notice or, as the case
may be, about the proposed notice;
“notification
” means a notification in writing;
“trader
”, in relation to a prohibition notice, means the person on whom the
notice is or was served.
Schedule 2A
223

LIST OF TERMS WHICH MAY BE REGARDED AS UNFAIR

Section 39(5)
1. Terms which have the object or effect of —
(a) excluding or limiting the legal liability of a seller or supplier in the
event of the death of a consumer or personal injury to the latter
resulting from an act or omission of that seller or supplier;
(b) unreasonably excluding or limiting the legal rights of the
consumer vis-à-vis the seller or supplier or another party in the
event of total or partial non-performance or inadequate
performance by the seller or supplier of any of the contractual
obligations, including the option of offsetting a debt owed to the
seller or supplier against any claim which the consumer may have
against him;
(c) making an agreement binding on the consumer whereas
provision of services by the seller or supplier is subject to a
condition whose realisation depends on his own will;
(d) permitting the seller or supplier to retain sums paid by the
consumer where the latter decides not to conclude or perform the
contract, without providing for the consumer to receive
compensation of an equivalent amount from the seller or supplier
where the latter is the party cancelling the contract;
(e) requiring any consumer who fails to fulfil his obligation to pay a
disproportionately high sum in compensation;
(f) authorising the seller or supplier to dissolve the contract on a
discretionary basis where the same facility is not granted to the
consumer, or permitting the seller or supplier to retain the sums
paid for services not yet supplied by him where it is the seller or
supplier himself who dissolves the contract;
(g) enabling the seller or supplier to terminate a contract of
indeterminate duration without reasonable notice except where
there are serious grounds for doing so;
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Schedule 2A



c AT 11 of 1991 Page 89

(h) automatically extending a contract of fixed duration where the
consumer does not indicate otherwise, where the deadline fixed
for the consumer to express his desire not to extend the contract is
unreasonably early;
(i) irrevocably binding the consumer to terms with which he had no
real opportunity of becoming acquainted before the conclusion of
the contract;
(j) enabling the seller or supplier to alter the terms of the contract
unilaterally without a valid reason which is specified in the
contract;
(k) enabling the seller or supplier to alter unilaterally without a valid
reason any characteristics of the product or service to be
provided;
(l) providing for the price of goods to be determined at the time of
delivery or allowing a seller of goods or supplier of services to
increase their price without in both cases giving the consumer the
corresponding right to cancel the contract if the final price is too
high in relation to the price agreed when the contract was
concluded;
(m) giving the seller or supplier the right to determine whether the
goods or services supplied are in conformity with the contract, or
giving him the exclusive right to interpret any term of the
contract;
(n) limiting the seller’s or supplier’s obligation to respect
commitments undertaken by his agents or making his
commitments subject to compliance with a particular formality;
(o) obliging the consumer to fulfil all his obligations where the seller
or supplier does not perform his;
(p) giving the seller or supplier the possibility of transferring his
rights and obligations under the contract, where this may serve to
reduce the guarantees for the consumer, without the latter’s
agreement;
(q) excluding or hindering the consumer’s right to take legal action or
exercise any other legal remedy, particularly by requiring the
consumer to take disputes exclusively to arbitration which is not
legally binding, unduly restricting the evidence available to him
or imposing on him a burden of proof which, according to the
applicable law, should lie with another party to the contract.
2. (1) Paragraph 1(g) is without prejudice to terms by which a supplier of
financial services reserves the right to terminate unilaterally a contract of indeterminate
duration without notice where there is a valid reason, provided that the supplier is
required to inform the other contracting party or parties thereof immediately.
Schedule 2B Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 90 AT 11 of 1991 c

(2) Paragraph 1(j) is without prejudice to terms under which a supplier of
financial services reserves the right to alter the rate of interest payable by the consumer
or due to the latter, or the amount of other charges for financial services without notice
where there is a valid reason, provided that the supplier is required to inform the other
contracting party or parties thereof at the earliest opportunity and that the latter are
free to dissolve the contract immediately.
(3) Paragraph 1(j) is also without prejudice to terms under which a seller or
supplier reserves the right to alter unilaterally the conditions of a contract of
indeterminate duration, provided that he is required to inform the consumer with
reasonable notice and that the consumer is free to dissolve the contract.
(4) Paragraphs 1(g), (j) and (i) do not apply to —
(a) transactions in transferable securities, financial instruments and
other products or services where the price is linked to fluctuations
in a stock exchange quotation or index or a financial market rate
that the seller or supplier does not control;
(b) contracts for the purchase or sale of foreign currency, traveller’s
cheques or international money orders denominated in foreign
currency.
(5) Paragraph 1(l) is without prejudice to price indexation clauses, where
lawful, provided that the method by which prices vary is explicitly described.
Schedule 2B
224

