Hire Purchase Act 1939

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AT 6 of 1939

HIRE PURCHASE ACT 1939

Hire Purchase Act 1939 Index


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c i e
HIRE PURCHASE ACT 1939

Index Section Page

1 Short title .......................................................................................................................... 5
2 Application of Act........................................................................................................... 5
3 Requirements relating to hire-purchase agreements ................................................. 5
4 Requirements relating to credit-sale agreements ....................................................... 6
5 Right of hirer to determine hire-purchase agreement ............................................... 7
6 Avoidance of certain provisions ................................................................................... 8
7 Duty of owners and sellers to supply documents and information ........................ 9
8 Duty of hirer to give information as to whereabouts of goods .............................. 10
9 [Repealed] ...................................................................................................................... 10
10 Appropriation of payments made in respect of hire-purchase agreements ........ 10
11 Evidence of adverse detention in actions by owners to recover possession
of the goods ................................................................................................................... 10
12 Restriction of owner’s right to recover possession of goods otherwise than
by action ......................................................................................................................... 11
13 Powers of court in certain actions by owners to recover possession of the
goods .............................................................................................................................. 11
14 Effect of postponement of operation of an order for specific delivery of
goods to the owner ....................................................................................................... 13
15 Powers of the court to deal with payments arising on determination of
hire-purchase agreements ........................................................................................... 14
16 Successive hire-purchase agreements between the same parties .......................... 14
17 Provisions as to bankruptcy of hirer and distress on hirer’s premises ................. 14
18 Hirer’s refusal to surrender goods not to be conversion in certain cases ............. 15
19 Special provisions as to installation charges ............................................................. 15
20 Application of Act in relation to existing agreements ............................................. 15
21 Interpretation ................................................................................................................. 16
22 Commencement of Act ................................................................................................ 17
SCHEDULE 19

NOTICE TO BE INCLUDED IN NOTE OR MEMORANDUM OF HIRE-
PURCHASE AGREEMENT 19
Index Hire Purchase Act 1939


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ENDNOTES 21

TABLE OF LEGISLATION HISTORY 21
TABLE OF RENUMBERED PROVISIONS 21
TABLE OF ENDNOTE REFERENCES 21

Hire Purchase Act 1939 Section 1


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c i e
HIRE PURCHASE ACT 1939

Received Royal Assent: 23 November 1939
Passed: 20 February 1940
Commenced: 20 February 1940
AN ACT
to amend the law with respect to the hire purchase and sale upon
credit of goods and the law of distress in its relation thereto.
GENERAL NOTE:
The maximum fines in this Act are as increased by the Fines Act
1986 and by the Criminal Justice (Penalties, Etc.) Act 1993 s 1.
1 Short title

This Act may be cited as the Hire Purchase Act, 1939.
2 Application of Act

This Act shall apply in relation to all hire-purchase agreements and credit-sale
agreements under which the hire-purchase price or total purchase price, as the
case may be, does not exceed £2,0001
,2

and the expressions “hire-purchase agreement” and “credit-sale agreement”
shall be construed accordingly.
3 Requirements relating to hire-purchase agreements

