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prevent
excessive charges or fees from being levied on consumers; and
for |
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Be
it enacted by the Queen’s most Excellent Majesty,
by and with the advice and |
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consent of the Lords Spiritual
and Temporal, and Commons, in this present |
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Parliament assembled, and
by the authority of the same, as follows:— |
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1 |
Prevention
of excessive charges or fees on consumers |
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(1) |
In any agreement regulated
under the Consumer Credit Act 1974
(c. 39) or any |
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contract where one of the
parties is a consumer it shall be unlawful to impose |
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a charge, fee or series of
charges and fees for a consumer’s default or failure to
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do something under that contract
which is greater than 2.5 per cent of the |
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actual value of the default
or failure. |
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(2) |
In any contract for the
provision of banking services regulated under the |
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Consumer
Credit Act 1974 where a consumer exceeds or attempts to
exceed his |
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or her agreed overdraft limit
or funds available, it shall be unlawful for the |
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provider of that contract
to impose a charge, fee or series of charges or fees in |
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10 |
excess of 2.5 per cent of
the actual value of the sum by which the consumer |
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exceeds or attempts to exceed
his or her agreed overdraft limit or funds |
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(3) |
In this Act “consumer”
means any natural person who, in contracts covered by |
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this Act, is acting for purposes
which are outside his or her other trade, |
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(4) |
Nothing in this Act shall
be taken to affect any rule of law prohibiting |
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contractual penalty clauses. |
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2 |
Short
title, commencement and extent |
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(1) |
This Act may be cited as
the Prevention of Excessive Charges Act 2009. |
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(2) |
This Act comes into force
at the end of the period of 2 months beginning with |
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the day on which it is passed. |
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(3) |
This Act extends to England
and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. |
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