Consumer Credit (Amendment) Regulations, 2013

L.N. 28 of 2013

CONSUMER AFFAIRS ACT

(CAP. 378)

Consumer Credit (Amendment) Regulations, 2013

IN exercise of the powers conferred by article 7 of the

Consumer Affairs Act, the Minister for Fair Competition, Small

Business and Consumers, after consultation with the Consumer

Affairs Council, has made the following regulations:-

(1)

The title of these regulations is the Consumer

Credit (Amendment) Regulations, 2013 and these regulations shall be

read and construed as one with the Consumer Credit Regulations,

hereinafter referred to as "the principal regulations".

(2)

These regulations implement the provisions of

Commission Directive 2011/90/EU of 14 November 2011 amending

Part II of Annex I to Directive 2008/48/EC of the European

Parliament and of the Council providing additional assumptions for

the calculation of the annual percentage rate of charge (Text with

EEA relevance) particularly with regards to the amendments being

made to Part II of the Third Schedule to the principal regulations.

In sub-regulation (2) of regulation 8 of the principal

regulations, for the words from "The information under sub-

regulation (1)" to the words "the form contained in the Second

Schedule:" there shall be substituted the words "The information

under sub-regulation (1) shall be provided on paper or on another

durable medium and all information shall be equally prominent. It

may be provided by means of the form contained in the Second

Schedule:".

Regulation 12 of the principal regulations shall be

amended as follows

(a)

in sub-regulation (1) thereof, for the words from

"The consumer credit agreement" to the words "shall specify

the following:", there shall be substituted the words "The

consumer credit agreement referred to in regulation 11(3) shall

be drawn up in writing or on a durable medium and shall

specify, in a clear and concise manner, the following:"; and

(b)

paragraph (e) of sub-regulation (3) thereof shall be

substituted by the following

"(e) an indication, where applicable, that the

consumer may, at any time, upon demand be requested to

repay the amount of credit in full;".

In sub-regulation (2) of regulation 19 of the principal Amends

regulations, for the words from "The representative example" to the regulation

the principal

words "the following items of information:", there shall be regulations.

substituted the words "The representative example referred to in

sub-regulation (1) shall specify and comprise in a clear, concise and

prominent way, the following items of information:".

Regulation 24 of the principal regulations shall be Amends

regulation 24 of

amended as follows

the principal

regulations.

(a)

sub-regulation (3) thereof shall be re-numbered as

sub-regulation (4); and

(b)

immediately after sub-regulation (2) thereof, there

shall be added the following new sub-regulation

"(3) The provisions of these regulations cannot be

circumvented as a result of the way in which agreements

are formulated, in particular by integrating drawdowns or

credit agreements falling within the scope of these

regulations into credit agreements the character or purpose

of which would make it possible to avoid its application.".

Part II of the Third Schedule to the principal regulations Amends the

Third Schedule

shall be substituted by the following

to the principal

regulations.

"II.

The additional assumptions for the calculation of

the annual percentage rate of charge shall be as follows

(a) If a credit agreement gives the consumer

freedom of drawdown, the total amount of credit shall be

deemed to be drawn down immediately and in full.

(b) If a credit agreement gives the consumer

freedom of drawdown in general but imposes, amongst the

different ways of drawdown, a limitation with regard to the

amount of credit and period of time, the amount of credit

shall be deemed to be drawn down on the earliest date

provided for in the credit agreement and in accordance

with those drawdown limits.

(c) If a credit agreement provides different ways

of drawdown with different charges or borrowing rates, the

total amount of credit shall be deemed to be drawn down at

the highest charge and borrowing rate applied to the most

common drawdown mechanism for this type of credit

agreement.

(d) In the case of an overdraft facility, the total

amount of credit shall be deemed to be drawn down in full

and for the whole duration of the credit agreement. If the

duration of the overdraft facility is not known, the annual

percentage rate of charge shall be calculated on the

assumption that the duration of the credit is three months.

(e) In the case of an open-end credit agreement,

other than an overdraft facility, it shall be assumed that

(i)

the credit is provided for a period of

one year starting from the date of the initial

drawdown, and that the final payment made by the

consumer clears the balance of capital, interest and

other charges, if any;

(ii)

the capital is repaid by the consumer in

equal monthly payments, commencing one month

after the date of the initial drawdown. However, in

cases where the capital must be repaid only in full, in

a single payment, within each payment period,

successive drawdowns and repayments of the entire

capital by the consumer shall be assumed to occur

over the period of one year. Interest and other

charges shall be applied in accordance with those

drawdowns and repayments of capital and as

provided for in the credit agreement.

For the purposes of this paragraph, an open-end

credit agreement is a credit agreement without fixed

duration and includes credits which must be repaid in full

within or after a period but, once repaid, become available

to be drawn down again.

(f) In the case of credit agreements other than

overdrafts and open-end credits as referred to in the

assumptions set out in paragraphs (d) and (e)

(i)

if the date or amount of a repayment of

capital to be made by the consumer cannot be

ascertained, it shall be assumed that the repayment is

made at the earliest date provided for in the credit

agreement and is for the lowest amount for which the

credit agreement provides;

(ii)

if the date of conclusion of the credit

agreement is not known, the date of the initial

drawdown shall be assumed to be the date which

results in the shortest interval between that date and

the date of the first payment to be made by the

consumer.

(g) Where the date or amount of a payment to be

made by the consumer cannot be ascertained on the basis

of the credit agreement or the assumptions set out in

paragraphs (d), (e) or (f), it shall be assumed that the

payment is made in accordance with the dates and

conditions required by the creditor and, when these are

unknown

(i)

interest charges are paid together with

the repayments of capital;

(ii)

a non-interest charge expressed as a

single sum is paid at the date of the conclusion of the

credit agreement;

(iii) non-interest charges expressed as

several payments are paid at regular intervals,

commencing with the date of the first repayment of

capital, and if the amount of such payments is not

known they shall be assumed to be equal amounts;

(iv) the final payment clears the balance of

capital, interest and other charges, if any.

(h) If the ceiling applicable to the credit has not

yet been agreed, that ceiling is assumed to be EUR 1500.

(i) If different borrowing rates and charges are

offered for a limited period or amount, the borrowing rate

and the charges shall be deemed to be the highest rate for

the whole duration of the credit agreeement.

(j) For consumer credit agreements for which a

fixed borrowing rate is agreed in relation to the initial

period, at the end of which a new borrowing rate is

determined and subsequently periodically adjusted

according to an agreed indicator, the calculation of the

annual percentage rate shall be based on the assumption

that, at the end of the fixed borrowing rate period, the

borrowing rate is the same as at the time of calculating the

annual percentage rate, based on the value of the agreed

indicator at that time.".

€0.45