(1) Before any hire-purchase agreement is entered into in respect of any
goods, the owner shall state in writing to the prospective hirer, otherwise
than in the note or memorandum of the agreement, a price at which the
goods may be purchased by him for cash (in this section referred to as
the ‘cash price’):
Provided that this subsection shall be deemed to have been sufficiently
complied with —
(a) if the hirer has inspected the goods or like goods and at the time
of his inspection tickets or labels were attached to or displayed
with the goods clearly stating the cash price, either of the goods as
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a whole or of all the different articles or sets of articles comprised
therein, or
(b) if the hirer has selected the goods by reference to a catalogue,
price list, or advertisement, which clearly stated the cash price
either of the goods as a whole or of all the different articles or sets
of articles comprised therein.
(2) An owner shall not be entitled to enforce a hire-purchase agreement or
any contract of guarantee relating thereto or any right to recover the
goods from the hirer, and no security given by the hirer in respect of
money payable under the hire-purchase, agreement or given by a
guarantor in respect of money payable under such a contract of
guarantee as aforesaid shall be enforceable against the hirer or guarantor
by any holder thereof, unless the requirement specified in the foregoing
sub-section has been complied with, and —
(a) a note or memorandum of the agreement is made and signed by
the hirer and by or on behalf of all other parties to the agreement,
and
(b) the note or memorandum contains a statement of the hire-
purchase price and of the cash price of the goods to which the
agreement relates and of the amount of each of the instalments by
which the hire-purchase price is to be paid and of the date, or the
mode of determining the date, upon which each instalment is
payable, and contains a list of the goods to which the agreement
relates sufficient to identify them, and
(c) the note or memorandum contains a notice, which is at least as
prominent as the rest of the contents of the note or memorandum,
in the terms prescribed in the Schedule to this Act, and
(d) a copy of the note or memorandum is delivered or sent to the
hirer within fourteen days of the making of the agreement:
Provided that, if the court is satisfied in any action that a failure to
comply with the requirement specified in the foregoing sub-section or
any requirement specified in paragraph (b), (c) or (d) of this sub-section
has not prejudiced the hirer, and that it would be just and equitable to
dispense with the requirement, the court may, subject to any conditions
that it thinks fit to impose, dispense with that requirement for the
purposes of the action.
4 Requirements relating to credit-sale agreements

(1) Before making any credit-sale agreement under which the total purchase
price exceeds thirty pounds, the seller shall state in writing to the
prospective buyer, otherwise than in the note or memorandum of the
agreement, a price at which the goods may be purchased by him for cash
(in this section referred to as the ‘cash price’):
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Provided that this sub-section shall be deemed to have been sufficiently
complied with —
(a) if the buyer has inspected the goods or like goods and at the time
of his inspection tickets or labels were attached to or displayed
with the goods clearly stating the cash price either of the goods as
a whole or of all the different articles or sets of articles comprised
therein, or
(b) if the buyer has selected the goods by reference to a catalogue,
price list, or advertisement which clearly stated the cash price
either of the goods as a whole or of all the different articles or sets
of articles comprised therein.3

(2) A person who has sold goods by a credit-sale agreement under which
the total purchase price exceeds thirty pounds shall not be entitled to
enforce the agreement or any contract of guarantee relating thereto, and
no security given by the buyer in respect of money payable under the
credit-sale agreement or given by a guarantor in respect of money
payable under such a contract of guarantee as aforesaid shall be
enforceable against the buyer or guarantor by any holder thereof, unless
the requirement specified in the foregoing sub-section has been complied
with, and —
(a) a note or memorandum of the agreement is made and signed by
the buyer and by or on behalf of all other parties to the agreement,
and
(b) the note or memorandum contains a statement of the total
purchase price and of the cash price of the goods to which the
agreement relates and of the amount of each of the instalments by
which the total purchase price is to be paid and of the date, or the
mode of determining the date, upon which each instalment is
payable, and contains a list of the goods to which the agreement
relates sufficient to identify them, and
(c) a copy of the note or memorandum is delivered or sent to the
buyer within fourteen days of the making of the agreement;
Provided that, if the court is satisfied in any action that a failure to
comply with the requirement specified in the foregoing sub-section of
any requirement specified in paragraph (b) or (c) of this sub-section has
not prejudiced the buyer, and that it would be just and equitable to
dispense with the requirement, the court may, subject to any conditions
that it thinks fit to impose, dispense with that requirement for the
purposes of the action.4

5 Right of hirer to determine hire-purchase agreement

(1) A hirer shall, at any time before the final payment under a hire-purchase
agreement falls due, be entitled to determine the agreement by giving
Section 6 Hire Purchase Act 1939