MEANING OF “EXCEPTED CONTRACT” FOR THE PURPOSES OF SECTION 46

[SECTION 46(2)]
1 Meaning of “excepted contract”

A contract is an excepted contract if it is within any of the following paragraphs.
2 Land transactions

(1) A contract is within this paragraph if it is one —
(a) for the sale or other disposition of land, or any estate or interest in
land (including a charge on land);
(b) to finance the purchase of land;
(c) for a bridging loan in connection with the purchase of land; or
(d) for the construction or extension of a building or other erection on
land.
In paragraph (a), “charge on land” includes any security charged on
land.
(2) But a contract is not within this paragraph if it is a contract for the supply
of goods and their incorporation in any land or a contract for the repair or
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Schedule 3



c AT 11 of 1991 Page 91

improvement of a building or other erection on land, where the contract is not financed
by a loan secured by a land mortgage.
3 Deliveries by roundsmen

A contract is within this paragraph if it one for the supply of food, drink or other goods
intended for current consumption by use in the consumer’s household and supplied by
regular roundsmen.
4 Routine catalogue sales

(1) A contract is within this paragraph if it is one for the supply of goods or
services which satisfies all the conditions in subparagraphs (2) to (4).
(2) The condition is that the terms of the contract are contained in a trader’s
catalogue which is readily available to the consumer to read in the absence of the
trader or his representative before the conclusion of the contract.
(3) The condition is that the parties to the contract intend that continuity of
contact will be maintained between the trader or his representative and the consumer
in relation to the transaction in question or any subsequent transaction.
(4) The condition is that both the catalogue and the contract contain or are
accompanied by a prominent notice indicating that the consumer has a right —
(a) to return to the trader or the trader’s representative goods
supplied to the consumer within the period of not less than 14
days from the day on which the goods are received by the
consumer; and
(b) otherwise to cancel the contract within that period without
incurring any liability, other than any liability which may arise
from the failure of the consumer to take reasonable care of the
goods while they are in the consumer’s possession.
5 Insurance contracts

A contract is within this paragraph if it is a contract of insurance.
6 Low value contracts

A contract is within this paragraph if it is one under which the total payments to be
made by the consumer do not exceed such amount as may be prescribed.
Schedule 3

TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS

Section 64(1)
Schedule 3 Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 92 AT 11 of 1991 c

Product liability
1. Nothing in this Act makes any person liable by virtue of Part I for any damage
caused wholly or partly by a defect in a product which was supplied to any person by
its producer before the commencement of that Part.
Consumer safety
2. In paragraphs 3 to 7 —
“the 1965 Act
” means the Consumer Protection (Isle of Man) Act 1965;
“component part
” includes an accessory;
“existing regulations
” means regulations made under section 1 of the 1965 Act
and having effect by virtue of paragraph 3.
3. Regulations made under section 1 (safety requirements) of the 1965 Act shall
have effect as if made under section 9, and may be amended or revoked accordingly.
4. (1) Subject to paragraph 5, no person shall supply, or have in his possession
for the purpose of supplying, any goods as respects which, or a component part of
which, any requirements of existing regulations are in force unless all the requirements
of the regulations relating to the goods or component part are complied with.
(2) Subject to paragraph 5, no person shall supply, or have in his possession
for the purpose of supplying, a component part intended for but not embodied in
goods as respects which, or a component part of which, any requirements of existing
regulations are in force, being a component part such that, if it were embodied in the
goods, any requirement of the regulations relating to the goods would be contravened
or not complied with.
5. (1) As respects any requirement relating to the manufacture of goods or a
component part of goods —
(a) unless existing regulations otherwise provide, paragraph 4 does
not apply in relation to goods or component parts manufactured
before the imposition of the requirement; and
(b) if it is so provided by existing regulations, paragraph 3 applies in
relation to such goods or component parts only after a date
specified in the regulations.
(2) Paragraph 4 has effect subject to any other exemption from the operation
of that paragraph contained in existing regulations, and references in existing
regulations to section 2(1) or (2) of the 1965 Act shall be construed as references to
paragraph 4(1) or (2).
6. Any person who contravenes paragraph 4 shall be guilty of an offence, and
sections 10(5), 35 and 36 apply to an offence under this paragraph as they apply to an
offence under section 10(1).
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Schedule 4



c AT 11 of 1991 Page 93

7. Section 37(1) (civil liability) applies to an obligation imposed by paragraph 4 as
it applies to an obligation imposed by safety regulations.
Title to motor vehicles
8. Part VIII has effect in relation to hire-purchase agreements and conditional sale
agreements made before as well as after the commencement of that Part, but does not
apply where the disposition by the hirer or buyer referred to in section 54(1) was made
before such commencement.
Schedule 4

MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS

Section 64(2)
[Sch 4 amended by Agricultural (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2008 Sch, and
amends the following Acts —
Consumer Protection (Trade Descriptions) Act 1970 q.v.
Price Marking Act 1976 q.v.
Torts (Interference with Goods) Act 1981 q.v.
Telecommunications Act 1984 q.v.
Road Traffic Act 1985 q.v.]
Schedule 5

ENACTMENTS REPEALED

Section 64(3)
[Sch 5 amended by Trade Marks Act 1994 (P) as applied by SI1996/729.]
Sch 5 repeals the following Acts wholly —
Consumer Protection (Trade Descriptions) Act 1974
Consumer Safety Act 1983
and the following Acts in part —
Agricultural Produce (Grading and Marking) Act 1931
Consumer Protection (Trade Descriptions) Act 1970
Misrepresentation and Unfair Contract Terms Act 1980
Board of Consumer Affairs Act 1981
Fines Act 1986
Statute Law Revision Act 1989.]
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Endnotes


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 95

ENDNOTES

Table of Endnote References

1
Subs (6) added by Statute Law Revision Act 1997 Sch 1. 2
Para (a) amended by SD0606/12. 3
Para (a) amended by SD0606/12. 4
Subs (1) amended by SD579/98. 5
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 6
Para (c) amended by SD155/10 Sch 5. 7
Subs (5) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 8
Subs (6) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 9
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 10
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 11
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 12
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 13
Subs (3) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 14
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 15
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 16
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 17
Subs (3) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 18
Subs (5) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 19
Subs (7) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 20
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 21
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 22
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 23
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 24
Definition of “food” amended by Food Act 1996 Sch 4. 25
Definition of “licensed medicinal product” substituted by Medicines Act 2003 Sch 3. 26
Subs (3) substituted by Financial Services Act 2008 Sch 6. 27
Subs (2) amended by Broadcasting Act 1993 Sch 4. 28
Definition of “cable programme service” repealed by Broadcasting Act 1993 Sch 5. 29
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 30
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 31
Subs (3) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 32
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 33
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 34
Para (c) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 35
S 24 repealed by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 5. 36
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 37
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 38
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20.
Endnotes Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 96 AT 11 of 1991 c

39
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 40
Para (c) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 41
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 42
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 43
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 44
Subs (3) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 45
Subs (4) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 46
Subs (5) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 47
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 6 and s 20. 48
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 49
Subs (5) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 50
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 51
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 52
Subs (8) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 53
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 54
S 29 heading substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 7. 55
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 56
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 57
Para (c) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 58
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 59
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 60
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 61
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 62
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 63
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 64
Para (c) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 65
Para (d) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 66
Para (b) amended by SD0606/12. 67
Part heading substituted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 4. 68
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 69
S 38 substituted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 4. 70
Subs (7) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 71
S 39 substituted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 4. 72
S 40 substituted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 4. 73
S 40A inserted by Fair trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 5. 74
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 75
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 76
Subs (3) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 77
S 40B inserted by Fair trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 6. 78
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 79
S 40C inserted by Fair trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 6.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Endnotes


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 97

80
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 81
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 82
S 40D inserted by Fair trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 6. 83
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 84
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 85
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 86
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 87
Subs (3) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 88
S 40E inserted by Fair trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 7. 89
Para (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 90
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 91
S 40F inserted by Fair trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 7 as amended by SD155/10
Sch 1 and by SD2014/07. 92
S 41 heading substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 93
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 94
Para (a) inserted by Broadcasting Act 1993 Sch 4. 95
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 96
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 97
Subs (3) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 98
Subs (4) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 99
Subs (1) amended by Broadcasting Act 1993 Sch 5 and by Consumer Protection
(Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 100
Subs (2) repealed by Broadcasting Act 1993 Sch 5. 101
Subs (3) amended by Broadcasting Act 1993 Sch 5 and by the Consumer Protection
(Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 102
Subs (4) repealed by Broadcasting Act 1993 Sch 5. 103
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 104
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 105
Subs (4) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 106
Subs (5) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 107
Subs (7) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 108
S 44A inserted by Broadcasting Act 1993 Sch 4. 109
Definition of “advertisement” amended by Financial Services Act 2008 Sch 6. 110
Subs (1) substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 8. 111
Subs (1A) inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 8. 112
Subs (1B) inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 8. 113
Subs (1C) inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 8. 114
Subs (2) substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 8. 115
Subs (3) repealed by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 8. 116
S 46A inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 9. 117
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 10. 118
Subs (2) substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 10.
Endnotes Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 98 AT 11 of 1991 c