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notice of termination in writing to any person entitled or authorised to
receive the sums payable under the agreement, and shall, on determining
the agreement under this section, be liable, without prejudice to any
liability which has accrued before the termination, to pay the amount, if
any, by which one-half of the hire-purchase price exceeds the total of the
sums paid and the sums due in respect of the hire-purchase price
immediately before the termination, or such less amount as may be
specified in the agreement.
Provided that, if the court is satisfied in any action that a sum less than
the amount by which one-half of the hire-purchase price exceeds the total
of the sums paid and the sums due in respect of the hire-purchase price
immediately before the termination would be equal to the loss sustained
by the owner in consequence of the termination of the agreement by the
hirer, the court may make an order for payment of that sum in lieu of
that amount.5

(2) Where a hire-purchase agreement has been determined under this
section, the hirer shall, if he has failed to take reasonable care of the
goods, be liable to pay damages for the failure.
(3) Where a hirer, having determined a hire-purchase agreement under this
section, wrongfully retains possession of the goods, then, in any action
brought by the owner to recover possession of the goods from the hirer,
the court shall, unless it is satisfied that having regard to the
circumstances it would not be just and equitable so to do, order the
goods to be delivered to the owner, without giving the hirer an option to
pay the value of the goods.
(4) Nothing in this section shall prejudice any right of a hirer to determine a
hire-purchase agreement otherwise than by virtue of this section.
6 Avoidance of certain provisions

Any provision in any agreement —
(a) whereby an owner or any person acting on his behalf is
authorised to enter upon any premises for the purpose of taking
possession of goods which have been let under a hire-purchase
agreement, or is relieved from liability for any such entry, or
(b) whereby the right conferred on a hirer by this Act to determine
the hire-purchase agreement is excluded or restricted, or whereby
any liability in addition to the liability imposed by this Act is
imposed on a hirer by reason of the termination of the hire-
purchase agreement by him under this Act, or
(c) whereby a hirer, after the determination of the hire-purchase
agreement or the bailment in any manner whatsoever, is (apart
from any liability which has accrued before the termination)
subject to a liability to pay an amount which exceeds whichever is
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the lesser of the two following amounts, that is to say, the amount
first mentioned in section 5(1) of this Act and an amount equal to
the loss sustained by the owner in consequence of the termination
of the agreement or bailment, or6

(d) whereby any person acting on behalf of an owner or seller in
connection with the formation or conclusion of a hire-purchase or
credit-sale agreement is treated as or deemed to be the agent of
the hirer or the buyer, or
(e) whereby an owner or seller is relieved from liability for the acts or
defaults of any person acting on his behalf in connection with the
formation or conclusion of a hire-purchase agreement or credit-
sale agreement,
shall be void.
7 Duty of owners and sellers to supply documents and information

(1) At any time before the final payment has been made under a hire-
purchase agreement or credit-sale agreement, any person entitled to
enforce the agreement against the hirer or buyer shall, within four days
after he has received a request in writing from the hirer or buyer and the
hirer or buyer has tendered to him the sum of 15 new pence for expenses,
supply to the hirer or buyer a copy of any memorandum or note of the
agreement, together with a statement signed by the said person or his
agent showing —

(a) the amount paid by or on behalf of the hirer or buyer,
(b) the amount which has become due under the agreement but
remains unpaid, and the date upon which each unpaid instalment
became due, and the amount of each such instalment, and
(c) the amount which is to become payable under the agreement, and
the date or the mode of determining the date upon which each
future instalment is to become payable, and the amount of each
such instalment.7

(2) In the event of a failure without reasonable cause to comply with the last
foregoing sub-section, then, while the default continues —
(a) no person shall be entitled to enforce the agreement against the
hirer or buyer or to enforce any contract of guarantee relating to
the agreement, and, in the case of a hire-purchase agreement, the
owner shall not be entitled to enforce any right to recover the
goods from the hirer, and
(b) no security given by the hirer or buyer in respect of money
payable under the agreement or given by a guarantor in respect of
money payable under such a contract of guarantee as aforesaid
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shall be enforceable against the hirer or buyer or the guarantor by
any holder thereof,
and, if the default continues for a period of one month, the defaulter shall
be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.
8 Duty of hirer to give information as to whereabouts of goods

(1) Where by virtue of a hire-purchase agreement a hirer is under a duty to
keep the goods comprised in the agreement in his possession or control,
the hirer shall, on receipt of a request in writing from the owner, inform
the owner where the goods are at the time when the information is given
or, if it is sent by post, at the time of posting.
(2) If a hirer fails without reasonable cause to give the said information
within fourteen days of the receipt of the notice, he shall be liable on
summary conviction to a fine not exceeding £500.
9 [Repealed]
8

10 Appropriation of payments made in respect of hire-purchase

agreements

A hirer who is liable to make payments in respect of two or more hire-purchase
agreements to the same owner shall, notwithstanding any agreement to the
contrary, be entitled, on making any payment in respect of the agreements
which is not sufficient to discharge the total amount then due under all the
agreements, to appropriate the sum so paid by him in or towards the
satisfaction of the sum due under any one of the agreements, or in or towards
the satisfaction of the sums due under any two or more of the agreements in
such proportions as he thinks fit, and, if he fails to make any such appropriation
as aforesaid, the payment shall by virtue of this section be appropriated towards
the satisfaction of the sums due under the respective hire-purchase agreements
in the proportions which those sums bear to one another.
11 Evidence of adverse detention in actions by owners to recover

possession of the goods

Where, in an action by an owner of goods which have been let under a hire-
purchase agreement to enforce a right to recover possession of the goods from
the hirer, the owner proves that, before the commencement of the action and
after the right to recover possession of the goods accrued, the owner made a
request in writing to the hirer to surrender the goods, the hirer’s possession of
the goods shall, for the purpose of the owner’s claim to recover possession
thereof, be deemed to be adverse to the owner.
Nothing in this section shall affect a claim for damages for conversion.
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12 Restriction of owner’s right to recover possession of goods otherwise

than by action

(1) Where goods have been let under a hire-purchase agreement and one
third of the hire-purchase price has been paid, whether in pursuance of a
judgment or otherwise, or tendered by or on behalf of the hirer or any
guarantor, the owner shall not enforce any right to recover possession of
the goods from the hirer otherwise than by action.
(2) If an owner recovers possession of goods in contravention of the
foregoing sub-section, the hire-purchase agreement, if not previously
determined, shall determine, and —
(a) the hirer shall be released from all liability under the agreement
and shall be entitled to recover from the owner in an action for
money had and received all sums paid by the hirer under the
agreement or under any security given by him in respect thereof,
and
(b) any guarantor shall be entitled to recover from the owner in an
action for money had and received all sums paid by him under
the contract of guarantee or under any security given by him in
respect thereof.
(3) The provisions of this section shall not apply in any case in which the
hirer has determined the agreement or the bailment by virtue of any
right vested in him.
13 Powers of court in certain actions by owners to recover possession of