119
Subs (3) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 10. 120
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 11. 121
Para (c) repealed by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 11. 122
Subs (3) substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 11. 123
Subs (4) repealed by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 11. 124
S 47A inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 9. 125
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 12. 126
S 47B inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 9. 127
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 13. 128
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 13. 129
S 47C inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 9. 130
S 47CA inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 14. 131
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 15 and s 20. 132
Subs (6) inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 15. 133
Subs (7) inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 15. 134
S 47D inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 10. 135
S 47E heading substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 16. 136
Para (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 137
Para (c) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 16 and s 20. 138
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 139
S 47E inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 10. 140
S 47F inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 10. 141
S 52 substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 17. 142
Definition of “arbitration” inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016
s 18. 143
Definition of “charge on land” repealed by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act
2016 s 18. 144
Definition of “consumer” substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act
2016 s 18. 145
Definition of “relevant contract” inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment)
Act 2016 s 18. 146
Definition of “solicited visit” inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act
2016 s 18. 147
Definition of “telephone call” inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act
2016 s 18. 148
Definition of “trader” substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s
18. 149
Definition of “unsolicited visit” inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act
2016 s 18. 150
Subs (1A) inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 18. 151
Subs (1B) inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 18. 152
Subs (1C) inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 18.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Endnotes


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 99

153
Heading inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 11. 154
Subs (5) inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 19. 155
S 57A inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 11. 156
S 57B inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 12. 157
S 57C inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 12. 158
S 57D inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 13. 159
S 57E inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 13. 160
S 57F inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 13. 161
S 57G inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 13. 162
S 57H inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 13. 163
S 57I inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 13. 164
S 57J inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 14. 165
S 57K inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 14. 166
S 57L inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 15. 167
S 57M inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 15. 168
Para (b) amended by Financial Services Act 2008 Sch 6. 169
Para (c) amended by Financial Services Act 2008 Sch 6. 170
Para (d) amended by Insurance Act 2008 Sch 8. 171
S 57N inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 15. 172
S 57 heading amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 173
Subs (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 174
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 175
Subs (1) amended by Trade Marks Act 1994 (P) (as applied by SI1996/729) and by
Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 176
Subs (3) amended by Trade Marks Act 1994 (P) (as applied by SI1996/729). 177
Definition of “the Board” repealed by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016
s 20. 178
Definition of “officer” substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s
20. 179
Definition of “OFT” inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 180
Definition of “prescribed” amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act
2016 s 20. 181
S 62 heading substituted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 21. 182
Subs (2) amended by Civil Partnership Act 2011 Sch 14. 183
S 62A inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 22. 184
Subs (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 185
ADO – see table
Endnotes Consumer Protection Act 1991


Page 100 AT 11 of 1991 c


GC 413/91 Part I (including Schedule 1)
Part II (including Schedule 2)
Part IV (except so far as it relates to Part III)
Part V
Part VII
The following provisions of Part IX
sections 58 to 63
section 64 so far as it relates to Schedule 3,
paras 2, 3, 4, 5(1) and 6 of Schedule 4 and the
entries relating to the Consumer Safety Act
1983 and the Fines Act 1986.
In operation 1/01/1992
GC 200/92 Part VI
Part VII
In operation 1/07/1992
GC 447/92 Remaining provisions, with savings In operation 1/01/1993
186
Item (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 187
Item (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 188
Item (d) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 189
Item (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 190
Item (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 191
Subpara (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 192
Subpara (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 193
Subpara (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 194
Item (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 195
Subpara (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 196
Subpara (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 197
Subpara (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 198
Subpara (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 199
Subpara (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 200
Subpara (3) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 201
Item (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 202
Item (c) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 203
Item (d) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 204
Item (e) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 205
Item (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 206
Item (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 207
Item (c) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 208
Subpara (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 209
Item (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 210
Item (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 211
Subpara (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 212
Item (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 213
Item (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20.
Consumer Protection Act 1991 Endnotes


c AT 11 of 1991 Page 101

214
Subpara (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 215
Subpara (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 216
Subpara (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 217
Item (a) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 218
Item (b) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 219
Subpara (3) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 220
Para 9 amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 221
Subpara (1) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 222
Subpara (2) amended by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 20. 223
Sch 2A inserted by Fair Trading (Amendment) Act 2001 s 4. 224
Sch 2B inserted by Consumer Protection (Amendment) Act 2016 s 23.