the goods

(1) Where, in any case to which the last foregoing section applies, an owner
commences an action to enforce a right to recover possession of goods
from a hirer after one-third of the hire-purchase price has been paid or
tendered as aforesaid, the action shall be commenced in the court for the
district in which the hirer resides or carries on business or resided or
carried on business at the date on which he last made a payment under
the hire-purchase agreement, and after the action has been commenced
the owner shall not take any step to enforce payment of any sum due
under the hire-purchase agreement or under any contract of guarantee
relating thereto, except by claiming the sum in the said action.
(2) Subject to such exceptions as may be provided for by rules of court all
the parties to the agreement and any guarantor shall be made parties to
the action.
(3) Pending the hearing of the action the court shall, in addition to any other
powers, have power, upon the application of the owner, to make such
orders as the court thinks just for purpose of protecting the goods from
damage or depreciation, including orders restricting or prohibiting the
user of the goods or giving directions as to their custody.
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(4) On the hearing of the action the court may, without prejudice to any
other power —
(a) make an order for the specific delivery of all the goods to the
owner, or
(b) make an order for the specific delivery of all the goods to the
owner and postpone the operation of the order on condition that
the hirer or any guarantor pays the unpaid balance of the hire-
purchase price at such times and in such amounts as the court,
having regard to the means of any hirer and of any guarantor,
thinks just, and subject to the fulfilment of such other conditions
by the hirer or a guarantor as the court thinks just, or
(c) make an order for the specific delivery of a part of the goods to
the owner and for the transfer to the hirer of the owner’s title to
the remainder of the goods.
(5) No order shall be made under paragraph (b) of the last foregoing sub-
section unless the hirer satisfies the court that the goods are in his
possession or control at the time when the order is made.
(6) The court shall not make an order transferring to the hirer the owner’s
title to a part of the goods unless it is satisfied that the amount which the
hirer has paid in respect of the hire-purchase price exceeds the price of
that part of the goods by at least one-third of the unpaid balance of the
hire-purchase price.
(7) Where damages have been awarded against the owner in the
proceedings, the court may treat the hirer as having paid in respect of the
hire-purchase price, in addition to the actual amount paid, the amount of
the damages, or such part thereof as the court thinks fit, and thereupon
the damages shall accordingly be remitted either in whole or in part.
(8) In this section the expression ‘order for specific delivery of the goods’
means an order for the delivery of the goods to the owner without giving
the hirer an option to pay their value, and the expression ‘price’ in
relation to any goods means such part of the hire-purchase price as is
assigned to those goods by the note or memorandum of the hire-
purchase agreement, or, if no such assignment is made, such part of the
hire-purchase price as the court may determine.
(9) If at any time before the hearing of an action to which this section applies
the owner has recovered possession of a part of the goods, the references
in sub-section (4) hereof to all the goods shall be construed as references
to all the goods which the owner has not recovered, and, if the parties
have not agreed upon an adjustment of the hire-purchase price in respect
of the goods so recovered, the court may for the purposes of paragraphs
(b) and (c) of sub-section (4) hereof make such reduction of the hire-
purchase price and of the unpaid balance thereof as the court thinks just.
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(10) Where an owner has recovered a part of the goods let under a hire-
purchase agreement, and the recovery was effected in contravention of
the last foregoing section, the provisions of this section shall not apply in
relation to any action by the owner to recover the remainder of the
goods.
14 Effect of postponement of operation of an order for specific delivery of

goods to the owner

(1) While the operation of an order for the specific delivery of goods to the
owner is postponed under the last foregoing section, the hirer shall be
deemed to be a bailee of the goods under and on the terms of the hire-
purchase agreement:
Provided that —
(a) no further sum shall be or become payable by the hirer or a
guarantor on account of the unpaid balance of the hire-purchase
price, except in accordance with the terms of the order, and
(b) the court may make such further modification of the terms of the
hire-purchase agreement and of any contract of guarantee relating
thereto as the court considers necessary having regard to the
variations of the terms of payment.
(2) If while the operation of an order for the specific delivery of the goods to
the owner is so postponed the hirer or a guarantor fails to comply with
any condition of the postponement, or with any term of the agreement as
varied by the court, or wrongfully disposes of the goods, the owner shall
not take any civil proceedings against the hirer or guarantor otherwise
than by making an application to the court by which the order was
made:
Provided that, in the case of a breach of any condition relating to the
payment of the unpaid balance of the hire-purchase price, it shall not be
necessary for the owner to apply to the court for leave to execute the
order unless the court has so directed.
(3) When the unpaid balance of the hire-purchase price, has been paid in
accordance with the terms of the order, the owner’s title to the goods
shall vest in the hirer.
(4) The court may at any time during the postponement of the operation of
such an order as aforesaid —
(a) vary the conditions of the postponement, and make such further
modification of the hire-purchase agreement and of any contract
of guarantee relating thereto as the court considers necessary
having regard to the variation of the conditions of the
postponement;
(b) revoke the postponement;
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(c) make an order, in accordance with the provisions of the last
foregoing section, for the specific delivery of a part of the goods to
the owner and for the transfer to the hirer of the owner’s title to
the remainder of the goods.
15 Powers of the court to deal with payments arising on determination of

hire-purchase agreements

(1) Where a hire-purchase agreement validly provides for the payment by
the hirer on or after the determination of the agreement or the bailment
of such sum as, when added to the sums paid and the sums due in
respect of the hire-purchase price before the determination, is equal to a
fixed amount, and a claim is made in respect of any such sum in an
action to which section thirteen of this Act applies, then —
(a) if the court makes an order for the specific delivery of part of the
goods to the owner and the transfer to the hirer of the owner’s
title to the remainder of the goods, the claim shall be disallowed.
(b) if the court postpones the operation of an order for the specific
delivery of the goods to the owner, it shall not entertain the claim
unless and until the postponement is revoked, and shall then deal
with the claim as if the agreement had just been determined.
(2) Where the hirer or a guarantor has paid or has been ordered to pay any
such sum as aforesaid, and the owner subsequently seeks to recover the
goods in an action to which section thirteen of this Act applies, the court
may treat the said sum as a sum paid or payable, as the case may be, in
respect of the hire-purchase price.
16 Successive hire-purchase agreements between the same parties

Where goods have been let under a hire-purchase agreement and at any time
after one-third of the hire-purchase price has been paid or tendered the owner
makes a further hire-purchase agreement with the hirer comprising those
goods, the provisions of sections twelve and thirteen of this Act shall have effect
in relation to that further agreement as from the commencement thereof.
17 Provisions as to bankruptcy of hirer and distress on hirer’s premises

(1) Where, under the powers conferred by this Act, the court has postponed
the operation of an order for the specific delivery of goods to any person,
the goods shall not, during the postponement be treated as goods which
are by the consent or permission of that person in the possession, order,
or disposition of the hirer for the purposes of section twenty-seven of the
Bankruptcy Code 1892.9

(2) [Repealed]10

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18 Hirer’s refusal to surrender goods not to be conversion in certain cases

If, whilst by virtue of this Act the enforcement by an owner of a right to recover
possession of goods from a hirer is subject to any restriction, the hirer refuses to
give up possession of the goods to the owner, the hirer shall not, by reason only
of the refusal, be liable to the owner for conversion of the goods.
19 Special provisions as to installation charges

(1) Where under any hire-purchase agreement made after the
commencement of this Act the owner is required to carry out any
installation, and the note or memorandum of the agreement specifies as
part of the hire-purchase price the amount to be paid in respect of the
installation, the references in section five of this Act to one-half of the
hire-purchase price and in sections twelve, thirteen and sixteen of this
Act to one-third of the hire-purchase price shall be construed as
references to the aggregate of the said amount and either one-half of the
remainder of the hire-purchase price or one-third of the remainder of the
hire-purchase price as the case may be.
(2) For the purpose of this section the expression “installation” means —
(a) the installing of any electric line within the meaning of the
Electricity Act 1996, or any gas or water pipe,11

(b) the fixing of goods to which the agreement relates to the premises
where they are to be used, and the alteration of premises to enable
any such goods to be used thereon, and
(c) where it is reasonably necessary that any such goods should be
constructed or erected on the premises where they are to be used
any work carried out for the purpose of such construction or
erection.
20 Application of Act in relation to existing agreements

(1) The following sections of this Act shall, to the extent hereinafter
specified, apply in relation to all hire-purchase agreements whether
made before or after the commencement of this Act, that is to say: —
(a) section ten of this Act, so far as it relates to payments made after
the commencement of this Act,
(b) sections twelve and sixteen of this Act, so far as they relate to the
recovery of possession of goods after the commencement of this
Act,
(c) sections eleven, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen and sixteen of this Act,
so far as they relate to actions commenced after the
commencement of this Act,
(d) sub-section (1) of section seventeen, of this Act, so far as it relates
to orders made after the commencement of this Act, and sub-
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section (2) of the said section so far as it relates to agreements
determined or action commenced, as the case may be, after the
commencement of this Act, and
(e) section eighteen of this Act, so far as it relates to a refusal to give
up possession of goods after the commencement of this Act.
(2) Where goods have been let under a hire-purchase agreement made
before the commencement of this Act, and the owner has, as part of the
consideration for the hire-purchase price, carried out in relation to those
goods any installation within the meaning of the last foregoing section,
then, if the owner has served upon the hirer a notice specifying a sum not
exceeding the expense actually incurred by the owner in respect of the
installation, sections twelve, thirteen and sixteen of this Act, so far as by
virtue of the last foregoing sub-section they apply in relation to that
agreement, shall, as respects the recovery of possession of goods after the
expiration of twenty-eight days from the service of the notice, and as
respects actions commenced after the expiration of the said period, have
effect as if for the references in the said sections to one-third of the hire-
purchase price there were substituted references to the aggregate of the
said sum and one-third of the amount which remains after deducting
that sum from the hire-purchase price.
(3) Save as aforesaid this Act shall not apply in relation to any hire-purchase
agreement or credit-sale agreement made before the commencement of
this Act.
21 Interpretation

(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following
expressions have the meanings hereby assigned to them, that is to say: —
“Action
”, “buyer
”, “delivery
”, “goods
”, “property
”, “sale
”, “seller
”,
“warranty
” have the meanings respectively assigned to them by the Sale
of Goods Act 1983.12

“Hire-purchase agreement
” means an agreement for the bailment of goods
under which the bailee may buy the goods or under which the property
in the goods will or may pass to the bailee, and where by virtue of two or
more agreements, none of which by itself constitutes a hire-purchase
agreement, there is a bailment of goods and either the bailee, may buy
the goods, or the property therein will or may pass to the bailee, the
agreements shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as a single
agreement made at the time when the last of the agreements was made;
“Credit-sale agreement
” means an agreement for the sale of goods under which
the purchase price is payable by five or more instalments not being a
conditional sale agreement;13

“Conditional sale agreement
” has the meaning assigned to it by section 2(5) of
the Hire-Purchase Act 1973;14

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“Hire-purchase price
” means the total sum payable by the hirer under a hire-
purchase agreement in order to complete the purchase of goods to which
the agreement relates, exclusive of any sum payable as a penalty or as
compensation or damages for a breach of the agreement;
“Owner
” means the person who lets or has let goods to a hirer under a hire-
purchase agreement and includes a person to whom the owner’s
property in the goods or any of the owner’s rights or liabilities under the
agreement has passed by assignment or by operation of law;
“Hirer
” means the person who takes or has taken goods from an owner under a
hire-purchase agreement and includes a person to whom the hirer’s
rights or liabilities under the agreement have passed by assignment or by
operation of law;
“Contract of guarantee
” means, in relation to any hire-purchase agreement or
credit-sale agreement, a contract, made at the request express or implied
of the hirer or buyer, to guarantee the performance of the hirer’s or
buyer’s obligations under the hire-purchase agreement or credit-sale
agreement, and the expression “guarantor
” shall be construed
accordingly;
“Total purchase price
” means the total sum payable by the buyer under a
credit-sale agreement, exclusive of any sum payable as a penalty or as
compensation or damages for a breach of the agreement;
“Motor vehicle
” [Repealed]15

“Livestock
” [Repealed]16

“Court
” means the Civil Division of His Majesty’s High Court of Justice of the
Isle of Man exercising summary jurisdiction.17

(2) Where an owner has agreed that any part of the hire-purchase price may
be discharged otherwise than by the payment of money, any such
discharge shall, for the purposes of sections five, seven, twelve, thirteen,
fourteen, fifteen, and sixteen of this Act, be deemed to be a payment of
that part of the hire-purchase price.
22 Commencement of Act

This Act shall come into operation when the Royal Assent thereto has been by
the Governor announced to Tynwald and a certificate thereof has been signed
by the Governor and the Speaker of the House of Keys.
Hire Purchase Act 1939 Schedule



c AT 6 of 1939 Page 19

Schedule

NOTICE TO BE INCLUDED IN NOTE OR MEMORANDUM OF HIRE-

PURCHASE AGREEMENT

Section 3(2)(c)
NOTICE

Right of Hirer to terminate Agreement
1. The hirer may put an end to this agreement by giving notice of termination in
writing to any person who is entitled to collect or receive the hire-rent.
2. He must then pay any instalments which are in arrear at the time when he gives
notice. If, when he has paid those instalments, the total amount which he has paid
under the agreement is less than (here insert the minimum amount which the hirer is
required to pay in accordance with the provisions of sections five and nineteen of this
Act apart from the proviso to subsection (1) of section five), he must also pay enough to
make up that sum unless the court determines that a smaller sum would be equal to
the owner’s loss.18

3. If the goods have been damaged owing to the hirer having failed to take
reasonable care of them, the owner may sue him for the amount of the damage unless
that amount can be agreed between the hirer and the owner.
4. The hirer should see whether this agreement contains provisions allowing him
to put an end to the agreement on terms more favourable to him than those just
mentioned. If it does, he may put an end to the agreement on those terms.
Restriction of Owner’s right to recover Goods
1. If the agreement is a ‘further’ agreement within the meaning of section sixteen
of this Act, the words in square brackets should be omitted.* [After (here insert an
amount calculated in accordance with the provisions of sections twelve and nineteen of
this Act) has been paid, then,] unless the hirer has himself put an end to the agreement,
the owner of the goods cannot take them back from the hirer without the hirer’s
consent unless the owner obtains an order of the court.
2. If the owner applies to the court for such an order, the court may, if the court
thinks it just to do so, allow the hirer to keep either —
(a) the whole of the goods, on condition that the hirer pays the
balance of the price in the manner ordered by the court; or
(b) a fair proportion of the goods having regard to what the hirer has
already paid.
Hire Purchase Act 1939 Endnotes


c AT 6 of 1939 Page 21

ENDNOTES

Table of Legislation History

Legislation Year and No Commencement






Table of Renumbered Provisions

Original Current






Table of Endnote References

1
Figure £2000 substituted for the previous paragraphs (b) and (c) by section 1 of the
Hire Purchase Act 1973 (paragraph (a) having been repealed by section 1 of the Hire
Purchase Act 1955. 2
Paras (b) and (c) substituted by Hire-Purchase Act 1973 s 1. 3
Subs (1) amended by Hire-Purchase Act 1973 Sch 2. 4
Subs (2) amended by Hire-Purchase Act 1973 Sch 2. 5
Subs (1) amended by Hire-Purchase Act 1973 s 1. 6
Para (c) amended by Hire-Purchase Act 1973 Sch. 7
Subs (1) amended by Hire-Purchase Act 1973 Sch 2. 8
S 9 repealed by Supply of Goods (Implied Terms) Act 1976 s 16. 9
Subs (1) amended by Statute Law Revision Act 1997 Sch 2. 10
Subs (2) repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1997 Sch 2. 11
Para (a) amended by Electricity Act 1996 Sch 6. 12
Definitions of ‘Action’, ‘buyer’, ‘delivery’, ‘goods’, ‘property’, ‘sale’, ‘seller’,
‘warranty’, amended by Sale of Goods Act 1983 Sch 2. 13
Definition of ‘Credit-sale agreement’ amended by Hire-Purchase Act 1973 Sch 2. 14
Definition of ‘Conditional sale agreement’ inserted by Hire-Purchase Act 1973 Sch 2. 15
Definition of ‘Motor vehicle’ repealed by Hire-Purchase Act 1955 s 1. 16
Definition of ‘Livestock’ repealed by Hire-Purchase Act 1973 Sch 3. 17
Definition of ‘Court’ amended by SD352/09. 18
Para 2 amended by Hire-Purchase Act 1973 Sch 2.